Interferon Shot 20, Week 22

First, Son's status report. We got into the doc on Monday afternoon. He declared it a Salter Type 2 fracture. There is some growth plate involvement, but chances of a full recovery without complications are excellent. They brought him in the following day to have it reduced further; the emergency room doc had been able to get it close to the right spot, but stressed that it needed further attention. Son now has a splint -- two plaster half-shells wrapped in an Ace bandage. He'll get a regular cast next week. I'm tempted to pay the extra expense for a waterproof cast with a Goretex lining. He'll still be working out for football and the sweat will be pretty intense. It'll be worth that to save the smell, not to mention the whining/whinging (I love the UK version of that word!).

So, son was able make it to church camp, which assuaged some of the bitterness for him. somebody else was going up late and he got a ride. They all got back today tired, sunburned, and apalled at the heat. A week at 7,000 feet/2,133 meters altitude will do that. He and Young Friend from the ER trip are now settled in front of a movie.

I took the last out-of-sequence IFN shot this morning. Next week, I'll be back on my Interferon Friday schedule. I'm now taking five shots per week:

• Tuesday: Neupogen


• Wednesday: Procrit


• Thursday: Neupogen


• Friday: Interferon


• Saturday: Neupogen

With near-daily shots, I'm having to keep track of where I've poked recently. This is a hassle, but I feel so much better! The only real side effect I'm feeling is a bit of fatigue, the funny taste, and some achiness.

My wife's car had a problem today -- the alternator went out. We have extra kids here and we really need that car. I did it myself to just get it done, and to save the couple hundred bucks that taking it to the mechanic would cost. It took about an hour and everything went smoothly. I guess I'm not suffering too many sides. Last month I wouldn't have even attempted it. I doubt I'd have had enough strength to loosen the bolts!

Every Day A New Adventure!

My wife and older daughter went to California for a niece's high school graduation party. That left me at home with my son (14) and daughter (12). I had everything lined out. Son was going to a football day camp Friday evening, Daughter went to her friend's house to spend the night, and I went over to friends' house for a boys' night where we planned to do manly stuff like eat brisket and watch war movies. I'd just settled down to my first sandwich and The Great Escape was all queued up when my cell phone rang. It's coach. My son broke his arm. He's on his way to the emergency room.

Friend's son is also good friends with my son and he wanted to go, so we headed out. It was an ER in a college town on a Friday night. Do the math. At least school isn't in session. It took us 25 minutes to drive across town. Son and the coach had arrived about 15 minutes before us. He was in a fair amount of pain. Looking at the X-ray, it's obvious why. This is the view before they set it.



We waited for an hour in the waiting room before they got us in to see a triage nurse. Then it was another hour in a back room waiting for the doc. They had to put him out in order to set the bone. That was another hour. Finally they started an IV and dripped some get-high drugs into him. He enjoyed it way too much. And he spilled his guts to me, which was interesting, and a fair relief -- no earth-shattering revelations. It led me to wonder why we have all the ruckus in Iraq over harsh questioning. Load 'em up with this stuff and have a pleasant chat.

It took another hour for him to come down from the drugs enough to walk out. He was feeling a bit woozy with a hangover, so they gave him a basin. By that time it was approaching midnight. We drove back to Friend's house and let Son walk around. They were still up, fortunately. The basin came in handy. Friend's wife is like a second mother to Son (as my wife is to Young Friend), so she kindly held the bucket when the hangover caught up with him.

Did I mention that I'm on hepatitis C treatment? By this time I'm getting tired. Home to bed. Pain meds for Son, ribavirin and Elavil for me. Tomorrow I'm on the phone trying to find a pediatric ortho. If I don't have an appointment lined up by noon, we're going to the ER of Phoenix Children's.

But tonight, I have to take a hit of interferon. Oh, by the way, I have to be on a call at 6:00 AM. Good night!

So Far So Good

Had an appointment with the Doc today. He had the results from my latest blood test. The blood boosters seem to be doing their thing. My RBC count is over 15 (low normal), WBC is at 18,000 (also on the low end of normal). I've seen no unpleasant side-effects from the Procrit. The itching I reported when I first started seems to have subsided. I do have some joint pain especially in my knees, plus inside the top of my pelvis and in my forearms. That's consistent with the Neupogen's side-effects. It's an annoyance, but no worse than soreness from a hard workout at the gym, just strangely located inside my bones, rather than in my muscles.

