Three Down! (Mar. 31, 2006)
The next Friday, March 31, found Laurie feeling better than she'd felt at anytime during her chemo treatments. This was probably due to the fact that she got one extra week between treatments because of the last Friday's postponed treatment. Her appointment started early in the morning this time. Jim took her in and after the standard blood draw to check her blood counts, we headed upstairs to see Dr. O'Shaughnessy.
We could tell when Dr. O'Shaughnessy arrived in the exam room that we were going to be able to go ahead with the chemo treatment. The labwork showed perfectly normal bloodcounts and no indication of any infection. It was the shortest appointment we had had up to that time.
We headed down to the infusion lab with Laurie's folks and one of her friends, who had arrived while we were in with Dr. O. The wait was not as long as the last time. Jim had to go back to the Seminary for a meeting, and while he was gone, Laurie and the rest of the crew were called back to the lab.
The only change in Laurie's regimen was a fifty percent reduction in the Benadryl. We hoped Laurie wouldn't be nearly as jittery as her previous treatment and be able to rest more during the actual infusion.
Jim got back about lunchtime. Laurie was much more alert and much less loopy than before. But we still had a couple chuckles. We were just finishing some lunch when the infusion pump alarm went off. Laurie had inadvertantly crimped the IV line and the machine was letting us know that it wasn't working. The alarm must sound a little like one might expect some phone rings to sound. After a few beeps, Laurie, who had dozed a little, perked up and said, "Will someone please answer the phone!" She immediately drifted off again as the nurse fixed the IV. Funny, but she never did ask us who called. :-)
A little later, when the infusion of Taxotere, her first chemo drug, was finished, the alarm again went off, signaling the nurse to come and flush Laurie's system with saline before starting the Cytoxan. Laurie knew this, of course, as demonstrated by her not-so-lucid comment, "The Taxotere is finished, now they're going to flush me." The double entendre was not lost on us as visions of "toilet seat covers" danced through our heads.
The rest of the treatment was uneventful. We got home early that afternoon. Laurie napped a little, but otherwise was feeling great. She had a relaxing evening followed by a good night's rest.
The next morning revealed a Laurie who you'd think had nothing more coursing through her veins than a little glucose. We headed back down to the hospital for another shot of "liquid gold" (I mean Neulasta). It took us longer to walk from the car to the bone marrow lab than it took to get the shot. What a racket! The rest of the day was uneventful.
By Sunday afternoon, Laurie was starting to feel like she expected to feel after a round of chemo. By Monday, she described it as feeling like she'd been run over by a truck. By Tuesday, although a little tired, she managed to get back to the classroom at Scofield. Each day since has been an improvement over the day before. We've decided that we are actually going to get through this!
Three down, one to go! Thanks, again, Lord, for the strength to meet each day!
We could tell when Dr. O'Shaughnessy arrived in the exam room that we were going to be able to go ahead with the chemo treatment. The labwork showed perfectly normal bloodcounts and no indication of any infection. It was the shortest appointment we had had up to that time.
We headed down to the infusion lab with Laurie's folks and one of her friends, who had arrived while we were in with Dr. O. The wait was not as long as the last time. Jim had to go back to the Seminary for a meeting, and while he was gone, Laurie and the rest of the crew were called back to the lab.
The only change in Laurie's regimen was a fifty percent reduction in the Benadryl. We hoped Laurie wouldn't be nearly as jittery as her previous treatment and be able to rest more during the actual infusion.
Jim got back about lunchtime. Laurie was much more alert and much less loopy than before. But we still had a couple chuckles. We were just finishing some lunch when the infusion pump alarm went off. Laurie had inadvertantly crimped the IV line and the machine was letting us know that it wasn't working. The alarm must sound a little like one might expect some phone rings to sound. After a few beeps, Laurie, who had dozed a little, perked up and said, "Will someone please answer the phone!" She immediately drifted off again as the nurse fixed the IV. Funny, but she never did ask us who called. :-)
A little later, when the infusion of Taxotere, her first chemo drug, was finished, the alarm again went off, signaling the nurse to come and flush Laurie's system with saline before starting the Cytoxan. Laurie knew this, of course, as demonstrated by her not-so-lucid comment, "The Taxotere is finished, now they're going to flush me." The double entendre was not lost on us as visions of "toilet seat covers" danced through our heads.
The rest of the treatment was uneventful. We got home early that afternoon. Laurie napped a little, but otherwise was feeling great. She had a relaxing evening followed by a good night's rest.
The next morning revealed a Laurie who you'd think had nothing more coursing through her veins than a little glucose. We headed back down to the hospital for another shot of "liquid gold" (I mean Neulasta). It took us longer to walk from the car to the bone marrow lab than it took to get the shot. What a racket! The rest of the day was uneventful.
By Sunday afternoon, Laurie was starting to feel like she expected to feel after a round of chemo. By Monday, she described it as feeling like she'd been run over by a truck. By Tuesday, although a little tired, she managed to get back to the classroom at Scofield. Each day since has been an improvement over the day before. We've decided that we are actually going to get through this!
Three down, one to go! Thanks, again, Lord, for the strength to meet each day!
posted by Laurie Thames | 2:06 PM
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