Week 17 Fatigue

22 Mar

We have officially passed from Winter into Spring.  Susie and I are enjoying our walks in the neighborhood.  The trees are in bloom.  There are flowers popping out of everywhere, even on our Rosemary plants.  Speaking of which, Susie seems to be getting stronger in her walks.  We walked to Nau’s Enfield Drug without needing to stop on the way there or back.  Granted, we did stop for lunch (and a milkshake).

Susie’s mom came by on Wednesday and Friday.  Susie and her mom baked Pecan Crispies together, a Callahan family recipe.  Susie was able to do the dough preparation, but she did not have the energy to do the actual baking.  The lack of energy/ fatigue she is experiencing is very frustrating for her.  She wants to start projects, but lacks the stamina to finish them.  It is hard for me to tell if the fatigue is physical or brain related, probably a combination of both.  We talked for a good while on Thursday about the baking experience and doing short activities that are self contained or that can be conducted in stages (like making the dough one day and baking the cookies the next day).

Nevertheless, Susie has maintained a positive and humorous attitude through her fatigue.  This morning when I woke her to take pills, she looked at me and said ‘What are you doing?  I was busy sleeping.  I don’t want any pills, I’m trying to sleep to Tuesday.’  After taking her pills, a sip of orange juice and eating a bit of banana, she asked ‘Do you think someone out there is looking for professional sleepers?  I can do that job (in stages too).’

Anyhow, it is time to make coffee and breakfast.  We are looking forward to a nice weekend.  Hope your weekend is filled with smiles.

PS: Susie’s blood counts are largely unchanged from last week.  She is officially done with the Solu Medrol IV Steroids.  She’s only doing once a week immunoglobulin (IVIG).

 

Guy Lipof

Accomplished Engineering Executive with deep consulting and sales expertise in healthcare and life sciences, particularly in oncology, driving business strategy, delivering innovative solutions, and improving patient outcomes. Care partner and advocate for raising awareness about and investment towards Brain Cancer Research, such as Glioblastoma Multiforme and IDH mutant gliomas.