Sicker and Good news for once

I woke up this morning and immediately started coughing up colorful stuff. I knew that I needed to see a doctor since there’s no way I was going to make it to work. Over here, if you’re sick, you can usually call in sick one day, but anything after that you need to see a doctor if you need to stay home longer. In order to see a doctor the same day, you have to call the clinic starting at 7am for a “sick call” appointment. I started calling the clinic at the Pentagon right at 7am, but a recording said they were still closed. I called back every three minutes or so until they answered the phone at 7:20. The only latest appointment they had was at 8:10! That was less than an hour away!! I had to rush into the bathroom and brush my teeth, jump into some clothes and get on the metro ASAP. I didn’t have to wait long for either of my two trains and I made it to the Pentagon and through security by 7:55. I walked briskly (no small feat at the Pentagon) to the clinic and made it there by 8:05 – just in time!

Because I was coughing and stuff, I had to wear a mask over my nose and mouth to prevent the spread of my germs. It was a little embarrassing - people kept looking at me like I was some kind of freak. But when the doctor called me back, he thanked me for thinking about everyone else by using a mask. The doctor had a chest x-ray done just to make sure I did not have pneumonia – I don’t. He figured that I just have a very bad upper respiratory infection brought on by a nasty virus and assigned me to quarters for 48 hours – which means I can’t go back to work until Thursday – unless I still feel bad. I got some more meds mainly for my cough and got home around 11am. I’m looking forward to seeing how my nighttime cough medicine works tonight!

Now for some good news regarding a cancer fight! Around the time that we went to St. Louis for Matt and Julie’s wedding, I told you about Matt’s mom, Sandy, who is fighting breast cancer. She’s responding to the treatments and is doing pretty darn well. Here’s an update that Sandy’s husband, Mike sent me last week:

Hello all - I am once again the guest writer for tonight. Don't be surprised if you get an update within the update from San if she is feeling up to it later. Today was a good day, of course, everything is relative. We went to see the oncologist and she was thrilled with the response we are getting from this new drug/radiation combination. The small tumors are almost gone, the bigger ones are smaller and no new ones are appearing. It looks like our plan to cook Sandy twice a day while feeding her poison both daily and weekly is working. Whoo-hoo!

Sandy is on week two of her oral chemo. That is the on two weeks off one week chemo. She received her second dose of the IV chemo today. This is probably the last one of those for a while though, because her blood count is dropping to the point that she probably won't be able to tolerate the drug next Monday. The plan will be to check her blood count next Monday. If it is too low (as expected), then they will give her a shot each day for three days to build her blood count up. They can't give her any of these shots if she is on the oral chemo, so next week works fine because it is her off week. Then, after the three shots, they hope to be able to give her the intravenous chemo on Thursday the 16th. That should be about the time her radiation is wrapping up assuming they keep the 2 a days going. Sandy sees the radiology oncologist tomorrow to verify that. Then, the oncologist will probably change the drug sequence - oral chemo on a week off a week and the intravenous chemo every other week or every third week in bigger doses. We will have to wait to see how things look and how Sandy's blood counts are after next week. All in all, a pretty good report for someone who is being tortured. I am not as good as San with the other stuff. I think everyone else is still fine. Thank you all for the prayers and please keep it up. Love, Mike

PS---Now you see why I have to take Mike w/me to keep straight what the docs tell me. OMG! I'm still very tired & for the most part go to the cancer center, come home, sleep & go back. Once in awhile Mike feeds me & I shower :) That's it for me. Please keep praying. We're making headway :) PTL Love, S

Sandy is doing remarkably well after hearing that the cancer was getting aggressive a few weeks ago. It looks like the doctors have figured out what cocktails are working for her. I’ll post more entries from Sandy and Mike when I get them. Please keep praying for them! They really need it.