 | 10/1 - No update yesterday. Virginia was so happy
to get a night home that she forgot. Well, there was that little
matter of company in town to go and see Randi in her school play, "Into
the Woods." My Dad and sister, my aunt Ruby and Virginia's
sister Kathy and her husband were in town to see the play. Jeri's
still hoping to see it on Monday when they have the last performance.
Now for the report for today. The new roadmap
#3 has been added to the list. The drugs are Etoposide
and Ifosfamide. Thought I
better get them listed for those of you that are interested in such
things. Jeri woke up this morning ready to begin negotiating an early
release. We had been told that she had to hydrate for 24 hours after
the last dose of chemo. She had it at about 6:30pm on Saturday
evening. She managed to negotiate for 5pm if she would promise to
drink plenty of water when she got home. Waiting was tough. We
took the wheelchair and IV tower and went for a walk. Then Jeri had to
sit through a Dallas Cowboy game on TV. She made me take her back out
for a walk at halftime. About 10 minutes until 5pm she called to see
if the release was in progress. It was. We left right on time
and got home around 6pm. She was so happy. She has been drinking
water as she had promised. She also ate most of a rack of BBQ ribs for
supper. Guess that's proof she's glad to be home. |
| 10/2 - Jeri is just so glad to be home and we are all
so glad for her. She decided this morning that some fresh air was in
order and Charlie, Brit's dad, wheeled her over to the tennis courts where
she watched my league match. I lost but she just enjoyed being
out. It really tired her out though. We went to see Randi's play
tonight and Jeri could only make it through the first act. The
combination of post-chemo fatigue and queasiness was just too much for
her. She has decided that the stairs are just too big an obstacle
tonight so she will be sleeping downstairs with me since Brit is in
Bartlesville this week. Tomorrow she will begin her schooling and
physical therapy again. That may be all that she is able to handle! |
| 10/3 - Well, Jeri made it through her schooling this
morning but there wasn't much energy left for physical therapy. She is
extremely fatigued and says that it feels like her bones hurt. The
first week after chemo is always difficult and this week is proving to be no
exception. |
| 10/4 - Jeri was glad that nothing was scheduled for
today...no school or PT or anything else. She just took life easy and
then worked on homework (after being reminded...once a teenager...).
Tomorrow she has school so she has to be ready. |
| 10/5 - Jeri did well at school this morning. She
continues to progress when she's up to the task. Now that she's in
between treatments, there should be more time. The physical therapy
took a bit of a backseat while Jeri was in the hospital. She has some
catching up to do. It's just not the same to exercise while in
bed. She's working at it though. I'll be a better drill sergeant
now. I had thought she was still restricted on the weight she could
put on her leg. I must have missed when Dr.
Johnson said that she could bear weight as she was able. Now that
I'm back in Houston, I can "help" her along. She's really
looking forward to that. |
| 10/6 - Jeri slept in her own bed last night for the
first time since coming home from the hospital. Today was a school
holiday (as is Monday) so Randi took Jeri to the mall early this
morning. School holidays don't mean much to Jeri today. She's
been working on her schoolwork off and on during the day. She had
physical therapy this afternoon and is working on straightening her leg and
walking. She's almost got her leg back as straight as it was when she
went into the hospital. The walking is coming along slowly.
She's using a walker but doesn't have enough stamina to do very much.
We'll be working on that. The door to the microwave was stuck so Jeri
and Virginia thought that would be a good reason to go out to eat.
Jeri's about to run out of time before her blood counts are too low to go
out. We went to Los Cuco's. It's a local restaurant just north
of our house. I couldn't find a web link so I'll give the
review. It's Tex-Mex, noisy, too long a wait, inexpensive, not enough
parking and good enough food that people pack the place almost every night. |
| 10/7 - Today was pretty quiet. The cold front
came through so it's finally feeling like fall. Jeri celebrated by
sleeping in. She went up and down the stairs 3 or 4 times today so
she's obviously starting to feel stronger. |
| 10/8 - It was a cool and wet day. Just right for
staying inside the house, which is what Jeri was going to do anyway since
her blood counts are falling. She spent time studying, doing a bit of
physical therapy and watching a movie with one of her friends. If that
sounds like she was looking for a way to avoid football and baseball
playoffs on TV, it's because she was. |
| 10/9 - More of the same today. Studying and
physical therapy. Jeri goes to the clinic tomorrow to check on the
blood counts. |
| 10/10 - Jeri had her usual day at the clinic
today.....start early and stay late. She went in for blood counts and
was hoping to leave early. It didn't work out that way. Her
platelets were low and required replenishment. That just takes
time. However, Virginia and Jeri are seasoned veterans at this sort of
thing. They knew that it would take a while to get the platelets
delivered. There was only one thing to do. Go to lunch.
