Emollient -- Word for the Day -- Friday, July 11, 2008

Emollient
DEFINITION: (noun) something that softens or soothes.

RED ALERT! RED ALERT! You are hearing it from the prime source of Chemo Sabe. He was driving down the highway today, looked in the mirror at the chrome dome and noticed some streaks on his head. HAIR, could it be? NO... peeling skin from a slight sunburn. Must not have put enough emollient on it last week when it rained on us. That just proves you CAN get too much rays on a cloudy day. And, it just proves what I have said since we shaved his head... He DOES spend just as much time looking in the mirror as he did with his hair! ha (If you don't hear from me anymore you will know he killed me for letting you know this about him.)

Had a busy, busy day. Not much sleep for me last night because of massive snoring. Last chemo treatments he was as quiet as a mouse. This time I can't even arouse him to get him to reposition himself to curtail the snoring. It doesn't even sound like normal snoring. Much more like a boar hog. I had such a headache during the night because of it and then the kids started yelping in the sunroom at 4:00 a.m. Got them out to do their thing. During that process there was a whole lot of barking going on. I stepped out onto the big deck (we have four) and listened. I heard two big owls hooting at each other. Sounded like one was on the back fence and the other about a block away. Guess these big bad kids turned out to be frady cats.

Chemo Sabe volunteered then to go downstairs and sleep in the recliner, but that is not an option with the bag on. He could crimp one of his tubes and the alarm would sound. As hard as he was sleeping he would not have heard it. It won't be an option in the next few weeks either because his WBC will be falling and could possibly run fever. He will be more prone to infection.

His WBC is 8.07 (3-12 is range) as of yesterday. His platelets are steady at 83 (150-500 is range). We don't begin to worry, if you remember (there I said it again) until WBC is below 2.0 ad platelets below 20. When the WBC falls that low then he will be ready for the stem cell transplant.

He spoke with his infusion nurse today and she explained to him when his WBC does fall then he will go in for an enormous dose of chemo. This chemo will kill EVERYTHING in his body. Lesions, bone marrow, EVERYTHING. Then the next day he will get the transplant of all the new babies (about 5 million). There will be nothing old in his body. These babies will be happy and make more babies. And, I thought we would never have children together! ha

Still having massive hiccups this evening. We have discovered it is when he is up and moving around. His nurse also told him today that the hiccups meds are actually a muscle relaxer for the throat. Glad he only takes them at night. Can't have him driving around under the influence.

He has worked each day this week. He has been enormously tired when getting home. Still with flushed face, but he did not gain any weight since yesterday. He ran right upstairs and laid down on the bed while I fixed dinner. Said he was tired, BUT, our satellite is out downstairs and awaiting repair tomorrow. I think there was a method to his madness. So, we ate in bed this evening.

I stayed in bed late this morning hoping to catch a bit of sleep to ease my headache. Could not do it so got up (Fridays are my days 0ff) and did a little instant messaging with the son. Got in the shower and heard a door slam. Did not hear the dogs barking, but I still thought it might be the our neighbot. Then I heard someone coming up the stairs. I usually don't set the alarm when I am in the house during the day. I surely didn't have a weapon in the shower except maybe a scrub brush and my razor. For some dumb blond reason (well, I use to be blond before white), I picked up the bar of soap. Then I heard Chemo Sabe call out to me before he entered the bathroom. He came home to pick something up... Please don't ask me what I could have done with the soap, but I could have probably thrown it pretty hard.

Well, it is early, but I believe I will close. We are getting the bag disconnected tomorrow. I know he is looking forward to it.

I will try to do better in my posting over the weekend so you guys won't get upset. But, like I said -- if I don't, it is probably because he killed me over the first paragraph! ha

That head is very shiny with the emollient he keeps on it. He doesn't plan to let any of it grow back.

Love -- and Good night -- Pepper