Schedule changes, More platelets needed, and crime show ideas.

Since my last post, I've done a lot and yet there is really nothing to update. After I was told that I didn't need to platelet transfusion, I settled in and started taking care of business in Houston. There were many things to do around the house. Jason was supposed to come on Monday for my checkup and scan plus I continued to go over to give them more and more blood until I'm pretty sure they'd counted every platelet in there. On Monday morning the care team called and said, of course, they needed more blood AND since my platelets were not expected to come up enough for chemo by the following Wednesday, they wanted to put off the scan and check up for 2 more weeks. In my experience, they like to keep the scans on schedule with the chemo dosage and vice versa but don't like to go more than 8 weeks without a scan. These people are so predictable! What was not predictable is that when I called Jason to tell him my check up was canceled, he admitted that he was already on his way. He was trying to surprise me, which never works out for him. Apparently every time he tries to surprise me with something, I either go out and buy/plan/etc. the thing for myself or something else happens to mess up his surprise. I'm pretty sure he's suspicious that I paid off my care team to cancel my appointments just to thwart him once again. First off, I don't think my care team would take a bribe. Nor would they need the money. Secondly, I didn't know that he was already on his way. I didn't even suspect it because usually work takes precedent over just about everything else. If there's no emergency, he will work until the very last minute. Leaving in a non-emergency shows real growth in his workaholic-ism therapy!

Since I had to go over to give more blood anyway and it was great weather, I walked the 2 1/2 miles to the medical center. I also needed some make up and I was thinking I'd take an uber to Sephora, but when I looked at the map, Sephora was not far from MD Anderson. I walked through Rice University (which I sometimes do). University campuses usually interest me, of course, but Rice is quite pretty with green areas, nice buildings, public art, and great walking paths. This time I discovered an added benefit. On most campuses I've been on, when you walk into a random building, it can be difficult to find a restroom. Twice that day I just randomly walked into a building and the restroom was right inside the door! How convenient! I eventually got to Rice Village (after a few wrong turns and some backtracking) and to Sephora, where a very nice sales associate color matched me for the products I needed. Once finished, I called Jason and he was only 20 minutes or so away. How convenient since I really wasn't feeling the 3 miles back to the house after I'd just walked over 7 miles and up the 10 flights at MD Anderson. Since I still had a few minutes, I decided to go to Pier 1. I had been texting with Lois and she suggested I pretend to be checking out their chairs. See why she's so great?! Brilliant! It wasn't until I sat down that I realized my lower back was killing me! A few minutes later Jason arrived and we were off to eat lunch. I couldn't interest him in looking at the items I'd discovered while I waited, but everything seemed to work out well in timing.

Tuesday was a bit different. We'd been told that we were in the clear, so I canceled my cognitive testing for Wednesday and requested to reschedule it for the week of my rescheduled scan. We packed up the car and took off. We got two hours out to College Station, TX before the care team called and said, "Well, yesterday's platelets were down again so we need you to stick around a couple of days." I need a shirt that says, "Property of MD Anderson." We turned around and headed back, of course. Since it was getting close to rush hour, we went through The Woodlands so we could stop in to say hello to family. Might as well do something fun, as we were taking things in stride. Once rush hour was over, we headed back to Midtown. 

On Wednesday I went ahead and did my cognitive tests, just to get them done. I felt like I didn't do as well on some of the tests that require having a full visual field. However, I did better than ever on the block design and the visual memory (draw the objects in the correct place on the page) test. I think I'm getting smarter. Weirdly, those are partially spatial relations issues, so my compensatory strategies for spatial relations must be working. I know it's not brain repair because I no longer have any spatial relations area left. It's all been removed. The fact that I ever know where I am is just short of a miracle!

 They did finally send us home to Lubbock with external blood draw orders so I will just get tested here, knowing that at any time they could call to say I need a platelet transfusion. Our current plan is spend Valentine's Day at MD Anderson getting scans and check ups. How romantic! 

In the meantime, I'm catching up on work- I even went there this week. Don't worry, I wore a mask and gloves to avoid the strep and flu that are still going around. A group of us have decided that we need to get rid of the culture of "work until you drop" and replace it with "If you show up in public sick, you may be subject to justifiable homicide." I think this cultural shift would really take off. Lazy people, tired people, and homicidal maniacs would love it, among others. Children, old people, and others (like me) with compromised immune systems would be safer. The police wouldn't have to do much investigative work once the medical examiner signed off that the deceased was IPWF (in public with flu). Case closed, justifiable homicide! Once accomplished, there will be a Law & Order: FVU (Flu Victims Unit), depicting the investigations of crimes like 1) the murderer claimed the person was sick but actually the perpetrator injected the deceased with an infectious illness to make it justifiable homicide and 2) people who claim to have the flu and go out in public to commit "suicide by flu murder" 3) medical doctors who change positive/negative results on records in an effort to either save people or to put them in harm's way 4) family members looking to collect on life insurance. OK, maybe I watch too many crime shows.