Well then!

I was so good. I finished my fast. I got my infusion on Friday. I looked forward to breaking my fast on Saturday night with friends at a dinner party we were invited to. I went to lunch that Saturday with David and had two bowls of miso soup (no tofu) and some hot herbal tea. We went to our dinner party and I took it slow...grapes, olives, hummus with gluten free crackers. Then for dinner, I brought my own vegan black bean soup with avocado that Chef Ally had made for me. The host prepared butter lettuce salad with sliced almonds and gorgonzola cheese. I decided to have the salad since I knew I wouldn't be eating much. I also decided to have very tiny sips of wine to taste. The salad, without eating the cheese was good so when David didn't touch his (because he doesn't like dressing) we switched plates and I ate his too. Dinner came around and opting out of beef tenderloin I had my soup with avocado, a bite of spinach (turned out to be creamed so I didn't have more), and two bites of roasted potato. For dessert everyone had ice cream, except me, strawberries and cookies. We then drove home two of our friends and joined them for more wine (I sipped) and a piece of delicious pumpkin spice cake. We got home after midnight and my tummy felt really funny. David went to bed and so began...my nightmare of mystery stomach bug 2014.

The next day I could NOT get out of bed. Like at all. I slept in the guest room and that's where I've been quarantined every since. By choice. Of course.  I had a fever, a high one but I was too achy, sore, tired, and out of it to even think of where to find a thermometer so I could verify. (It's in the medicine cabinet in the laundry room). I laid in bed ALL day. That was my day. Sleep. Get up to poop water. Gulp down water. Double over in pain from stomach cramping. Plop down on bed. Fall asleep. Repeat. Rinse. Repeat. Again and again and again....

In my head - "You should stayed on the fast!" and "You haven't had wine in months and see what happens when you do?" and "Did someone have the stomach flu or unknown flu recently and not tell someone at the dinner party?...could I get it that fast?'' and on and on.

The benefit to being a cancer patient is that you are constantly monitored. By later afternoon, around 4pm when I could actually sit up and think for a minute. A minute!! My mom brought me two huge nalgene's of water, some ultima electrolytes, and the kids ear thermometer -  which said my temp was at 103.4. I emailed my health care team and told them so. "I think I have a stomach virus"...or "the flu". I had a flu shot at the end of September however and Philomena said that didn't sound right. I was ordered to take 1000mg of Tylenol every six hours and then come on that next morning for hydration at Tower Oncology. David came in to my quarters to ask me if he could do anything and I said "a rice cake"...which he brought me right away. It, unfortunately, sat there until the next day when I ate two bites of it. I texted other people from the party and two other girlfriends of mine were ill, David said his tummy was funny for a day but then fine. Other people were fine. Since my diet is so controlled I have to guess that it was from something I ate that night. The issue is that something that is small or easy for other's immune systems to purge out with a case or two of the runs can really wreak havoc on my weakened immune system from the rounds of chemo. I need to be more careful.

I went to Tower Monday morning. Can I tell you how much I do very much appreciate the fact that I have a port? Getting hydration was a breeze. I then had to provide vials of blood for several blood cultures and provide other "stuff" (alright, I'm going to say it...water poop and urine) for other kind of cultures. When I got on the scale I had lost five pounds since Friday. All water weight from being so dehydrated I'm sure.  Anyway, I got the couple hours of hydration, went home and went back to my cycle of "rinse and repeat" for the next two days. I went back to Tower again on Wednesday. Still running a fever the entire time but managing it the best possible with Tylenol. Wednesday night Philomena calls me herself and chuckles then says, "Well, the cultures came back and it's positive for salmonella. I'm sending it over to Cedars so they can type the strain but we won't know that for a few days. Do you have an infectious disease doctor?" I'm sorry, WHY was that funny or deserving of a chuckle? I think she is just so shocked these days by the weirdness that happens in my case that she just  doesn't know what to make of things. Anyway....I haven't seen an infectious disease doctor since the last port surgery over three years ago. She said she would contact one on my behalf and figure out what antibiotic to prescribe. I was so relieved but then also thought. Ugh! Food poisoning!! How ironic. The one week I can eat and I break by fast to get salmonella food poisoning. Unbelievable!

I have for the record never felt like this before, weak with fever, not able to eat, not able to function. It was difficult the first three days and now I feel like I am starting to come out of it. I can watch a movie in bed. I can walk around the house (that happened only after the third day). I am now sitting here paying bills and typing this blog update. I have two nights of my antibiotic under my belt. I have been able to eat with a growing time delay before the water poop takes over...things are looking up!

Anyway, this huge hiccup is getting in the way of me fighting cancer so I'm a bit perturbed. My chemo session for this Friday (today) is cancelled. This was my week to eat but I think I am still going to skip the next week of fasting for next Friday's chemo session. I'm waiting to hear back from the Dr. Longo's dietician.

In other news. My housekeeper watered my fake plants. That was weird. And disappointing. And funny.  My kids are fucking awesome. I love them to pieces and it has been hard to stay away from them (at first because I thought I had the flu and then because I just didn't have the energy). It's glorious weather! I had my water this morning outside with some natural vitamin D from the sun. Ahhhhhhhh.