GRATITUDES:
1. A fading headache
2. A beautiful clear morning
3. RAIN! Finally!🥰

Oooh, boy. The past 36 hours have been rough. The blincyto drug has been kicking my butt every which way to Sunday. It started with an overnight rip-roaring fever (102.6º), which completely knocked me flat yesterday, and has progressed to a nasty lingering headache that I just can’t seem to shake. The mental acuity isn’t quite as sharp as usual either. I’m finding that I’m making more mistakes while typing and I feel more “foggy”. I’ve been told that these side effects are temporary, that it’s the sign of the drug taking effect and that they should taper off, but it still makes daily existence a bit of a challenge. I really, REALLY hope that I won’t have to deal with headaches and fevers for an entire month. That’s almost worse than the chemo side effects! Oh, brekkers is here. I’m hungry!

Things are improving. My headache’s gone and I’m once again back in normal, feel-like-a-human-being street clothes, with some modifications. I have three IV tubes running up the front and left sleeve of my shirt, so that’s a bit awkward, but it’s a small price to pay for feeling more like myself. I HATE those hospital gowns, they’re nasty and vile, they come untied too easily, and they drag in the toilet unless you hitch them up above the waist while using the facilities. GAH. I would almost prefer to gallop around in my birthday suit except that I would freeze, not to mention embarrass myself and everyone who walked into my room (and there are quite a few of the latter. Privacy is checked at the door when entering a hospital).

The beautiful clear morning has turned into a glorious sunny day with just a few stray puffy clouds lingering about. Yesterday afternoon’s storm was interesting – I just wish I’d been a bit more able to enjoy it. Even so, watching the clouds sweep in from the east and the rain curtains begin to drop, along with the lightning and thunder, was pretty darn cool. I’m not sure how much rain San Antonio got but it sounds like New Braunfels got a decent amount. It isn’t enough to alleviate the drought but every bit helps, and I’m sure the grass and shrubs are appreciative, as are the deer, who will soon have more to nibble than our garden plants.

Well, things have taken a turn. Rory just tested positive for Covid today. He was complaining of a sore throat yesterday and had started feeling a bit off the day before. So far he isn’t feeling too badly but he’s still quarantining, which means that he’s masking up around the house, staying as far away from the kids as he can manage, and is now spending most of his time in the office, where he can set up some negative air pressure by closing the room door, opening the window and placing a box fan in the opening facing outward. There’s now the question of whether or not I’ll come down with it as well, since I’ve already been exposed. I’ve had all my shots and I’m currently on antivirals so hopefully, fingers crossed, I’ll be able to dodge this bullet, or if not, to at least escape as relatively unscathed as possible. I’m not neutropenic so my body stands a much better chance of fighting off an alien viral invasion. We’ll just have to see! Meanwhile, I sincerely hope that the bug doesn’t get its hooks in Rory’s lungs. His lungs are his weakest point and that virus can do HORRIBLE pulmonary damage, even the milder variants.🙏🏻🙏🏻