Pins and Needles

Well, one resolution down the drain – trying to keep up with this blog!!

So without further ado, the latest happenings:

About Chris: The last time I wrote about Chris’s treatment was when he had the allergic reaction to one of his chemo drugs (oxy). After reviewing everything his oncologist decided to not even risk giving him this drug again even with pre-treatment of bendryl – he just felt that the risk of a more severe allergic reaction outweighed the increased effectiveness this chemo drug gave to his other chemo drugs. So, we shall see what happens from here with when he can finish his treatments (still planned for July 17 though). At this point, the very good news is that he has received two more treatments (June 19 and this past Tuesday – July 3). After reviewing all of his blood work – this past Tuesday was very much a surprise too! As of his June 19 treatment his count (has to be above 100 and usually healthy people are in the thousands) was at 105 – so he just tweaked by with getting his treatment in! We were all sure that he wouldn’t meet the minimums for this past treatment, but his blood count was at 107 – again, just tweaked by.

The biggest concern is that his next, and hopefully final, treatment is on his birthday. If he starts having the cumulative effects of receiving three treatments in a row like the nurses are predicting – then he won’t be able to get his last treatment in – and the only reason that throws such a wrench in everything is that Rob and I have been busy planning his surprise birthday party for that evening. I did already talk to all of his nurses and let them know that no matter what – they can’t let Chris leave until 4:15 PM at the earliest that day! They are all in cohorts with me, so hopefully, fingers crossed, it all works out. I do really, really hope that this will truly be his last treatment too – what a wonderful way to celebrate turning 35 then knowing that it is over for now!!!

Other than that – he is hanging in there with the side effects. Unfortunately, he seems to have developed hand and foot disorder (not to be confused with hoof and mouth disease – PC!!). It’s not neuropathy because that’s only attributed to the oxy which he is not taking anymore, but basically the nerves in his feet have deadened so he can no longer feel them. His hands have gone to pins and needles too – so we are just trying to get through this last treatment and as long as this new development doesn’t worsen to an extreme in the next two weeks, well then he will continue through the last treatment on schedule. And, again, hoping and praying that all of the feelings come back and the chemo didn’t forever kill his nerve endings (another fun potential side effect of this particular chemo – permanent nerve damage).

But, the end is in sight – we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and all of those other wonderful clichés that let us know we are almost through this particular journey. I feel like I should do the Scarlet O’Hara-ish scene – standing in the hospital cafeteria in front of Subway with a sandwich in my hand raised to the people working there and crying out – “I swear, I will never eat Subway again, neither me nor my loved ones – WE WILL NEVER EAT SUBWAY AGAIN!!!”

An update for the rest of my life: well, this entry has already gotten very lengthy – so in a nutshell – the Beach Week vacation was fine, nothing extraordinary but nothing too horrible either.

Other than that, I've stayed busy with work, Jaycees, decorating the renovated bathroom, planning Dad R’s surprise 70th birthday party, planning Chris’s surprise 35th birthday party, planning our own vacations, and figuring out when to demo and construct the upstairs bathroom. Monday I go in for my tests and will hopefully have all of the results within the week and can breathe easy, my godfather goes in for surgery on Tuesday (so they won’t be making the party!), and I’m still trying to plan for dinners with friends. That’s about everything in a nutshell!