Sandy and I went to UCMC Friday to see her oncology doctor, Dr. Yamada. We talked about the clinical trial that Sandy might be able to get into, but Dr. Yamada expressed concern that the neuropathy (burning and tingling) in her feet might bar her from getting into it. Sandy will have a CAT scan this coming Thursday to check for any anomalies. Then, on September 23rd we'll see the doctor again for a progress check.Meanwhile, the doctor told Sandy that she is officially in remission! Sandy was so happy about this that she insisted on another trip to Ghirardelli's Chocolate Shop in downtown Chicago to celebrate.
Ever since the day after Sandy's blood transfusion she has been going virtually nonstop. She goes to work, she cooks, she bakes, she sews, she rides her bike . . . she keeps busy. The burning sensation in her feet has diminished.
I think that, for her, feeling good is the absence of feeling bad. When you don't feel well, you wish you did. Now, when she feels well she appreciates it!
We'll see her doctor in Chicago on Friday. We have questions for her, and . . . based in part on her answers . . . Sandy will decide whether to go into their clinical study. To do so will mean monthly visits to UCMC for a year and it might mean enduring chemotherapy side effects for as long.
Meanwhile, daughter Julie is setting up a law practice in St. Paul while Scot and family are looking at a new home in their near future.
Big decisions for all.
Here's Sandy, in front of Lincoln's temporary tomb in Springfield, IL (He was here six months before being moved to his current site).
(Click to enlarge)
Nurse Connie of the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) called Sandy last Thursday. She told Sandy that her numbers in her most recent hematology results were low. For this reason, Connie suggested that Sandy have a blood transfusion, as she did <once before>.
Connie said that it would be best to have the transfusion as soon as possible. Both Connie and Sandy got on the phone with various medical personnel to make the arrangements. On Friday, the very next day, Sandy and I checked into Riverside Medical Center's Infusion Room, in the C Wing, 4th floor. She received two units of blood over a four-hour time span.
Sandy considers a blood transfusion to be "creepy," but the fact is that she had been tired. After the previous blood transfusion it took roughly fifty hours before she began feeling like her old self again. Today is Sunday, as I write this, so we figure that she'll start feeling better sometime this evening if not before.
Her feet have been feeling as if she's standing on hot coals. Anything to cool them off is a godsend to her right now. Well, this past week we had about 220 rolls of sod put into our back yard and along the east side of the house. New sod requires watering to keep it moist. I had sprinklers on three hoses and a fourth hose with a nozzle. She opened up that nozzle enough to spray a mist and aimed it at her feet to cool them off.
The smile on her face said it all.
