Routine

Today is Day 4 of Cycle 7. It's so strange to have a routine that centers around chemotherapy. It is strange that chemotherapy has become routine. Not easy, not fun, but, to a certain extent, routine. Five days before the cycle starts, Maura gets a shot. Three days out, a different shot. Then it's chemo week: Day 1, another shot. Each day I count off the pre-meds and the chemo that hang on the IV poles. Check. Check. Check. Check. Three days of a pill. Check. Pumps working in the chemo backpack. Check. Check. Two days with the red chemo in the backpack. Check. Four days with the two-liter bag. Check. Another shot on Day 5. Five days of drugs. Checkcheckcheckcheckcheck. CBC on Day 4. Check. Blood work every other day. Check. I chart the results. Check. CT-scans, x-rays, appointments. Check. Check. Check. Heparin nightly in both lines. Check. Check. Dressing change. Check.

Laying Low

It has been a pretty good week. Maura's sisters were in town for the weekend, so they had some good sister time together. She misses them very much.
It's been over a week since the transfusions. Her red blood cell count has stayed high (for her) while her platelets dipped again, but not too much. She has since turned the corner and the platelet count is on it's way up. White cells, too. Therefore, plans have resumed for Chemo Cycle 7. Injections on Wednesday and Friday and Chemo starting on Monday.

More Blood

Platelets. Despite the very new (FDA approved only as of late August) producemoreplatelets injections, Maura's platelets are once again down to transfusion level. So, after being here until about 11:00 last night for red blood cells, we are once again awaiting a transfusion of a different blood product. It's worth it. We don't want her to bleed to death. She has no symptoms, but her level is 8 (normal is at least 140), so she needs to be here.  Pray for the platelet drug to kick in over the next few days and for her levels to come back up on their own so chemo won't be delayed again.

Blood

Since the hurricane, we haven't had internet/cable, so I can't update as often as I might like. Today we've been at the hospital since this morning. Low blood counts meant weekend bloodwork. Hemoglobin of 6.4 (roughly half the normal level for a woman, and the lowest she's ever had)meant transfusion of red blood cells today. Mmm, yum. It takes about five or six hours for the transfusion, once we get in a room.  Still, even with such low blood counts, she is in good spirits, but very tired.