Lisa, my brother's wife, came along this past Thursday afternoon, and helped liven up the infusion lab! We talked and laughed the entire time. And Lisa was also extremely thoughtful and got mom a nice little snack during chemo.
Here she is in the picture offering mom a yummy orange cracker with peanut butter.
And here is Lisa helping Mom eat the cracker.
I'm not sure if Mom was trying to inhale it or swallow it!
We do get bonus points for increasing mom's calorie intake, just for those that didn't know....and Lisa can be very persuasive!!
Now I think there was some snorting going on. Cracker never did go down. But it was fun trying!
As far as chemo goes, it was an iffy day in chemo land. Mom's blood work dropped dramatically during this last week. Her platelet count was down to 98, the lowest it's ever been. And her oncologist was on vacation, so the PA and nurses had to make the decision on whether to proceed with the Gemzar. They debated for what seemed liked forever.
Low platelets means the chance of bleeding out. Much lower and she would need a transfusion. They eventually decided to go ahead with the Gemzar with the understanding that if mom even bruises she will go to the nearest ER and check herself in. A little concerning to say the least. However, mom was glad to keep the Gemzar going. This is her 3rd week of the cycle and next week is the break. She wants to blast the cancer cells as hard as she can. And even with the low platelet count, she doesn't feel extremely terrible, just somewhat tired.
One other medical note. The PA took another look at mom's ankle, which really hasn't improved much since Tuesday, and decided to send her for a doppler sonogram to rule out a blood clot. Good news -sonogram went great. No blood clot! Yea! But ankle is still swollen and red. Mom figures it's one of those things that just comes with cancer territory. If it's not a clot and it doesn't really bother her, then no sweat. So, we won't sweat it.
But, we are sweating the weather. Our thermometer hit 107 this afternoon. And that's hot! So thankful for air-conditioning. And Dairy Queen!
I'm also thankful that mom hasn't lost her sense of humor. With the swollen ankle and the low platelets, this could have been a depressing day. Mom was pretty confident going in to the sonogram, that the swelling in her ankle was not likely due to a clot. Mainly because her platelets were so low that they're worried she will bleed out (clotting was just not happening!), but the PA wanted to rule it out, just to be on the safe side. We're okay with that. We like to be safe. You know, seatbelts, smoke alarms, deadbolts, bicycle helmets, anything we can do to minimize risk....
Because as mom has found out on this journey, life is full of risks.
Gotta do what you can to play it safe, but know when to take a chance, and then laugh while you can!
Thank you Lisa for bringing the laughter to this day!
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