2 units

A blood test yesterday showed low blood counts as is normal a week after a dose of chemotherapy. Therefore the same regiment of antibiotics and additional bone marrow shots have been added.  The hemoglobin continued to drop to about 7 so it was time to get a transfusion of 2 of units of  blood. We got to visit another area of the clinic we hadn’t seen before, “Ambulatory Infusion.”  It’s tucked away along with the infectious diseases.  It was an all afternoon affair as Mary Jo had to get her blood typed and tested before she could begin.   The “port”  allows easier access to the bodies circulatory system.  The day was not easy but we got through it.  The hope is that this will help  Mary Jo with the fatigue that is very evident for her right now.

We’re learning a lot about complexities of the body and the complexity of one part of it, the blood. The blood is indeed the River of Life.  It carries oxygen and other nutrients to the whole body and carbon dioxide and other wastes away from it.  It fights off invaders of every kind.  What a hard-working system!  We stand in awe of God’s genius.

Mary Jo felt some better toward the end of last week and enjoyed her food a bit more.  We look forward to the arrival of some family right after Christmas.  The next chemotherapy treatment is scheduled for  December 30.

May any who read this have a blessed Christmas!

Round3

Mary Jo had a pretty good week last week.  She’s been able to do some  decorating for Christmas and has devoted some time to getting out Christmas letters and cards.  We’re grateful for those days.

Monday we went back for round 3 of chemotherapy.  Round 3 because this is an ongoing battle for cure of this breast cancer.  The blood test Monday morning showed that the white cells had rebounded nicely from a very low place a week before.  The red blood cells did not do as well..  They are checking her B12, iron and thyroid levels to see if some medication could help those low level blood counts.  No wonder even a flight of stairs is something of a chore.

After considering a lighter dose of chemo, the cancer doc decided to be aggressive and give her the usual treatment.   They are continuing to find ways to help her body tolerate this dose of chemotherapy.  We moved the next treatment to Wednesday, December 30, which will allow part of our family to join us after Christmas for a few days.

Your continued concern, support and prayers have been a blessing to us.  This is a season of waiting and longing.  Our longing is for wholeness and health.  We are moving in that good direction.

Low counts

Today was the day for a blood test.  The results are back and all the counts are low, lower than three weeks ago.  White cells, hemoglobin, and platelets are lower than they should be.  So it’s back on antibiotics again to shore up the immunity defense, some more days on the shots to stimulate the production of bone marrow cells, and some more isolation.  There’s some talk of changing the chemical dose at next Monday’s chemo appointment.  Apparently what they are giving her is too much for her body to handle.  It’s no wonder she has a great deal of fatigue. She’s also still working on getting the nausea under control.  The last couple of days she’s been able to eat small amounts of food, but everything tastes different which makes eating difficult.  So the journey continues.

Bald IS beautiful

Who knew? Mary Jo had the last of her hair cut off this morning.  Her hairdresser friend came over and took off what remained.  Dave was privileged to be there.  Turns out that Mary Jo really has a nice shaped head.  Dave said he thought it made her look younger, then he had to go and say, like 2 months old.  A few tears were shed all around, but all went well.  Another hairdresser friend came along and touched up the wig that Mary Jo had bought before she started treatment.  She’s got it on and wore it the rest of the day which included a second chemo treatment.  The wig looks really good,  but the bald head also looks really good.  Mary Jo says it felt like a gift of God to have these two with her in this experience.

It seems that the fever Mary Jo has been running finally has come down.  She still has a slight fever, but nothing like it had been.  Today’s been a good day because she feels more human.  Her appetite is some better, though we’re still figuring out what tastes good.  Dave has been fixing small portions of food that sound good to her.

Chemotherapy went without incident today.  She got the same dosage of the chemicals as the last time.  The doctor has increased the dosage of the shots that will help her bone marrow rejuvenate.  So we’re hopeful that these two weeks will be better than the last three.

Mystery

The fever that sent Mary Jo to the ER last week continues to give her trouble.  Add that to continued nausea and this week has not been an easy one. We took another trip to the doctor today and even had the sinuses scanned to see if there might be an infection.  But nothing presents itself, so we all remained mystified.  Mary Jo remains uncomfortable.  The good news is that blood tests today showed that all the various blood cells are in a normal range.  That bodes well for the second chemo treatment on Monday the 30th.

