Sixth Chemo

Tuesday, April 15

So this is the first time I'm actually writing on the blog real-time. Rather than send out multiple emails, and because the donation website is wrapping up today, I have tried to get everything in one place.

So what has happened over the past two weeks, as it is now Day 14 of my sixth chemo session? A lot. Perhaps the most significant thing is that our au pair, Amarilis, arrived in Boston last Thursday, April 10, and has integrated extremely well with our family. She flew in from Panama on Monday, April 7 and had three intense days of orientation in New York with other au pairs, through the Au Pair in America organization.  On Thursday, she hopped on a train from New York to Boston and was met by the three of us at South Station at 8PM. Isla was somewhat shy at first but over the last few days, she has really taken to her. It may be hard to believe, but as a three-year-old, I think she gets it that Amarilis is primarily here for her.  And she has not hesitated to take advantage of that: "Amarilis, come play with me", "Amaralis, come sit with me", etc. Her English needs a lot of work but that's part of why she's here in the US. She has already helped out tremendously, and that's in the first 5 days.  I think we will be in good shape when Baby G is born.

Baby G - it's only four weeks away now, actually one day less than 4 weeks. I don't think you can fully prepare for the birth of a child.  It just happens and you adapt. Don't get me wrong, you do all the right things like buying the changing table, clothes, toys, bouncer, swing etc. so materially you are prepared. It's more mental. While we now have the benefit of knowing what to expect based on our first child, we have no idea what dynamic the second child will bring. Friends tell you this and that but in reality, you learn as you go. Personally, I'm looking forward to having a little guy walking around. I haven't had this experience since I was two years old and my brother Jamie turned up, pretty much quoting lines from local comedians as soon as he came out of the womb.

Baby G is making it tough on Karla. A good night's sleep is hard to come by for her, what with him resting on her bladder or shooting an elbow or knee into some uncomfortable spot without warning. He's bigger than Isla was at this stage, although we think both of them were equally as active.  Karla sees a doctor pretty much every week now, just to make sure all is OK as we head into the homestretch.  Everything is fine and normal.

I celebrated my 48th birthday on April 7th. My parents were in town and so Karla and I got a night out to celebrate.  As it was only Day 6 after the chemo, we weren't sure how I'd react, but everything worked out great. We had a nice dinner at a sushi restaurant in Brookline downtown and then went to the Shubert Theatre to see my favorite artist, Neil Finn, in concert. It was a great show as he played songs from all parts of his musical career, including a bunch of Split Enz classics from the 70's and 80's, many Crowded House songs from the 80's and 90's, mixed in with some solo songs he'd released over the years. For those of you who don't know him, look up "Don't Dream It's Over" or "I Got You" on the internet and you may recall him. I did not get too tired and overall, felt quite good after my first long night out (till 11PM - that counts as a long night, right?) since I got sick.

Overall, the sixth chemo session has gone quite well.  In terms of side effects, I did experience some jaw pain on Day 2, but not for as long, and I seemed to come off the steroid on Day 8 without experiencing the major lethargy of previous sessions. I still have constant sore throat, morning nosebleeds, occasional blurred vision and tingling in my fingers and toes. Strangely, even though I am still about 15 pounds under my weight in December, I feel like I actually look a bit chubbier in the face. I am still eating well, and with the weather turning, I'm starting to do some walking again, but all of my weight gain is probably around the belly rather than muscle. This will be a topic of discussion with Dr. Wolpin tomorrow - I do want to start pushing myself harder, within reason and I am hoping he can help.

I dread tomorrow. You spend two weeks getting yourself back to some place normal, when you know that you are going to get knocked down over the next three days. When I'm walking around with the infuser pumping chemicals into me, I feel slightly less than human. But I haven't lost sight of the target: Knock the cancer backwards to a point where it no longer is growing. Two more sessions and they will do another CT scan - I do feel like we are continuing to progress.

All the best.