Out of Nowhere

The weekend went well, no nausea to speak of and just the general fatigue. Nothing too busy, we did a swim play date yesterday, like many we did last summer. It was hot but not unbearable.

Today (Monday) was labs in the AM, then I planned to go to work until my acupuncture appointment. But no, my body was having none of that.

I got nauseous this AM and kind of puked a bit in the kitchen sink as I was preparing Sofie's lunch. I switched plans and did a simple lunch (I keep those "Lunchables" on hand for just this purpose), avoiding the tuna smells I would have made a bit earlier. That seemed to work. I dropped Sofie off at camp and turned the car around to go back to Durham to Duke and the lab.

At the lab, the new person Kathie could not quite get the blood to draw back (flow) out of the syringe at first, so that took some acrobatics, I ended up raising my right arm and looking to the left (this was the third or fourth "position" suggested by Connie who is training Kathie). Anyway, finally it worked just fine, only the one stick, but when I sat up, I was lightheaded. The smell of the antiseptic had done a number on me and all that pushing and tweaking too, I guess.

So I sat in the parking deck trying to figure out what to do....I ended up calling work and just saying that I could not come in. I hate feeling out of control, and after a more or less non dramatic weekend, this came from nowhere.

Ah, but later in the day, Teri (nurse specialist on the oncology team) called. So there was a reason! My white count is tanking. My bone marrow must finally be pissed off and is low. Too low for treatment tomorrow. My neutrophils (?) are low too, under the standard for treatment. So I get a break, a week "off" without all this. Good for the vacation! My red counts perked up after the transfusions of last week, and that is good, because if I had the fatigue on top of the sickness feeling from the white counts, I would be a total mess. Will rest more tomorrow and then see how the week goes.

Sofie started tutoring today, with Ms. Ewald (aka Susan or Susi) her assistant teacher from Morehead Montessori. She totally "gets" Sofie and is excited about working with her. Goals are simple, to keep the gains she made and get her totally ready to enter the second grade. If this goes well, we could even do a bit of tutoring in the fall, perhaps once a week instead of twice like summer. We will see. I would kind of like to see if Sofie was interested in Brownies (the Girl Scout kind, not the eating kind) for fall. Or some sport, perhaps basketball. But don't want to over-schedule her either. She does better with a clear routine and that means (especially if I am back working more) that she comes home, hangs out a bit, then does homework either right before or right after dinner.

But I jump ahead. It is summer, we are off from school and that means both of us. It is a pleasure to just read together, not have to do homework each night. But she needs the practice and better with Ms. Ewald than with me, she really works hard to please her.

Once again, I feel lucky to have this person in our lives.