I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
Injection & Exam
As we have all week, we woke up this morning at 8 a.m., left home at 9 a.m., and arrived at the Cancer Center at 10 a.m. for JJ’s injection to force his bone marrow to produce blood cells.
On the way to the Cancer Center yesterday, JJ told me that I shouldn’t “tattle” on him, but let him informed the doctor of health issues. I did tell him that I tattled on him last time only when the doctor was gathering his files and getting ready to leave the room and JJ still hadn’t spoke up. Still…JJ told me to let him speak for himself. Ok, so I didn’t say anything yesterday about the sore throat JJ has had for the last couple days, which we have learned means that the mouth sores caused by the Chemo have become infected. And then JJ forgot to mention it to the nurse. I thought that was funny, although the truth is that we are in and out of the injection room so quickly that we all forgot about his sore throat until we were driving home.
So today we all told ourselves to remember to mention the sore throat because we can’t let the infection worsen, especially with his white blood cell count being so low. As soon as we entered the InJection room, JJ remembered to mention his sore throat and the nurse left to informed the doctor. When she returned, she gave JJ his injection, laughing at our banter. We are like a three-person comedy team when we get joking around. When she finished, the nurse led us to an Exam Room because the doctor wanted to check JJ’s mouth. There is a special room for everything at the Cancer Center–Infusion Rooms where Chemo is given, InJections Rooms, Exam Rooms.
We waited for a bit and then the oncologist came in, told JJ to open his mouth and say “Ahhhhh,” peered in JJ’s mouth, and said, yes, he has an infection. He wrote a prescription for JJ and left. We like the oncologist, but we don’t see him as much as the nurses.
JJ was given Augmentin, which is the same antibiotic the doctor gave him the last time his mouth sores got infected. JJ has to take one pill twice a day. He has trouble swallowing them because the pills are HUGE–875 mg. To help him get them down, we cut them into four…five…six pieces…or however many pieces that are small enough for him to swallow.
I took a picture of the pill next to a quarter so you could see how terribly, awfully big they are. I don’t know that it’s humanly possible to swallow such large pills:
JJ wasn’t hungry this morning so he didn’t eat breakfast and he was very hungry when we left the Cancer Center. He asked if he could have Chinese food, so I called ahead and it was ready by the time we reached the restaurant to pick it up. We only ordered a meal for JJ because EJ and I had eaten breakfast and weren’t hungry for lunch yet. Although, I did order an egg roll for myself because I love them. We also stopped at the pharmacy to get JJ’s prescription filled.
When we arrived home, my guys got out of the car and I drove on to the post office for our mail. We didn’t get anything good. When I got home, I made a lunch of leftovers for EJ and me while JJ ate his Chinese food. Then EJ left for work and I did my afternoon chores, bringing in firewood, doing dishes, putting away clothes I had washed a couple of days ago, and so on.
We have Wind Chill Advisory for our state for the next couple of days. The local meteorologist says that there will be “High wind (40 mph) and wind chills nearing minus 30 degrees on Friday. Blowing and drifting snow will also be a problem. Those gusty winds will be strong enough to bring down branches that may have been become weak by the ice storm last December. Blowing snow will reduce visibilities on Friday and Saturday.” I think that the most severe weather will hit Friday evening, hopefully after EJ is home from work. This weekend we will stay snug and warm in our house…unless EJ has to work.
I Love To Go A Gardening 
Teri it is so good to read your post everyday. It is as I’m with you all the time. Thanks to the crazy hat thing on Facebook I now not only know what JJ and EJ look like but I know your pretty face too. Hope the pills will help JJ\s throat to heal and his mouth too. Well today it is friday and I do hope that you are all safe and indoors when the bad weather starts.. Love you all ((((hugs))))
LikeLike
Simone, it is nice to read your comments every day, although, ugh, I do not like pictures of myself. Maybe it’s because when I ask my EJ to take a picture of me, he points the camera at me, clicks, and then hands the camera back no matter how awful the photo is. I took a selfie of myself in the bear hat, and it wasn’t easy. I prefer to be the one with the camera taking the photos. I tell my guys that I am the family historian, documenting our life journeys. 🙂
Readers: Simone is referring to a Silly Hat album I began making for JJ after he lost his hair. Friends send me pictures of themselves, their relatives, and their pets wearing silly hats and I add them to a silly hat album at FB. After the cancer battle is over and I have more time, I hope to make a special album for JJ to remember all the awesome people who encouraged us.
LikeLike
That is a mother of a pill! Ugh! Carissa was on a huge one when she had Bell’s Palsy, but not that big. We mixed it with smashed pears, etc to get it down her. Stay warm! 😉
LikeLike