It was four months since I had seen my 90-year old mother so last Thursday I decided to visit her. I was feeling quite well after a difficult start to the week so I thought that the 150 mile drive was something I could take in my stride. Was I wrong! By the evening I was exhausted and suffering from severe colicky pain which continued into Friday. Friday was when I was due my induction into the exercise program. Because of the Buscopan I had been taking, my resting pulse rate was 100 and after two minutes on the exercise bike it was 135 and I started fainting. Exercise abandoned and the rest of the day asleep and in pain. Friday is also the nadir for my neutrophil counts.
Saturday was chemotherapy day. I had a headache all day and felt unwell, though there was little to put my finger on. Colic was to be expected from the irinotecan and I had two shots of atropine to counter that. My skin was sore and my hair tender to touch, but I could manage a light meal of cottage cheese and thin ham slices. At bedtime I started shivering and snuggled up with a hot water bottle and two paracetamol. At 1 am I awoke with a drenching sweat and had to change my pyjamas. This morning I am much better even though the pump is still pumping 5-FU into my system.
In retrospect, I wonder if I might have had a staph epidermidis line infection which resolved itself as my neutrophils recovered and the fever was brought down by the paracetamol. In any case I have smeared some fucidic acid cream over the Hickman site. Sorry there hasn't been much blogging recently, but you will see why.
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