Test and retest

Well I made it back to work last week, working about two and a half days.  The heat is still a problem but I am mostly sitting in my car with the AC on.  Hard on the engine, easy on the body.  Still, ten hours is a long day.  This week I made almost full time in three and a half days.  I am looking forward to the weekend!  

I seem to be past the worst of the fuzzy headed side effects from the new meds. Friday's ultrasound showed reduced clots but some still present in smaller arteries.  At least they're gone from the jugular and other nasty places.  I'll find out what the doctor wants to do in a couple weeks, for now stay on the blood thinners for sure and maybe retest sooner rather than later.  I may still have to have the port removed, but I'd rather not expose myself to the number of humans in the hospital.  Covid19 is still severe here.  

I braved the mall and got the battery in my phone replaced.  I haven't been in that mall in years!  The phone is working great now, and I can actually go for hours without having it plugged in.  Before it would turn off every time it lost charge, and most of the time I had to warm it up on a heating pad or on the dashboard to get it to charge and turn on.  I'm glad I saved it from the landfill, and postponed getting a new one until 5G. There's still the question of whether to stay iPhone or switch with the next phone.  I have mixed feelings, not as bad now with the iPad. I can keep those Apple only apps.  

As the new job site develops I'll have to do more walking, for now it's not too bad but the site is rough.  I hope it doesn't rain!  We were fortunate to have Hurricanes Marco and Laura miss us by hundreds of miles.  

Anticipation and Frustration, August 2020

 I know I’ve talked before about the agony of waiting for test results. I had a CT last week and then had eight days waiting for results.  Somehow the weekend is worse, less going on work-wise and more time to ponder. 

Last week I went out to a field site and quickly overheated.  The first time out of the truck I forgot my cooling towel and the second I forgot my water. I ended up having to go sit in the truck in the AC.  As much as I’m feeling ok in the new normal, theoretical exercise is much easier than actual exercise(!). 

The mosquitos have been HUNGRY    I went to a local refuge with a researcher and fed them.  Bug spray kept them off until you let up on the button.  They were ferocious.  That's Hurricane Hannas lasting present.   I had a few branches lost to the hurricane, hungry skeeters, and lawn growing WAY WAY too fast.  

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So my CT scan showed continued reduction (though slow) of the tumors (yay), and a blood clot (boo).  One of the drugs I was on is a risk factor for blood clots, as is the chemo port, and the tumors, so that is a triple threat for blood clots.  One of those things is readily controllable, and I have to stop the hormone therapy drugs that were working.  If not for the COVID we'd probably remove the port, but we'll wait for COVID to be less pressing before removing the port unless the blood clots persist.  Going forward we're switching to another hormone therapy and adding in a blood thinner as soon as they get the prescriptions in.  There's a chance we could go back to these drugs that worked in the future, but I have to be off them for several months.  There is optimism that I will have good results with the other drugs as well.  The nodes in the lungs are stable, that was the big worry and the reason for the quicker CT scan.  

Blood work continues to be good.  

That's the news, such as it is.