Meanwhile, the bug seems to be at bay. ALT and AST (liver enzymes) are both in the 25 - 27 range, well within the normal range. No abdominal swelling or discomfort.

Meanwhile, the side-effects from the meds are apparent, but comparatively mild. I'm getting those annoying little cracks on the corners of my mouth and my detractors scurrilously allege that I'm irritable. But my detractors allege that about me anyway. Really, I don't think I'm any more irritable than most folks when the temps are in the 106° F/41° C range. I've found it easy to vent most of my irritation while driving. I've given up yelling, I just enjoy the surge of adrenalin the clench of my jaw.

With that in mind, I present:

Rules of driving in Phoenix summers:

1. Assume the other driver is armed.
   Many of us are.... Which may explain why "Road Rage" incidents are relatively rare in Phoenx, or are at least short.
   


2. A car with the windows rolled down has the right of way
   It's obvious that the air conditioner is broken. See Rule 1 above.
   


3. It is permissible to wait for a red light under an overpass as long as said waiting occurs reasonably close to said red light.
   "Reasonably close" means within sight. Unless the waiting car has its windows rolled down, in which case the car may wait under any underpass for any red light. See Rule 2 above. And never forget Rule 1.
   


4. During the month of May northbound HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle) lanes are reserved for motor homes and fifth-wheel trailers with Northern plates.
   Stay out of their way, they left late for reasons beyond their control and just want to get home before it gets above 105.
   



5. Premium Parking is any spot with shade within a half-mile of a business or establishment.
   Avoid arguments or confrontations over Premium Parking (see Rule 1).
   



6. After 2:00 PM, he spot immediately east of a Hummer is Premium Parking.
   The acres of sheet metal provide very tolerable shade from the afternoon sun.
   


7. It is forbidden to immmobilize a Hummer in order to obtain Extended Premium Parking.
   It is also unwise. See Rule 1 above.
   

Second Week Back In The Saddle

Took interferon Shot Number 19 today. The shot was uneventful. It's six days since my last -- I want to get back on a Friday nigh shot night schedule. Ifx and a cc of Neupogen for good measure. Thanks to the break and some apallingly expensive drugs, I'm also back on the full dose of ribavirin. I took my evening pills, along with my weird anti-depressant (Elavil) that is supposed to help me sleep. It seemed to work pretty well on the earlier go-round, but for the past few nights I've found myself awake between 0200 and 0300. I'm fidgety.

I was Being Encouraging in one of the forums about how glad I am to be back on treatment -- a guy with 4 weeks to go was getting really down.

"I'm back on treatment and have now learned to appreciate the headache, the heartburn, the weird sleeping patterns, the falling hair, the grumpy moods, all of it. It means that I'm fighting which beats hell out of waiting and seeing. That's how I feel now, the first week back, I wrote, Helpfully.

Obviously the meds hadn't fully kicked in yet.

"I'm sure I'll be as whiny as usual in a couple of weeks," adding my disclaimer like the fine print on a car add. I can tell it's on the way.

Best go to bed.

Back On A Full Dose

The doc called out of the blue this afternoon with the results of my Wednesday bloodwork. I didn't have anything to write on, but both RBC and WBC counts are in the low-normal range. I believe 12 and 1800, but I really don't recall. He also gave me my ALT and AST numbers which were both in the twenties, I believe, but again in a very normal range. I didn't ask, but will ask at my next appointment whether the good liver panel readings might be circumstantial evidence that the virus is at bay. They've been normal since I started treatment. That the ALT/AST numbers didn't jump during the break is encouraging. How encouraging, I can only wonder.

Bottom line -- I'm back on 6 Riba tabs a day, will take Shot 19 this Sunday, six days after my re-start shot this past Tuesday. By next week I should be back on the Friday night jab routine -- along with Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night jabs for Neupogen and a weekly Wednesday night Procrit thing. I feel like a damned pincushion. I'm having to survey injection sites. "Let's see, when did I last punch the left side of my spare tire..." Actually, I'm kind of scrawny. There's not much spare tire to punch.