Humpday, Vidaza Cycle 2 - Friday the 13th, 2020

Jeff has finished four days of seven in this month’s Vidaza treatment at the Perelman Center (local treatment was not so appealing after all was considered).  He has been given a blood product - or two or three - every day.   Nurse Heather said she and Dr. Porter are a little surprised that Venclexta (the new-fangled drug that accompanies Vidaza) is hitting him so hard since he is “young”.  Jeff does not have a youthful perspective, however.  He says he always thought we would grow old together but he “thought it would take longer.”

Treatment Goal:  “Blasts at 5% would be nice,” Dr. Porter said.  He would take “lower” before Nicole’s T cells could be given.  A bone marrow biopsy is scheduled for November 30th to see where things stand.

Weird but true:

A Halloween-costumed infusion nurse remembered us from 9 years ago.  She de-masked to see if we remembered her.  We did not.

In the midst of a near-fainting spell, Jeff lost his lips (I told him they were the same color as his very pale skin).  He said that was because “they needed kissing” demonstrating that his funny bone is perfectly healthy.

Jeff went to the infusion area of Penn’s Perelman Center and I went to pick up Jeff’s prescription at the Specialty Pharmacy in the building.  I stuffed the bottle into my purse and decided to go for a walk.  Shortly thereafter I realized that I was carrying $4,000 worth of drugs around the streets of Philadelphia.  

After a late night at the Perelman Center for treatment, multiple blood products and a post-platelet count, we drove home well after dinnertime.  Searching the console for anything we could put in our mouths, I offered Jeff a Tic Tac.  He put one in the palm of his hand and sighed.  I asked what was wrong.  He said, “I can’t believe I’m taking another pill.”

Jeff has pulsatile tinnitus; he can hear his pulse in his ears.  It goes away after he has been given red blood transfusions.

Jeff finds new ways to thank me for “putting up with him”.  He began reciting the lyrics to Cole Porter’s “You’re the top”.  I asked Alexa to have Ella Fitzgerald take over, “You’re the top, you’re the colosseum…”   It’s easy to “put up with” this guy.