I'm very happy to report that Steve continues to feel quite good, and our trip to Silver Spring went smoothly and was a great pleasure. We drove down on Saturday May 12, as planned, and arrived in time to rest up just a little bit before we went out for a Chinese dinner. Steve ate some won ton soup; Melissa and I had chicken dishes. Then we just hung out for a while through the evening, and got to bed at a reasonable time.
On Sunday, Melissa went to her church singing job while Steve and I had a leisurely morning. Then we went to the Cathedral an hour or so early so she could get warmed up for the concert. Their performance of Bach's B Minor Mass was really wonderful, and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Steve followed along in the score, as he likes to do. There was an excellent and very appreciative crowd; and the weather was nice also, so that getting there and around was not at all a problem. Actually from where we could park to where we could get into the building was a fairly long walk (they are still all scaffolded up because of last year's earthquake damage)—but Steve managed it well, if more slowly than we used to do.
After the concert, we met Aaron's parents at Morton's for dinner. We were celebrating Melissa's birthday, but there were masses of people there for Mothers' Day. [Aaron's mom, like me, was raised to be skeptical about that holiday, so we concurred on keeping to our birthday focus. ;->] At any rate, the noise level was fairly high at first, which made conversation a challenge—but it seemed to calm down after a bit and we had a very nice time.
Then Monday morning, Melissa went off to work and we drove home. We had fairly heavy rain for the first part of the drive, but after Pittsburgh or so it cleared up, and by the time we got home it was sunny and nice.
Tuesday I got to do a little yard stuff in the morning; Steve had a Reiki session in the afternoon; and we both went to our support group meetings at The Gathering Place in the evening. Still feeling good. J
Today (Wednesday) we were scheduled for the next chemotherapy infusion. As I may have mentioned before, they always take blood tests before a chemo session, and the oncologist had warned us (when were in the ER last week) that Steve's platelet level was low, and if it wasn't back up by Wednesday we'd have to delay the next infusion. So—he got a reading of 94 today, and needed at least 100 to go ahead with the treatment. (That's still below "normal" range, but 100 is our doctor's cutoff for chemo—below that he figures the chemicals will do more harm than good.) The doctor emphasized that this development is not unusual, not surprising, and not something to be upset about. It just takes the body more time to bounce back from the harsh effects of the chemotherapy some times than it does others—and he has had quite a few sessions in a row now. We will continue with the other meds (not including the chemo pills) and go back in next Wednesday to try again.
Anyway, Steve is still feeling pretty good. He had cheerios for breakfast this morning, and won ton soup for lunch, and we plan to have a sort of normal dinner. (He ate a little bit of steak and some asparagus for dinner at Morton's, so we're going to try that again. ;->) Tomorrow, I have appointments at school. Steve will be at home, likely enjoying a visit from our neighbor Ken; and Olivia has promised to stop by with another batch of chicken soup! What could be better for building platelets, eh?
As always, thanks to all of you for your support in all its forms. The more people we meet and talk to along this path we're on, the more strongly we believe that 1)the positive vibes from a good support system are hugely therapeutic, and 2) we must have the best support network on record, made up of all of you. Your thoughts and prayers and messages and love are continuously important to us. Thanks again, and keep them coming!
--Carol
