Monday Afternoon

1. Steve didn't sleep well last night, complaining about being too cold and patient next door making too much noise. He was slightly disoriented this morning. Steve mentioned having two recurring dreams. One has to do with Big Helen coming down to LA. What freeway is she taking? Another one has to do with...I forgot.
2. Steve's lack of appetite continued. He ate 3/4 of a large sesame ball for breakfast, 1/3 of a fruit plate and 1/4 of a bread bun for lunch.
3. PT came around 11, Steve sat up and did some punching in the air. Afterwards, he had normal BM and was exhausted.
4. PT came around 3 pm, Steve stood with the aid of a walker for 20 seconds 3 times. He needs to do three exercises every 2 hours or so. a) toe lift, b) leg slide, c) butt lift.
5. The bloodwork result came this morning. BUN is high and the platelet is low, but hemoglobin is holding at 13.7. The oncologist came to discuss the bloodwork in the afternoon and said everything looked as expected. The high BUN is a result of cancer cells breaking down resulting in high protein and amino acid in the blood stream. The kidney unable to process the excess, hence such high number. The low platelet count is a natural result of chemo therapy and one should not be alarmed until it gets to around the 40s.