Conversion

Nadir Period: The time during the chemo cycle when blood cell counts are at their lowest and risk of infection is heightened.

I am not a neat freak, clean freak, or germ-a-phobe. I don’t always wash my hands before I eat or after touching the dog. I don’t scrub my veggies or fruit. My husband is the same. It is a joke between us that Marc will eat anything that passes his smell test even if there is an expired expiration date.

Enter chemotherapy. We are undergoing a conversion. We will be washing hands before and after going to the bathroom. Perhaps we will holster a small bottle of Purell hand sanitizer on one of those retractable key rings on our belt loop along with a mask for extra high risk days. I’ll be washing my hands or using Purell before any contact with my face, eyes, nose or mouth. I am flossing not once but twice a day. I’m going to have someone come in and clean for me so that it actually gets done :-) We’ll be scrubbing veggies and fruits or not eating anything raw. The nurses have said just use common sense. Wash your hands!

Do you remember that line from the old song, “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?” I’m thinking that about my immune system. What a fantastic creation of God. Thank you, Father, for my immune system. Thank you that it protects me when I’m careless about my hygiene and my housecleaning. Thank you for it’s complexity and wonder. Thank you that it points me to you, the Creator, who is complex and wonderful.

Learning to live squeaky clean,

jane