Hair Loss

Today Mary Jo  began losing her hair.  This is a very difficult thing for her because she has always had so much hair!  Thus far, it is coming out many strands at a time but not in clumps.  A friend  who is a hair stylist came today and gave her a very short, pixy cut.  We did Web Cam with our family tonight and we all like it so that’s a good thing!   She will cut it again on Wednesday or Thursday evening and then again on the weekend if need be.  It’s predicted that by the weekend she will have lost all of it.

Most of us care about our appearance.  It’s the way we present ourselves to the world.  It’s interesting though to hear Mary Jo tell her grandchildren that when she loses her hair she’ll still be the same “Nanna” or Grandma.  That won’t change.  She will still be the same Mary Jo that God so wonderously made.

Chemo cancelled

We were set to take our second chemo treatment this morning, but blood counts were too low.  The white blood cells looked great after the bone marrow was  stimulated the last two weeks with medication.  The problem now was the platelets (the blood clotting cells) that were too low to do treatment.  Bone marrow stimulation doesn’t help them.  They need to regenerate on their own. We’ll try again next Monday.

We were close to getting the H1N1 shot for her as well, but she continues to run a low grade fever and is not feeling “up to par”.  So we’ll see later in the week or next Monday where things are at.  

Having this disease requires learning a great deal about the body that we don’t think about or know about.  How intricate and wonderful are the bodies God has given us!   Days of Thanksgiving indeed!

 

Trip to ER

A spike in body temperature sent us to the ER last night.  The low blood counts last Monday suggested extra care be taken with a temperature.  After blood tests, chest x-ray, etc.  things looked normal. They gave her IV fluids, Tylenol for the temp. and sent her home about 11 p.m. The ER doc suggested that the antibiotics started on Monday may have caused the temp.  The good news was that the white blood cells had hit 10,000 (up from 500 on Monday the 16th) which was a good sign.  We’re hoping that with the counts up that the scheduled chemo on Monday might be able to go forward.  

ER folks are a special breed.  A conversation with “Tammy” suggested that God had given her this gift and she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.  Thanks for all the gifts God gives.

Counts down

Mary Jo got her first blood test on Monday.  It was disappointing.  Her blood counts were low enough that they immediately put her on antibiotics and had her continue the injections of neupogen that she’s giving herself to help stimulate the bone marrow. Since she is very vulnerable to other infections, she’s being advised to stay out of public places to avoid the germs that are around us constantly.  That means she’ll probably also take a leave from her work at church for a few weeks in addition to her leave from school.  She feels okay physically, but taking away her participation in music and social interaction is difficult.  The disease effects every part of a person’s life.

Through this Mary Jo reports feeling the presence of God with her in those occasional wakeful hours of the night.  That presence is felt as a sense of calm.  In those times a “Sounds Like Love” anthem goes through her head:  Be Still and Know That I am God.  We are thankful for this gift of peace and calm.

 

Tough week

The days following chemotherapy weren’t easy.  The medical community made a mistake and did not order an important anti-nausea drug that Mary Jo was to take for 2 days after her chemotherapy.  As a result, she found the nausea getting ahead of her for most of the week.  She felt pretty lousy and didn’t want to eat much through Friday morning.  She called the oncology nurse to ask about how to use another anti-nausea pill that had been prescribed to her.  That medication helped so now she is back to enjoying most foods again.  She did go to her rehearsals on Wednesday night, but has a lot of fatigue.  Thursday, she napped in the morning, afternoon, and evening as well as going to bed at the regular time.  

She really appreciates the cards she’s gotten.  The Sunday School classes have been taking turns providing her greetings each week.  She is really enjoying the students creativity.  Phone calls have often been good for this social butterfly. The struggle is to still enjoy this God-given life, while retiring for a time from some of the people contact that energizes her.

We’re thankful for medicines that work.  Where does the inspiration come from that allows for people to come up with these new chemical gifts?  We can only suppose that they too are God’s continuing gift of providing the health that God desires for us.