Sunday, September 16, 2007

More Blood

Dave had another transfusion on Friday (two units of Packed Red Blood Cells.) This is his second transfusion and it was much easier for him. He still hates the Benadryl they give before the infusion, because it makes him feel groggy for the rest of the day. And he's not too crazy about spending hours sitting in the infusion clinic, hooked up to an IV. But otherwise, it's not too bad. We had a great weekend - went out to eat three days in a row, and did a little walking on Saturday & Sunday. Now the big question is, how long will this boost last?

Dave's Hematocrit didn't drop quite as fast, this last week, as it did during the previous few weeks. But he's taking a lot of steroids, and he's starting to get hand tremors, so he's hoping to cut back on the Prednisone as soon as possible. Mostly he's annoyed about the fact that the tremors affect his shooting - he used to be rock-steady at really slow shutter speeds and he rarely used tripods. Now's he's having to make adjustments.

This upcoming week is Chemo Week #5. We see the doctor on Tuesday (more bloodwork on Monday) so we're hoping for a serious evaluation of Dave's condition and response to treatment.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just back from Ukiah and very happy to read about your weekend!
Hope you get clear information (and some good news) from the doctor Tuesday.

David W. Sumner said...

It's Tuesday and I'm feeling pretty good today, better than in the past few days as a matter of fact. Received an e-mail from the Dr. this morning, she's planning to reduce the prednisone dose today. As for my shooting habits, I'm just opening up a stop.