April 14, 2006

Today is the first day of the third phase of Erica's treatment. Leslie came to visit yesterday and is already following in Bess' footsteps having prepared a yummy dinner tonight, a nice end to a looooong day... our photo is to demostrate reality here: lots of Alias and lots of sleep!
We woke up early to get Erica to the hospital by 9am. Before each treatment, phlebotomy takes her blood to test all her counts and make sure she is healthy enough to receive the chemotherapy. After this was completed around 11am, our FABULOUS nurse, Kecia, brought in four different chemo meds--two were pushed through her IV, one was a shot directly into the muscle, and the fourth was in pill form. We waited for at least an hour to make sure she did not have any adverse reactions to the meds and were on our way back home...
However, today was the Boston Marathon! Coincidentally, the path to our house was blocked due to the runners... hmm, problem. So, after pulling out the map, we managed to find an alternate route through the city, over the Charles River, through Cambridge, and back down to Brighton. Originally, we had made signs and planned to go cheer for the amazing athletes at mile 22.8, but Erica was exhausted from the day. We did watch on TV as the first Kenyans passed the finish line though! Not to mention, our friend Adam Schoene who finished with an amazing time of 3 hours and 47 mins!! WOOHOO!
This next phase of treatment is comprised of ten 3 week sessions. Each three weeks repeats the same cycle: the first day of each week is in the hospital for "intensification", meaning chemotherapy that is not able to be given at home, fluids, blood work, etc. The rest of the week is spent at home with many oral meds. Week two is said to be more mentally exhausting because she will be coming off the high associated with the steroids given in week one. Finally, although week three still has medications, it should be easier allowing her to recooperate to start again for another week one.
It looks like Erica and I will be on our own for real now since Mom is leaving tomorrow. After not having left Erica's side since February 10th, she is returning back to the Bay Area. She promised to be 'on-call' if we need anything, otherwise we hope she will come back frequently! How can we ever thank our mom for being amazing, patient, generous, and supportive? We realize that words will never suffice... truly Mom-of-the-Year! WE LOVE YOU!!!