One down, seven to go! Andrew finished his first round of chemo -- now he's going through the after effects. Though he hasn't been vomiting or had any really extreme reactions, he feels generally terrible. Very expected and normal, as his blood counts hit bottom. In a few days he should start feeling better as they build back up again, just in time for round 2! We're doing lots of hand washing and mask wearing as he has no immunities right now. Freaky. The nurses are constantly around, hooking him up to bags of antibiotics.
The docs at WMC (there seem to be so many of them) want to keep him in the hospital for several more days yet, to monitor his liver function as it filters out the chemo. :( Keep your livers in good shape, you all!
So he will have been 4 weeks in the hospital soon -- unbelievable. Not a breath of fresh air in 4 weeks! We're hoping though, that he'll be out soon and have about a week at home before he goes back for the next cycle. He has to be admitted for each cycle for about 4-5 days, as this chemo regimen is very intense -- he needs monitoring and possible blood/platelet support throughout. Kind of a drag, but a small price to pay for a return to health -- we're really learning patience. So our calculations put cycle 2 beginning around the 20th -- that's 4-5 days of infusion, which means the after effects should start around ... let's see ... Christmas. Merry Christmas!
Andrew wanted me to mention that he's sorry he has not been able to look at emails or messages yet. I've been passing along all of the good wishes, but he hasn't been well enough to get on the computer. He really appreciates all of the care and support!
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