From one week to two

My counts from Monday were so good that they're letting me skip a week, so I'll be going to Boston every other week instead of every week. Haven't done that in a long time. Naturally then I have to deal with "separation anxiety" and the fear that something could develop in two weeks, but I'll take it. It would be great to untether myself so that I could focus on other things.

My white blood count was 8.3. (Normal is 3.8-9.2.)

Hematocrit was 33.0 (Normal is 34.9-43.6). My "crit" has actually been climbing without help. This means I am finally making red blood cells, a fact supported by the growth in reticulocytes. That's all I know about "retics," a new word for me, but whatever, I'm happy about it!

Platelets were hanging out at 60. They took a big jump and for now they haven't moved much. (Normal is 155-410.) I hope they follow the reds and come close to normal too.

I am still struggling with the prednisone. My liver function is better, and it would be beneficial to keep me on the higher dose of 40 m.g. a day, but when I complained about my mood, my low energy and my weakened legs, they said I could try going down to 30.

Ann had a good post on chemo brain, which made me think again of a similar frustration that I expressed, as have many others. I know part of it is about aging or just personality, but I really think increased fogginess can be attributed to chemo brain. It's about not being able to wrap your mind around the right word, doing things more slowly, being more forgetful. It's frustrating.

Sometimes I joke with the kids that they're probably keeping tabs on me. And sometimes I wonder aloud after I've done something spacey, "You're not going to put me away now, are you?" Ha ha.

But actually it's not always that funny.