tom's blog

blood transfusion and chemo

Anna had a long day today. I think she was up before 6am and at the hospital for about 6+ hours. The blood transfusion takes a while. They had to get her prepped, then pre-meds, then the actual transfusion itself takes quite a few hours. It doesn't sound like the procedure is difficult physically, but she is confined to the bed for quite a few hours. They also did a chemo shot while she was over there, but that part is pretty quick.

She looked a little extra tired tonight when I saw her, but she said she still felt pretty good. I think it was just a long day and a good night's sleep will help her quite a bit.

We are all over at her parents place tonight and I got to spend some time with TJ before he went to sleep. He runs around this place like he owns it.

Big thanks to Kathleen who has been helping out with the transportation.

moving along

outpatient chemo went well today. tomorrow she is set for another round of chemo and will also get a blood transfusion. some of her counts are a little low, so they want to do a transfusion tomorrow. they had mentioned that this was a possibility as the stuff last week really affects your counts. this is definitely nothing to be alarmed about, just all part of the way chemo kicks your butt before it makes you better.

that's it for tonight. will try to write more tomorrow.

great weekend

We had a great weekend. We spent Saturday out at our house and then I drove her into the city this morning. She'll spend the week over at her mom's house along with TJ, and then head back out this way next weekend. I'll probably spend a couple nights at her parent's house as well, as it'll cut down on the commute and it'll be good to see Anna, TJ and her parents.

No major medical stuff this weekend. She's continuing with her normal pills and is feeling great. A few times this weekend, she made a point to let me know how good she is feeling. I can notice it as well in her movements, activities and in her voice. She doesn't sound weak or anything like that. She moves a little slow, but much better than she had been moving. She still gets a little tired, but these days is spending the majority of time out of bed.... most of it is still sitting on the couch or something similar, but it sure beats being stuck in a hospital bed.

I came home this afternoon and was able to watch the entire Steelers/Giants game in my living room. I think it's the first game all season that I was able to see in its entirety (though I did DVR it and started watching about an hour late, but caught up by the end of the game). Still not quite the same as no one else was here, but there are more and more things that are going back to normal... and that's a good thing.

She has a pretty busy week with 4 days of outpatient chemo this week. Our friend Kathleen (the one who runs marathons) has volunteered to drive her back and forth, which is fantastic as it really helps a lot. Kathleen also stopped by this weekend and spent some time with us. It was great to see her and hear her stories about the work she has done for LLS.

Steelers lost. Jets won. Ohio State lost. Sorry Kristin.