Busy day

(The view from my terrace in the morning)
Today was a busy morning - Wednesday is the day I have to check all my blood counts and see if I am ready to get the next Chemo for Thursday. Tomorrow is chemo 9 and since it's with Rituximab will need a day care admission. Anne poked me as soon as I woke up, one tube for blood counts, hemoglobin and platelets, the second for liver functions (albumin and enzymes) and creatinine (kidney function) and the third for blood sugar. Blood counts can fall because chemotherapy also affects normal bone marrow and slows it from making the normal red and white cells, liver and kidney function can go up if the chemotherapy has damaged them or not drinking enough fluids to wash out toxins and blood sugar can go up because of the steroid pills.
I drove into hospital with Anne, Amma and Tripti and then made my first stop to encourage the man I had met outside the chemo room a few weeks ago. His diagnosis has been confirmed and he starts Chemo today. He is admitted in the ward I will probably be admitted in tomorrow. I spent a while with him and his family – he has a sweet young son ? maybe 10 yrs old. His Non Hodgkins lymphoma is years after he has had a renal transplant and a very similar type to mine. I guess the words of support will help him through today. It’s not easy in an alien place and getting toxic stuff.
Next stop was the labs, gave in all my tubes to the different lab staff. Funny how 4 months ago I was handing in tubes of other patients and now I stand and watch them check the hospital number and see if there is enough blood in my own tubes!
Great news on the research front. My department has appointed a technician to run the anal manometry lab. Reshma is a graduate of biochemistry and will now be the technician of the manometry lab. This is a big step for us and I spent a little of my morning talking to her and giving her an idea of what her job entails. Nice enthusiastic girl, but I have to remember that she has no medical background and go easy.
Today Lizzie ammama and Appu acchachan go back to Singapore with ammachi (Grandmother). It was great having them here, long chats and their loving support was really a great encouragement. I have a few snaps of our time here and have loaded it on her thumb drive to view when she gets back!