Checking in for 2024-02-23:

Today was eventful.

Last night I got some fitful sleep. I'm feeling pressure, pain, and discomfort around where the stent is. This means that I'll probably be going in for radiation treatments to try to shrink the tumor that is blocking the bile duct of my liver. The last time I got radiation it was successful but really made me sick (I referred to what happened as "nuclear shits"). So that is going to be something I'll need to work around and hopefully be able to address.

My bilirubin count went up today. That prompted several schools of thought on my treatment. Dr. Jaiyesimi was of the mind that I could convalesce better at home rather than the hospital. The G.I. team wanted to keep me under observation. There were a lot of texts flying between both sets of doctors and the nurse attending to me. Finally JoDee went over to Cancer Care Associates and asked what was going on and asked Dr. Jaiyesimi to please explain why I was being discharged. Like a true physicist she broke the Gordian Knot. I'm staying one more night for observation. Her visit was also prompted by the lack of pain medication (the script hadn't shown up at the Meijer Pharmacy).

All the while I was practicing trying to be present and not sick. Fortunately I was able to get some Ondansetron (nee: Zofran) to help with that. The nurse asked me to order dinner and even looking at the menu made me nauseous.

It's going to be an interesting March. I'm going to need to keep myself present and work with the moments that I can work and be OK with the moments when I can't. This week has been a practice ground for me to rest and now it's time to put that practice into motion.

More as I know it.