Slightly over seven hours of uninterrupted sleep = happy Robin, or at least a Robin that isn’t mumbling incoherently. Speech is becoming increasingly difficult however, due to a truly nasty sore that’s flared up on the side of my tongue. Here I was, all full of myself that I hadn’t had any significant mouth sores since my first cycle and then WHAM. Karmageddon. I should really know better by now.🙄 So the rounds doctor recommended that I use the dreaded and revolting Pink Magic, but that I soak a cotton swab in it and then apply it to just the sore and not the rest of my mouth. It’s a mixture of Lidocaine, Benadryl and Maalox and it tastes foul but it does actually work, so I may have to start using it. Blech.🤢

My cell counts have officially cratered. My white blood cells are nearly nonexistent, I have no ANC count to speak of and I may need a blood transfusion because my hemoglobin dropped precipitously overnight. Now I’m truly made of glass and have to be extra careful not to get too tired or crash into anything. That last bit may be a bit difficult for me since I normally tend to walk into walls and smack into stuff even without the added hindrance of zero blood cells. Time to break out the industrial strength bubble wrap!

I think the pain in my mouth is now up to about a good 9.5, heading for 11 at least. I can barely speak and eating has become a whole new exercise in pain management. Even drinking is extremely painful. Basically any time I have to move my tongue it’s a nightmare. I’d love some crackers or peanuts but I won’t be able to chew them. It’s a good thing I’ve gained some weight because this new setback may shave a few pounds off. It won’t last too long, maybe a week tops, but IT FRICKIN’ HURTS, DAMMIT.

Holy moly. That was excruciating. Eating dinner tonight brought on whole new levels of pain. Granted, I shouldn’t have ordered the turkey, mashed spuds and green beans, my bad, but WOW. I chopped up the turkey as finely as I could given the hospital cutlery I had (I really could have used a food processor or blender) and I was able to manage the meal that way, as a sort of coarse-textured baby food. Yep, I’ve gotta switch to a soft or liquid diet for the next few days to give this stinkin’ sore a chance to heal. It’ll do it in its own sweet time but at least it won’t last forever. In the meantime, I’ll have to make friends with Cream of Wheat, loads of mashed potatoes and plenty of soup. *Sigh*