Renee Gentzel

I don’t often drink beer, but when I do, it’s Corona.
Which is why I love all the jokes and memes out there about the coronavirus (with lyme, of course, hah!).

However, I don’t love the ACTUAL coronavirus. It’s particularly concerning now that I’m a part of the ‘vulnerable’ population.

And, just for the record, what’s up with everyone buying all the toilet paper? This is the #2 most-talked-about issue on the colorectal cancer patient forms. One does not want to get between these people and toilet paper. You have no idea how distressing/hilarious the current situation is to patients that require Costco-sized volumes of toilet paper on a regular basis. Many in these communities would consider T.P.’ing a house to be sacrilege.

What’s the #1 issue on these forums currently? Social Isolation. ([*introverts are having internal happy dances everywhere*]). Flatten that curve! We love you all, from the caregivers, neighbors, friends and family, but we don’t want you near us. Literally take a 10-foot pole and stay that distance away from us. We want to be the only ones using up all the hospital resources. And I mean that in the most positive way.

Now for my personal updates (Bridget Jones’s Diary Style):

121 lbs, no alcohol units, platelets below 65k, beginning of chronic neuropathy has started to rear its ugly head (pins, needles and pinching-like feelings of pain)

Chemo Consumed Today: None. Platelets too low. Delayed until next week. As this is the 3rd time we’ve had to delay for low platelets, and since the chronic neuropathy symptoms have begun, we’ll be moving to a 20% reduction in oxaliplatin.

Yesterday. FoxChase. Dr. [H] recommends that we set up a plan for what happens when I finish the 12 rounds of chemo. I need to talk to Dr. [S], my primary oncologist, to get a plan established of whether we will pursue a curative surgery to remove the lymph nodes that used to have cancer (and may still have remnant amounts) or if we will continue chemo past 12 rounds. She’s currently out of town. (Let’s hope she comes back healthy and unstressed.)

All right. That’s about the long and short of it. I hope everyone stays safe, has mountains of toilet paper stocked up, and, after you all make a killing on the stock market from buying cheap stocks, have a cold one on me. A cold Corona, that is. 😉