Train of Thought

A conductor on my train ride home yesterday evening hit on me. It took me by complete surprise. Cancer patients generally are not the target of smooth dudes, but I guess my hat looked like it was meant to provide warmth, given the cool temperature. He called me, "beautiful."

My immediate reaction to his compliment: "No, I'm not. I have cancer." I wanted to take off my hat and say, "Look at me. I'm not beautiful. I am broken."

IVIG

I received the intravenous immunoglobulin this morning. When we got home, I took a two hour nap. The infusion went smoothly, though now I feel a bit like I have the flu.

Dr. Goldberg said he hasn't seen an immunoglobulin deficiency as a side effect of Arsenic Trioxide in other APL patients. So this might not be from the arsenic. Hmmm.

The extra antibodies should help me through the chemo round that starts Monday. In the beginning of October, they'll test my IgG level again. If it's still low, I'll have another infusion then. This winter we'll address what it means if my level appears to be chronically low. Not worth worrying about it now.

Blood

Everyone's heard of blood drives. Many have rolled up a sleeve and participated (I have, though I won't be able to ever again.). Some can't participate because of health reasons, while others are afraid of needles. Though it costs nothing, giving blood is a generous donation. Albeit an abstract one. You never see the person whom your blood benefits.

Thus far, I've received around 40 blood product infusions. That's 40 people who helped keep me alive. They did so without knowing me. I wonder if any of them thought about who they might be helping while they watched a nurse jab them with a needle (or looked away).

I wonder who they are. Whose platelets have been swirling through my blood stream?

"Have a Magical Day"

Last Thursday, we took Katelyn to the Magic Kingdom in Disney World. It was a fantastic day, followed by four more great Florida days. Exactly the vacation we needed before the chemotherapy next week. My parents have been helping us so much this year, and Ryan has been an amazing husband and father. It was so nice to have fun with them away from the doctor consultations, infusion appointments, and household chores with which they'd been involved. I am so lucky to have so much support.

When we first entered the Magic Kingdom, a "cast member" from Cheyenne, Wyoming, who scanned my ticket, said, "Have a magical day." Despite my great mood, the phrase made me pause. When is the last time someone told you to have a magical day? It's not that I didn't want us to have such an experience. On the contrary, I was already grinning at Katelyn's excitement over spotting Cinderella's castle. It's just that it's an odd greeting. Try it out on a colleague or a store clerk, and you'll agree with me.

As silly as the expression sounds, we did have a magical day. Rather, a magical weekend.

Blood Test Results

First and most importantly, my PCR remission test showed that I am still in remission. Fantastic!

One of the other blood tests came back showing a slight snag in my recovery. My immunoglobulin (IgG) count is low (i.e., I have an antibody defiency). This explains why my cough/cold has persisted for six weeks.

The treatment to correct the deficiency is called intravenous immunoglobulin therapy (IVIG). Over a period of six hours, I will receive an infusion of antibodies donated from between 3,000 and 10,000 healthy donors. At this time, I don't know much more than that. The registered nurse at the cancer center, who informed me of the irregular test result, said they would prefer to discuss the treatment and possible side effects with me in person.