5/23/10

A wonderful day! Pat woke full of P&V. There was the usual Sunday morning drill - Pat did her usual twice around the Santa Margarita Lake with Lauren in tow. After the usual breakfast with the usual suspects it was home and a stretch out for Pat, while I took Lauren to John Wayne. I returned from the airport. in time to pick up Pat and friends to go to the lake for a concert by the South Coast Symphony. There were three singers doing show tunes. Valerie Perri, sang and was a kind of master of ceremonies. She was great in every capacity. For more details - http://lakemissionviejo.org/03noticia/2010/may10.pdf -. And the weather, turning its nose up at the forecast, was beautiful. I can’t say enough about the music and the performances - top notch!. Afterwards we went to Hatam’s for dinner with our friends. We had a blast made even more fun by a bunch of young folks assembling to celebrate a graduation. Now I type as we make preparations for the third chemo session. It is becoming routine. Well leave here at 7:00 am. I’ll drop Pat at the cancer center and park the car. If the vampire gets there on time, Pat should have her blood drawn at just about the time I get there from the garage. Then we’ll walk over to The Block for breakfast at the Corner Bakery. This time we‘ll neither ask for, or listen to, advice about where to breakfast. A walk back to the Hospital at 9:00 and the third chemo session will begin. Now it’s time to pack it in for the evening. To be continued……

5/24 10:45

The morning drill went as anticipated. The parade of “stuff” has begun winding its way to work, although not whistling like the 7 dwarfs. We tried the Corner Bakery this morning, and decided that it will be Starbucks in 2 weeks. Pat likes the Yogurt parfait there better, at least until we have sampled it at the Block location. The doc noted that the hemoglobin was, as expected, down somewhat. I guess that you have noticed that I have chosen to retain only the glamour shot.

1:20

Another entry before we call it a day. The update would have been posted this morning if I could have established the wifi connection here. I won ‘t go into the gruesome details, but the time has been spent trying all sorts of things, including multiple trips to other parts of the hospital. This time stamp just indicates that I have given up posting from here. Well not exactly. I‘ll give it another try at 3:00.

9:30

Home again with no need to WIFI. You can guess that 3:00 didn't work out. So I'll a chance to finish off the day before retiring. We were released at about 4:30 and you can tell that Patsy did very well because we stopped at COSTCO for a few things and she was pushing the cart around while I gassed up. She made dinner, a prepared chicken marsala from Trader Joe's that she had stocked for just this purpose. We have had to defer enjoying the marvelous stuff youse guys prepare for us, to make sure the bought food is consumed before it expires. Pat is catching up on her programs as I close out our day. Let me do the latter by telling you how much your caring, love, and goodies do to keep the time from getting heavy. Thank you for carrying so much of our weight.

A pattern seemed to have evolved. Generally it was morning energy with a resuscitating afternoon nap. One of the week’s activities was getting Pat’s one-size hats to fit her petite head better. Some partial corrections made them more comfortable, but the perfect solution lies ahead of us. The week saw the passing of Pat’s 97 year old Aunt Salka. Richard joined us for the trip up to Glendale for the funeral. It was a celebration of the life of a beloved person and marked the passing of the last of her generation. Pat was quick to identify her new position as “queen” of the family. Wednesday was a take it easy day and Thursday was a very good day after a decent nights sleep. Was it due to the phase of her chemo cycle or the fact that Lauren arrived for a brief visit? She‘s going home Sunday. Eric took Kyra and Lainey on a school camping trip leaving Lauren free to visit us. Pat did the cooking Thursday night and then had another great nights sleep. We‘ll accept the blessing and not even try to identify the reason. Pat looked great and was bouncy for our Friday morning walk with the Levys. Lauren walked with Bobby and me, while Sandy and Pat took the shorter route straight down the hill. The trip back up the hill was a bit taxing for Pat, but she recovered quickly enough to go shopping at the farmer’s market with Lauren. After a quick lunch, the ladies, I almost said girls, were off to a spa to get massages. I consoled myself anticipating the wonderful John Dorey dish that Lauren was to prepare that evening. Today was another very good day. Pat was feeling good and made it through the day without resting. Richard and Mira came up from Encinitas around 11. We had a very good time, lunch and yakking before the southern contingent took off in the early afternoon. Mira was a delight. After assorted menial chores, it was off to a movie and then a Thai Restaurant for dinner. We got home a few moments ago and the tea kettle is whistling. I’ll probably update Monday from the hospital.

The weekend is going well. On Saturday, after a mini-activity morning, we went to Crystal Cove with friends. The beautiful day at home turned, at the beach, so that we were walking around in the mist. Then a short drive down to Laguna Beach - walk some more - dinner at the Lumberyard. The highlight of the weekend was Pat's declaration, as we were walking, that "I feel so good." Today was misty here in the morning, and because of expected no-shows for the morning walk, Pat and I walked the two miles to Bagel & Brew ourselves. We expected, and got, a ride home with another couple. Pat volunteered, "I'll be pleased if doesn't get worse that this." There probably won't be anything to report until after Lauren gets here, so our next post will probably Friday. Oh yes, the new pictures were taken yesterday