They decided to try McCormick
& Schmick's for a bit of upscale seafood. They said it was
excellent. Here are the counts:
|
Category (see
link for definitions)
|
Normal |
Adequate / Acceptable |
Jeri |
| Hemoglobin |
12 |
8 |
7.4 |
| Platelets |
250,000 |
100,000 |
21,000 |
| White Cells |
4, 000 - 10,000 |
4,000 |
7,000 |
| ANC (Absolute Neutrophil
Count) |
1,500-5,000 |
1,000 |
8,100 |
|
| 10/11 - This was another busy day for Jeri. She
had physical therapy this morning and school at home this afternoon.
She has some catching up to do after the few weeks in the hospital.
Both went well. Since Brit is in Bartlesville overnight, it is Virg's
job to remind Jeri to get up and practice her walking every little while (I
say remind...Jeri says nag.) Jeri feels better each day. |
| 10/12 - We never did receive the blood counts
today. The samples were taken by the home health care service.
Some of them must be down because Jeri's been fatigued most of the
day. She did her best to work on walking several times and do some
schoolwork Home health care took blood & we should receive the
counts in the morning. That way we'll know if Jeri needs more
platelets, whole blood or needs to continue the G-CSF
shots. Oh yeah, somehow she figured a way to come up with some new
shoes. I guess that retail therapy is sometimes needed to jumpstart
the other kinds of therapy. |
| 10/13 - No counts today. Virginia called the
clinic this morning to check on the counts. We received some numbers
but they sounded a bit strange. Later in the day, I received a call
from someone at the clinic telling me that the blood sample spoiled before
it made it to the lab and that a new sample would be drawn. I
mentioned that we had received count information in the morning that sounded
strange. The caller said that she would check the records and visit
with the on call doctor. Meanwhile, the home health care people had
been called and I would soon learn, were on their way. Virginia and
Jeri were at physical therapy during this time. Luckily, they made it
home before 5pm. Virg was able to contact someone at the clinic and
follow-up on the story. It turns out that the counts we received this
morning were taken a week ago but just entered into the TCH
computer today. The home health care person arrived a couple of hours
later and took new blood samples. We'll try again in the
morning. Virginia was a bit disappointed since she had tried to
arrange today around Jeri possibly needing a transfusion of some type.
Oh well, we'll adapt and adjust as usual. Kudos' go to the person at
the clinic, who's name I can't remember, that followed up on yesterday's
blood test and found out that it needed to be done again. She kept us
from getting bad information. We'll be particularly grateful if Jeri
needs a transfusion of some type. Late addition - No trip for a
transfusion tomorrow. Here are the counts:
|
Category (see
link for definitions)
|
Normal |
Adequate / Acceptable |
Jeri |
| Hemoglobin |
12 |
8 |
7.1 |
| Platelets |
250,000 |
100,000 |
64,000 |
| White Cells |
4, 000 - 10,000 |
4,000 |
1,800 |
| ANC (Absolute Neutrophil
Count) |
1,500-5,000 |
1,000 |
Not given |
|
| 10/14 - Today started badly for Jeri and it hasn't
gotten much better. She didn't sleep well last night. She was
exhausted by the time she made it down the stairs this morning. Energy
has been lacking all day. Perhaps she should have received platelets
or whole blood yesterday. She'll probably go to bed early tonight.
Maybe she will sleep better and feel better tomorrow. |
| 10/15 - Jeri felt better than yesterday but still a
long way from good. She managed to get some school work done but not
any physical therapy. I'm anxiously awaiting tomorrow's CT-scan.
