As if I needed the reminder …

Medical Updates 2 Minutes

As if I needed the reminder that I’m not as healthy now as before cancer, a unknown bug landed me in the hospital with sepsis a few weeks ago, the week Hurricane Ian hit Florida to be exact and I’ve been really sick since then. We are pretty sure that one of the two germ factories who live in my house (also known as my children) brought something home and my body just couldn’t handle it. No one else was sick, of course.

Sepsis does sound pretty scary, especially since it’s often discussed as a cause of death; at the same time, it simply means that an infection has gotten into the blood. It took quite a few bags of IV antibiotics, some broader than others, to get whatever was going on under control. I’m still testing negative for all of the bacterial infections and viruses that are the most likely. My team has told me that we may never know the cause of this illness and that’s not uncommon in the normal human experience outside of cancer. We think that the inflammation caused by Xeloda created some fertile ground for an opportunistic bug and that might mean we will make some treatment adjustments.

I’m so thankful for my husband who held down the fort at home during the hurricane, my parents, who supported us through the ordeal with my mom coming and staying with me at the hospital, and for so many of you who have been checking in on me regularly. I know how scary it is when people with cancer or another serious illness go quiet on social media; it’s never good news when this happens. While I am sorry for any consternation I caused by my silence, it is good to know that people notice. 😉

And perhaps this is a good time to suggest to anyone who might be listening that it’s never a bother to check on someone who changes their posting habits. You might not get a response right away (I’m still wading through some of the messages); at the same time, it makes a significant impact on the person struggling that someone took the time to reach out.

For now, I’m on the mend and back on the cancer medication, Xeloda. I had to take a break while my body healed, which is always a reason for concern with these pesky cancer cells that like to grow and proliferate. Hopeful that my scan coming up on 11/04 will be further confirmation that this medication is working, but as we all know in this experience of Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC), we never know for sure.

And now I’ll get back to updating drafts so that postings are regular again …

Published by Abigail Johnston

I'm a daughter, a wife, a mother, and I've been living with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer since March, 2017. All of the words I publish are my own.

Published

20 thoughts on “As if I needed the reminder …”

  1. So good to hear from you and you hear you are on the mend. Our bodies like to keep us on our toes. Sending you healing prayers.

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  4. Don’t worry about anyone but yourself right now. Just get well! Praying for quick recovery. And that your scan will be negative for any new cancer. Scanxiety is a real concern and real feeling. 🤗🤗

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  5. Glad to hear that things are getting better’. I, too, have been severely under the weather with a non=stop cough and cold which I think I picked up; from my granddaughter who just started kindergarten. I thought it was better, but it came back. Bad enough to endure once, but twice?? And Xeloda did nothing for the cancer, but gave me a numb lip and chin. Could it have opened me up for this respiratory infection?

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  10. Glad you’re doing better! I disappeared myself for a bit and my WordPress was acting up, so it wasn’t until I regained access to that and the Book face, that I caught up. Glad you’re out of health jail, and back to being with your family. ❤️

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  11. Good grief, Abigail! I’d no idea. Well, let’s trust that this will be an instance of “that which doesn’t break us makes us stronger.” I hope you’re fully on the mend–and that November 4 will bring news of stability or better. As for your kiddies, I once heard an elementary school nurse referring to her charges as “walking Petri dishes.” All good wishes.

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