Sandy felt tired on the heels of the blood transfusion, but about 48 hours afterward she said she felt better. She's felt better all week, which is why I haven't written anything here.
We had a great time at the party for Paige, next door, and hanging out with the neighbors. It's a great neighborhood.
Scot and family will likely come by next weekend on their way back from Atlanta. The little kids in the neighborhood are looking forward to seeing Ava again. Scot is doing excellent work in Atlanta and will come back as a flight commander of the C130.
Sandy has chemo this Thursday if her numbers are high enough. The go-no go decision will be made on Wednesday, most likely. Sandy will be in discomfort from the chemo aftermath while Scot and Heidi are here, but having them here is a very positive event for both of us and helps her cope.
Sandy and I went to see her doctor at the University of Chicago Hospital on Wednesday. She learned that she's progressing well, but that the doctor thinks it best to continue with chemotherapy even after these first 6 three-week cycles. This would be to maintain remission. She said we'd come in once a month for a year and that the chemicals given would be different from what she's had in the past. We don't know how long they'll take to administer. We do know that the one chemical she'd be given is a form of Taxol, which in the form she's taking now takes 3 hours to infuse.
The doctor did give the name of this chemical, but neither of us remembers its name.
Chemo for another year is not good news for either of us, but we'll do what must be done.
As to the blood transfusion, the doctor ordered it because Sandy's red blood count is low. She's tired. She went to a local clinic this afternoon for blood typing and cross matching. She'll have the transfusion tomorrow at 9 am and we're told it lasts for hours. However . . . we're also told by those who've had such transfusions that she'll feel a lot better the next day.
That's good, because we have a high school graduation party to go to next door for Paige. It should be fun!
By Saturday afternoon Sandy had told me 3 times that she could hear her heartbeat in her head, that she had a headache, and that she had a "floater" in her right eye. None of these symptoms had shown up after previous chemo days, so I looked at the "When to call the doctor" list provided by the UCMC. Changes in vision, did that qualify? I wasn't sure, but with the rest of her symptoms I suggested she call her doctor.
And so she did. She got the on-call doctor. He heard her symptoms, then said the floater probably wasn't a problem but the complaints involving her head might be. Better to go to the local emergency room to be sure.
We got to the E. R. at the Riverside Medical Center just before 7 pm Saturday and left at 10:40. The doctor had Sandy's blood drawn, did an EKG, performed a CAT scan and an ultrasound of her carotid artery, not to mention take her temp, blood pressure and pulse.
Result? No weakening of vessel walls inside her head, no indication in any of the tests of problems. Was it a waste of time? Maybe, but we did find out that . . . under the circumstances . . . she's in decent shape!
Otherwise, for Sandy, yesterday and today were days on the couch doing nothing, which suited her just fine.
Our granddaughter Reese became a professional model on Friday at the tender age of just over 5 months! I might be exaggerating, but I'm not THAT far off! You can read all about it at <this link>.
Sandy was told yesterday that her work hours are being cut from 40 down to 29 a week. Not good news. We got a call from nurse Connie that chemo is on for today, Thursday, June 11th. Good news.Here we are, at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Infusion North, room 16. It's 10:45 am and Sandy is about one third of the way through her first chemical, paclitaxel. Sandy is playing on her Nintendo DS Lite. Connie came around and lent Sandy her copy of Touchmaster 2 for the day. Sandy is finding out that it's easier to rack up a high score in bowling with Nintendo Wii than it is on the DS Lite. So now she's playing solitaire: "Sometimes I like to play a game I can win!"
Flowers Sandy kept from Terry's funeral: 
With regard to Terry's passing, I would like to thank all of you who were so thoughtful in sending cards, good wishes and prayers Sandy's way. They meant a lot to her. I'd also like to thank those of you who were able to attend Terry's funeral for your support. Believe me, it meant more than you know to both of us.With regard to the progress of Sandy's treatment, her ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Count) was 3386 as of June 2nd, well above the 1500 minimum needed. The best news of all is that her hematology results showed her CA-125 score to be 33, which is within normal standards for the first time since before her surgery in February.Her June 3rd results showed her platelet count had gone up only 3,000 units per cubic millimeter, from 68 to 71, which is too low to permit chemotherapy if the postponement last week is any guide. Could this mean another delay this week?
We don't know yet. Sandy had her blood drawn again today at noon, so we'll know by sometime tomorrow when nurse Connie calls if Sandy's going in for Chemo Day 4 on Thursday.
The funeral is over and Sandy is back to work. Events on the day of the funeral went generally as planned, but was overshadowed for some of us near the end of activities by a blatant and spiteful show of disrespect toward an old woman in the family. When asked why they did this, the individual refused to give an answer. This individual might well be a good person for the most part, but treating an elderly person whom they will likely never see again with such disrespect adds to the sadness of the day. I understand that this act of disrespect is not who this person is, but it is what they will be remembered for by those of us who are aware of it.
Chemo Day 4 for Sandy is this Thursday, assuming that her blood work leading up to it meets minimum standards for chemotherapy. I believe she's not looking forward to the aftereffects of the chemo but would not want to delay it, either. We want her to be done with the chemo and all of its attendant appointments so that she can get on with a normal life, even while realizing that the odds of permanent remission of the cancer are near zero.
For more information about Terry, go to <this site.>
Sandy's chemo was postponed a week because her platelet count is below minimums. We expect to receive four syringes of <Neulasta> tomorrow for when her white blood count is low. It was intended to be administered on Friday if she had gone to Chemo Day 4 tomorrow, but it is not to be. So we'll store the syringes until they're needed. A neighbor across the street from us is a retired surgical nurse with 30 or more years of experience, so when the time comes for this injection, she'll be the one to administer it.
My former spouse Diane also has cancer but her hair is growing back, so she kindly offered to send Sandy her hats. We got two packages in the mail today from Diane, so Sandy had to try on one of the hats and display a couple of the others:
We got Sandy's car back yesterday evening. In its electrical system the regulator had failed and the alternator needed new bearings. Once done, it runs fine.
Chemo Day 4 was scheduled for tomorrow, but Sandy called home to tell me it's been postponed until June 11th. This will throw all scheduled appointments back one week for the duration, so we'll have to juggle other events that are not medically related. I have yet to learn why chemo day was postponed, but when I find out I'll post it here.
Sandy's ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Count) needs to be at a minimum of 1,500 for chemo to be administered. Her ANC as of last night is 3,000, high enough to permit chemo. Her platelet count is 68 but the nurse wants it at 100 minimum.
Meanwhile, the obituary of Sandy's brother Terry is in tonights local paper:
(Click to enlarge)
