This week has been one of the toughest weeks since I finished my treatment. I'm not exactly sure what is going on, but I have lots of pain in three places - my PEG tube in my stomach, my tonsil in my throat and my teeth, of all things!
It turns out that my stomach tube was not infected, but there is now a granuloma that has formed next to the tube. This is basically scar tissue that forms when there is irritation, it heals, then becomes irritated again, etc. The stomach acid that is a normal part of having a PEG tube continues to irritate the skin around the opening, and this is rather painful.
The tonsil is still healing, much slower than I thought it would, but then again, I really did not know how long it would take to return to normal in the first place. My teeth are hyper-sensitive to heat and cold, to sugar, which I have effectively stopped eating, and to intense flavors such as toothpastes, sugarless gums, etc.
These things have been somewhat painful for the last few weeks, but this week, they became even more unbearable for some reason, so off to the doctor we went. After a blood test, he found that all my counts were low - red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, too. Not low enough for a transfusion, but low enough for concern, so even more blood tests and a CAT san were ordered to look deeper.
The good news is that there is nothing wrong with my stomach tube, as was suspected. In fact, they really couldn't find anything except the low blood counts to be concerned over. Next thing to look at was bone marrow, and today, I had my backside drilled for a core sample. Even with the shot of novacaine, the last thing he does is pull the sample out, and that's a big ouch! I hope I don't have to do many of those.
Today's blood test showed a dramatic increase in platelet count, almost double what it was last week! That's really good news, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for the results of today's marrow test, due Wednesday.
I guess I just have to be prepared for a bit of up and down during this recovery process. I am so ready to be back to health. Makes me realize just how much I took for granted for so long. Be thankful for every breath you take!
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Thank you Chad for keeping all of us updated. I am so sorry you are in such pain. I feel so helpless and useless when I wish I could help you and take some of this pain away from you.
Be sure that we are all thinking about you and all miss you... But it is only a question of time and soon we will see again only the bottom of your glider while you are skying out....
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