At 11:00 today, Ryan got his first IV chemo therapy with Vincristine and Doxyrubicin - one of the "Ruby Sisters", as the oncology nurses call the family of drugs. Appropriately, since it is bright red. And turns the urine bright red as well!! Good thing they warned Ryan.
Sophia went home for some much needed rest around 10:30 just before the meds were administered.
The injections went well, with virtually no immediate symptoms. So well that Ryan put on a mask and the two of us went for a walk to the nearby park afterward. Just a slow stroll, watching ducks and Canada geese in the pond. It was a perfect day, and Ryan appreciated being out to enjoy it. It made for a very precious Mother's Day.
The mega-dose steroids have worked their magic - Ryan's WBC count is down to 30,000!! And that's before the chemo.............
So far, so good. No nausea - Ryan ate his dried-up baked chicken hospital lunch and asked for a hamburger. Brian and I went to the cafeteria (which has great food) for our lunch and his hamburger. He snarfed it down. The pre-treatment with anti-nausea meds apparently worked!!
A couple of brethren from Albany 2nd Branch brought sacrament. Ryan selected "Come, Come, Ye Saints" which we all sang together before they administered the sacrament. "No toil nor labor fear" had a deeper meaning today.........
I went home around 3 pm to have time with the girls and help them with their science fair entries. MeiLin's is about Rocks & Minerals; Kaia's is about Jupiter. Ryan helped her build Jupiter with a Styrofoam ball coated with clay while we were out of town in April.
Sophia spent the rest of the day at home napping and resting. Tim grilled some steaks & Anjanette Yeager sent us a wonderful fruit cream pie for Mother's Day. Kaia also created a wonderful dessert by melting Hershey's bars mixed with a little milk and topped with marshmallows to make a smiley face. And MeiLin gave me a vase of beautiful tissue flowers along with some fresh lilacs. It doesn't get any better than that!
Off to bed with prayers of gratitude, and more prayers for Ryan and Sophia.
---Barb
Hi Barb,
ReplyDeleteHere's another great story to share with Ryan. Emily Ziegler is a high school student in Queensbury that was diagnosed with acute leukemia December 2011. She had intensive induction therapy and then went to Dana Farber for a stem cell transplant. She has a blog that shares her story.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/emilyziegler/journal
While the last six months were tough, she is doing great now. In fact, she just came home for good last week. I hope her story will be inspiring. You can beat this!
With Love,
Sara