What Goes Up, Must Come Down

I'm not sure this is what Isaac Newton had in mind but it does seem to apply to more than just gravity.  I'm thrilled to be unhooked from the backpack this morning, having completed round 5 of 6 yesterday!  (Now we're getting into math I can appreciate - 83% complete.  Sounds so much better than 17% complete and 33% complete and 50% complete and 67% complete...)  I will now move into the "coming down" period for a little over a week.  I plan to take it ODAAT-style, you know - one day at a time.

Low Brow Entertainment

During the low phase there's still lots I can do to entertain myself.  Retail therapy is a good option - takes very little energy to move my fingers across a keyboard and now I have Scott's credit card information memorized.  :)

We continue to listen to Ready Player One, which is easier than reading for me.  It's not a side effect that my team has ever mentioned but I've heard from others who have been through chemo that they too experienced a loss in visual acuity.  During chemo and during the low week that follows I find that I can't focus my eyes well enough to read so e-books have been a good substitute.

Scott has made me a playlist to listen to that has a distinct "survivor" theme.  This helps me get my mojo back when I'm feeling scared.  In case you need some mojo of your own, here are a few samples - mixing genres here people so start slow and work your way up:
I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty
On Top Of The World - Imagine Dragons
Fighter - Christina Aguilera
Survivor - Destiny's Child
Always Look On The Bright Side of Life - Monty Python

Not that I'm doing a lot of loud-and-proud singing (mostly I just listen to the lyrics and cry happy tears)...but I am experiencing a bit of an improvement with my voice.  I expect to develop the chemo voice (teenage boy going through puberty) next week on cue but I made it through the chemo week itself for the first time without having voice trouble.  This could be a fluke - my voice has been a little on and off throughout.  Or it could be a sign that my vocal chords have had some time to heal and are perhaps on the way back to health.  

The Week Ahead

I'll be back to doing regular blood tests this week and next.  My numbers have been steadily falling throughout this treatment but my doctor is not expecting them to drop so low at this point that it would delay the start of Round Six.  This has been a worry in the back of my mind so I'm glad to be feeling like we'll stay on schedule.  There are a few key elements in the blood work that they track, primarily related to white blood cells and to anemia.  And we've learned (no time like the present) that it's the blood work that determines the level of chemotherapy that's infused.  I have had the same amount of chemo each time but they apparently increase and decrease the amount for some patients based on their numbers.  This would make sense to me if it were to insure that the numbers stay high enough but in fact they are adjusting in order to make them go low enough.  Masochists.  They really are trying to torment me.  My doctor pointed out that I have been a stellar student, with my blood work dropping and rising just as she wants it to.  I mean, did you expect anything less?