Jeri hasn't said much nor has Virg. It will probably be late in the
evening before we get the results so it's no point in anyone calling ahead
of time. I'll post the information as soon as we find out. It
could be Tuesday before we get the results. |
| 10/16 - Jeri and Virg went to the clinic around
noon. They had to do lunch at a new place before they could go to the
medical center. They went to Epicure
French Bakery and Tea Room. (They gave it "thumbs up"
except for the black currant tea.) Then it was on to the clinic for
the blood test and CT-scan. The
blood test was first. Jeri's counts are improving a bit but she still
needed whole blood. The CT-scan
was the big event of the day. We are awaiting the results to find out
if Jeri's last chemo treatment was effective. We didn't hear this
evening so we are hoping to hear something tomorrow. Next it was on to
the infusion room at the clinic where Jeri received 2 units of whole
blood. Hopefully, that will help her to feel better than she did this
past weekend. Here are today's counts:
|
Category (see
link for definitions)
|
Normal |
Adequate / Acceptable |
Jeri |
| Hemoglobin |
12 |
8 |
6.9 |
| Platelets |
250,000 |
100,000 |
41,000 |
| White Cells |
4, 000 - 10,000 |
4,000 |
6,900 |
| ANC (Absolute Neutrophil
Count) |
1,500-5,000 |
1,000 |
5,500 |
|
| 10/17 - No word on Monday's CT-scan
as of this evening. Guess we'll wait another day and look forward to
news tomorrow. Jeri had a good day today. She's been feeling
much better since receiving the blood transfusion on Monday. She had a
strong session in physical therapy. She's spent time preparing for
school tomorrow. Randi and Jeri went out this evening (white counts
are good) to get some frozen custard and do a bit of light shopping. |
| 10/18 - Still no news on the CT-scan.
Dr. Murali is back in town so we'll
be hearing soon. He needs a chance to look at the results and consult
with others. We'll hear from him tomorrow or I'll camp out at his
front door.............. Jeri had school today. Sounds like the
Biology and Geometry went well. Tomorrow brings Geography and
English. Jeri said she's feeling better than she has in quite a
while. Hooray to that. Didn't get a chance to see the show but
I've had a chance to check out the web site for the PBS show called Critical
Condition. Interesting stuff. Wish I had seen the
show. It's about the state of healthcare in our country. Some of
the narrative sounds familiar. Other parts make me glad that we have a
good insurance plan and excellent healthcare providers. The show title
is linked for anyone that is interested. |
| 10/19 -
Dr. Murali came through this
morning. He called to say that the preliminary report from last
Monday's CT-scan showed
improvement. He was cautiously optimistic and went on to say that he
and one of his colleagues would review the results with the
radiologist. That was good news. We hope that his review reveals
that the news is, in fact, positive. Meanwhile, Jeri's counts are
improving. She gets to discontinue the G-CSF
shots which is a relief to both Jeri and her mother. Here are the
counts:
|
Category (see
link for definitions)
|
Normal |
Adequate / Acceptable |
Jeri |
| Hemoglobin |
12 |
8 |
10.2 |
| Platelets |
250,000 |
100,000 |
37,000 |
| White Cells |
4, 000 - 10,000 |
4,000 |
14,400 |
| ANC (Absolute Neutrophil
Count) |
1,500-5,000 |
1,000 |
12,800 |
|
| 10/20 - Jeri managed to convince her mother to try
Mongolian food today. She said it was successful. Nothing like
variety. Something tells me that Jeri stayed away from the hot
stuff. They had their fingernails done after lunch. That's been
a rarity for Jeri. She doesn't have nail polish when in the
hospital. The nurses sometimes press her fingernails to check her
blood flow. After all that, it was physical therapy. Jeri has now
increased her repetitions to pre-surgery levels. That's progress for
which she should be proud. Now it's on to pre-diagnosis levels.
I missed the highlight of the day. Dr. Murali
called before I got home from work but after Virginia left for a tennis
tournament. Randi was doing homework so Jeri took the call. Dr. Murali
confirmed that the CT-scan definitely
showed improvement. More details are available in the "I Need a
Stiff Drink" section. |
| 10/21 - Today was a quiet day...lots of tv watching
and taking it easy for Jeri. We went out to Willie's Icehouse for an
early supper in order to get back to the house in time for game 1 of the
World Series. Jeri declined to watch the game and headed upstairs for
a rousing match of Mario tennis with Randi and her boyfriend, Chris.
It sounded like some spirited competition complete with screams and groans. |
| 10/22 - Sunday was a quiet day at the Parker
house. Jeri was up and down the stairs more than once. She's
spending quiet time this evening with schoolwork. |
| 10/23 - If Dr. Murali
has his way and the blood counts
cooperate, this will be Jeri's last day of freedom this week. Virg and
Jeri head to the clinic tomorrow for blood labs and an exam. If the
counts are high enough, Jeri will be admitted for her next chemo. Jeri
was supposed to have school lessons today but her teacher was ill. Instead,
Virg and Jeri went to the movies to see Bedazzled. It was cute. |
| 10/24 - Well, the blood counts were very good today
and Jeri got the ok for admission for her next chemo. Since a room was
not yet available, Virg and Jeri went to lunch (fajitas at Lupe
Tortilla's....mmmmm).