Update

My gosh, it’s Friday already. Perhaps the most significant news is that we are getting into the swing of things - what symptoms to expect and how to deal with them. Hair continues to decorate our bed and Pat, as I write, is off having the rest of it shorn today. She finally has decided that the nuisance of encountering hair all the time is more troublesome than dealing with having the little remaining hair cut off. This will be the last mention of hair----it is gone!!! Life has begun to fall into a relatively predictable pattern. More energy in the morning, bowing to fatigue in the afternoon-assuaged by a nap of indeterminate length. The naps usually give her a fresh burst of energy that she distributes cautiously on gardening and other stuff--sometimes even getting to e-mails. She loves her flowers and gardening seems to have a therapeutic effect. The mornings are for pursuing her usual activities. She is finally getting a handle on how much she can tackle before major fatigue sets in. She is hungry a good deal of the time, with weight gain the day after treatment (fluid) that dissipates as the week goes on. The most pervasive symptom is that many foods promote a tinny taste at the tip of her tongue. By now, however, she has identified many that taste natural. Among them are cottage cheese, any cheese, potato with sour cream (lots of it) and, of all things, cauliflower. Really, food usually is not a problem. I guess I am really a foodie. The same is true of drinks, an Arnold Palmer tastes better than plain tea--guess it is the sugar. An occasional queasiness is remedied by a natural fruit lollipop that was given to her by someone who had undergone similar treatments. Eating has a calming effect on her stomach as well. Thank goodness, most of the time she has enough energy to prepare a light dinner. Much of our eating takes advantage of the kindness of friends. The freezer is laden with soups and fresh entrée are frequently waiting for us to eat them. Each spoon or fork-full reminds us just how lucky we are to have such good friends.

Pat is having a ball shopping for hats. A new acquisition will trigger the return of those whose impact on her appearance she deems less positive. I am convinced that when this is done Pat, who never wore hats, may become a hat person - TBD. It may be time to start changing, her picture on the blog to show off her hat of the week. I’ll muse on that as I make lunch.

This message has been approved, and edited, by the candidate, who has just returned and whose comments are in italics.

Chemo Resumed

Up at 6:00 AM to get to UCI for a blood test before the ritual doctor appointment that precedes each chemo session. After the blood letting we set out to get some breakfast. Unwisely we heeded the recommendation of the “vampire”, foregoing our research that had identified a Starbucks and Corner Bakery as options open at “The Block” at that hour. Having “consumed” that negative lesson, we walked over to the Block to case our original choices. They were there, available, and our destinations for return visits. Pat found a few places, not yet open, that might serve as venues for targeted shopping. I’m sure that Pat will fill you in on that stuff as the treatments continue. We made a special point of assessing how long it would take us to get to her appointment from The Block. It took us about 10 minutes walking briskly with no undue haste. We made it in plenty of time to be timely for her 9:20 appointment. Of course Pat wasn’t seen until 9:40. All morning Pat had been expressing concern lest for some reason her session would be delayed. No problem, the blood work was there on time. In fact Dr. Lilly reported, the blood work taken the week before on the day she had been scheduled for her second session showed that her platelet level had risen above the level requisite for her chemo session. Needless to say, for the remainder of Pat’s treatments we will be there early on the day of the scheduled treatment for the blood test. That will be followed by breakfast at either Starbucks or The Corner Bakery. I guess which one will be the next big decision that we will have to make.

Things proceeded pretty much as they had the last time. The treatment started around 11.00 with the slow drip and ended with a series of shorter infusions. Lunch was not as good as that we had the last time, but once again the soup was good. The pre-medications took effect and shortly after lunch Pat was sleeping as the “good stuff” dripped into her veins. Pat awoke from her nap as refreshed as could be expected of one on chemo. By the time we started to watch Young Victoria it was late afternoon and the recurrent measurements of her vital signs and changes in the medication being dripped, resulted in our having to wait until we got home to see the end. We both enjoyed it very much - it was a beautiful film. Now its 9:10 and we have finished a light dinner of leftovers. Pat is reading the parts of the newspaper the she did not get to at the hospital. Her chemo-brain symptoms are pretty much gone - she seems to be her usual self. In fact she just reviewed and approved the blog which we send with our love.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is very low key---Sid offered to take me out for dinner--the thought of a restaurant today did not appeal--so Trader Joe to the rescue. I did however, have my bagel and lox for breakfast this morning. Richard and Mira (Julie had to work) took me and Sid out for lunch yesterday--they arrived with the most gorgeous floral arrangment-- a lot of oohs and ahs from the other restaurant patrons. Lauren, of course, called today and had sent a gift. She will be coming down to see me on May 20th that will be our Mother's Day--she too is a mother and has to have her day.
Doing ok--more tired the last few days--maybe it is the cold that I managed to contract last week--understand that it is quite common-catching cold that is-- as long as not any more serious-- nothing to worry about. Hair continues on its downward spiral or should I say outward spiral--thinner each day--now I wish that it was just gone.
Tomorrow should be chemo #2. I do hope that it goes off without a hitch---the more we have to postpone the longer it will take and the longer my life will be disrupted. Now trying to get my desk organized--so that I can find things.
I will now put together all the stuff to pass the time tomorrow, as the poison drips into my arm, so that I am ready before going to bed---the alarm will go off at 6--no time in the a.m.--have to be at UCI at 7:30.
I am sure that Sid will write an update tomorrow
A little nervous
Pat

As promised

This morning I got back from Ping Pong in time to see Pat off to bridge. She got back from bridge in time to me off to the wine club. As she is feeling better without wine, she had decided to rest instead of going. When I got back she gave her OK to the pictures I had taken of her. So as promised here they are. The blog only allows 150 pixels for pictures so there is not a lot of detail. She really looks much better than these morsels show. If you email me I'll send you pictures with more pixels.