Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Things I can and cannot do

Today's lab report: my white blood cell and absolute neutrophil counts are still too low. (Darn!) I am very vulnerable to infection and illness, and I have to take neutropenic precautions. That's bad.

But everything else looks good enough for me to have my Avastin infusion tomorrow. That's good!

So I CAN:
- continue my chemotherapy schedule uninterrupted for now;
- - use this as an excuse to make Prince Jared clean the bathrooms, change our daughter's diapers, and do the laundry;
- go in with my son for our karate belt test on Friday (I guess with a mask on), since I still have platelets and red blood cells; and
- feel less guilty about having a "family only" party for my daughter's birthday this weekend, instead of filling our house with two-year-old's.

But I CANNOT:
- spend a lot of time in public places (should avoid it as much as possible);
- eat raw fruits and veggies or be around flowers and plants (anything grown in dirt)
- be around recently vaccinated or sick people (I break this rule to be near my kids);
- let too much time lapse between hand-washings;
- or do anything else that increases my risk of germs.

I have visions of myself walking around like Michael Jackson with gloves and a mask on, but I guess good nutrition, vitamins, liquids, and rest are a more practical approach.

But hey - at least I CAN proceed with my treatment for now, and I have two whole weeks to try and bounce back before my next infusion.

2 comments:

Dedee said...

Glad to hear the good things and sorry to hear the bad things. Good luck over the next two weeks. Thanks for being an inspiration to me.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like it's time to get out the windex and clean off the glass bubble you'll be living in for a while.

Happy Birthday to Miss Emma...send photos...please :-).

Jer