tom's blog

quickie chemo

Posted Tue, 10/21/2008 - 22:40 by tom

Today was day 2 of outpatient chemo. This one was just a couple of shots (one was chemo and the other was to counter balance some of the chemo treatments). This entire appointment took less than 10 minutes and I think most of the upcoming appointments should be similarly fast.

Thus far, she's been feeling great. She felt up to going shopping today (and managed to spend a couple bucks). It sounds like her and my mom have spent some time bonding lately. Tomorrow will be a bit of a busy day for everyone. We have a few appointments and then we're bringing TJ back out to Jersey. We're looking forward to seeing him and I think Anna's parents will appreciate the break. Plus, tomorrow's treatment involves the spinal tap type procedure, so I think that one is going to take a little more out of her.

Nothing else major going on with treatments, status, etc. Her hair is starting to come back a little bit. It's kind of like a 5 o'clock shadow, so we'll probably have to re-shave it as it's definitely not going to grow in thick at this point. It definitely is nicer to be writing these from home, rather than the 5300 unit over at St. Barnabas though we do miss Kristin, Christine, Carol, Pam, Bina, Rosemarie, Ginny, and about 20 other nurses.

We heard from Kathleen today and she did great in her race. She sent through a couple pics. I'll try to get them uploaded tomorrow.

outpatient chemo

Posted Mon, 10/20/2008 - 21:59 by tom

Today was the first day of outpatient chemo. Anna and my mom went over there a little before noon and didn't get done until after 5pm. They won't all be this long. Since this was her first time in that office, she had to deal with paperwork, etc. Her normal doctor (Dr. Grossman) is out on vacation, so being in a new place with new people, and having them need to access the port got her a little anxious. When she first arrived, her heart rate was a bit elevated because of the anxiousness, so they ran some tests on that and waited for it to come back down a bit. The chemo today was administered via IV so that will always take a little longer than the shots. She met a bunch of new people and said everyone was wonderful. We now have a schedule for the next 4 weeks or so. It's definitely going to be pretty hectic getting back and forth for a bit.

She didn't sleep much last night, so we're going to shut down a little early tonight and hope for a better night.

nice weekend

Posted Sun, 10/19/2008 - 21:36 by tom

Anna spent last night over at her parents house so that I could get some stuff done around the house this morning. My mom came down today and we went in to Anna's parents for dinner... now, Anna, my mom and I are back out in NJ. Yeah, we're all over the place.

Anna had a good day today and was able to spend some good quality time with TJ. He's been really gentle with her and seems to understand that he can't climb on her. They spent a lot of time watching music videos from Youtube. When we walked in he was dancing up a storm. His current favorite is the Marc Anthony remake of Aguanile (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nx8URjepjo). Somehow I think Anna had a bit of an influence on this one. When the song starts out, he plays the drums on the floor (or anything else), then he transitions into the Salsa dance. After a couple weeks in the Heights, he's definitely working the Spanish influence. Couple more years and we'll see if we have a Cuban lefty pitcher or the Dominican corner outfielder.

The last couple days, Anna has been down to minimal medicines. I think its been over 36 hours since she took pain meds, though probably will take some tonight. We certainly don't want to restrict pain meds, but it's a good indicator as to how she's feeling. For a while it was every two hours, so the fact she's going a while is definitely a good sign. Overall, she's really doing great the past couple of days. Anna has her first outpatient chemo treatment tomorrow and my mom is going to take her and sit over there with her. TJ is staying over at her parent's house just to be out of the way.

Kathleen did great in her race today. I'll try to get more details from her when she is back in NY. I heard through Anna there was something involving hot, sweat, and firemen, but not really sure what that's all about.

When my mom came down, she brought a new batch of gifts from folks Upstate. Thanks to Jackie (from my mom's office) for sending a care package. Thanks to Uncle Mike, Aunt Sue and the kids for the PJs, socks and a card. (note to the boys: Yeah, that Aunt Sue and Uncle Mike from the late night spot). Special thanks to Kellie (my sister) for the beautiful Leukemia bracelet and card.