After lunch, since the hospital hadn't called yet, we decided to just go
back home and wait for the call. We are trying to save some of our
retail therapy for Christmas. It is now 5:30 and the hospital still
hasn't called. It could be a late night. (Editor's
note: they called & Jeri was admitted.) |
| 10/25 - Jeri started her chemo this morning. In
between the infusion of the two different chemo's, Jeri and Mom were allowed
to leave the room room and go out to lunch. Since Jeri was still
hooked up to the IV fluids, mom pushed Jeri in the wheelchair and Jeri
pushed the tower holding all the fluids. They went two blocks down the
street from the hospital to the Rotary
House. Jeri enjoyed being out
of the room and in the sunshine. She snoozed for the rest of the
day. |
| 10/26 - The adventure of the day was changing rooms at
TCH. Jeri was in a room with the
advanced monitoring equipment which she really didn't need but another
patient did. Virginia and Jeri moved to another room without the
equipment. They said the view wasn't any better. It's quite an
exercise. We're such veterans now that there are lot's of things we
have learned to take, such as a cordless telephone, remote control for the
TV (in case they've lost theirs), pillows, Jeri's blanket, and on and
on. Might as well be as comfortable as possible. Jeri continued
with the Etoposide (VP16)
and Ifosfamide as per the current
roadmap. She was able to eat
again today. These drugs don't cause as severe nausea as the previous
ones. |
| 10/27 - Today, Jeri continued with day 3 of her
chemo. I (Virg) left the hospital at 8 this morning to play
tennis. Charlie (Brit's dad) took over. Brit took over at noon
after he finished a meeting at work. Meanwhile, Jeri sweet talked her
grandpa into getting her some of the political teenie
beanies from the
McDonalds downstairs at the hospital. Then, she sweet talked her dad
into bringing some Pappasito's
nachos to the hospital with him. She ate
them all. We are just glad that she still has an appetite. Brit
is spending the night tonight. I am sure they are already negotiating
which college games he will be able to watch on the TV in the room
tomorrow. Jeri and Brit are two tough negotiators and I am glad to be
out of that particular debate. |
| 10/28 - The doctors said that Jeri could leave
today once the last treatment was complete. Jeri had understood that
the last cycle of Ifosfamide was
scheduled for noon and would be followed by 6 hours of hydration. Then
she could go. It almost went that way, but not quite. First, let
me say that Jeri agreed that we needed to watch the Oklahoma
vs. Nebraska football game. How
often do 1 and 2 in the BCS poll play, except for the championship
game. But I digress.........it turned out to be the last cycle of Ifosfamide
followed by 3 cycles of Mesna.
Each cycle of Mesna was 3 hours apart,
beginning 3 hours after the Ifosfamide.
That's 9-10 hours, not 6. Anyway, Jeri didn't get started on the chemo
due to a small problem with her central
line. It wouldn't draw blood so the
TPN had to come and do a bit of work. The chemo started around
1-1:30pm. Everything went pretty routine after that. We were
able to leave the hospital around 11:40 and were home by 12:30am. (Our
clocks hadn't been moved yet.) |
| 10/29 - Jeri was glad to be home and we were glad to
have her home. Last night was a late one but it ended at home.
Jeri felt strong enough to go upstairs and sleep in her own bed. She
ate well at breakfast this morning. She also ate well this
evening. I've been nagging her to drink enough fluids. That was
part of the deal for letting her come home early. She has to keep up
the fluids to clear the Ifosfamide
and Mesna out of her system.
She's managed to drink but not without a bit of reminding. |
| 10/30 - The witching hour was a day early for
Jeri. The chicken noodle soup we had for last night's dinner didn't
agree with her. She woke up in the middle of the night with nausea and
diarrhea. That's a deadly combination in the middle of the
night! She had fought off the nausea so well in the hospital. I
guess it just can't be called chemotherapy without a bout of nausea.
She's sworn off poultry until her blood counts are strong again. It's
not the first time that chicken products have given her trouble right after
chemo. Other than that, the day has gone reasonably well. She
had a slight fever this morning but that served as an incentive to drink
plenty of fluids. It came right down once she drank plenty of
water. The only other issue is that she tires easily which is also
normal right after chemo. |
| 10/31 - That post chemo weakness has definitely set
in. Most everything was a struggle for Jeri today. Nevertheless,
she had school and physical therapy. She did her best but tired
easily. Jeri was hoping to dress up and help give out candy this
evening but she was just too tired. Randi covered for both of them. |
