Category: Family and Friends
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Home Again
Amy was discharged from the hospital today, and is resting relatively comfortably in her own bed. Last night was particularly trying for her, with little or no sleep, but her blood counts are holding steady, her fever has not returned, and her doctor was willing to let her come home. Before leaving, she went to…
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A Ray of Sunshine
Just as I was leaving Amy’s room tonight, a ray of sunshine broke through the mostly cloudy and rainy skies we’ve been having for the past several days, lighting up the nearby hillside. There was very little sunshine inside at the time, as Amy’s ordeal drags on for yet another day, but she called us…
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Too Blessed to be Stressed
On the way to the hospital this afternoon, I passed a church whose marquis broadcast the message "Too blessed to be stressed". While I can’t say I wasn’t feeling stressed when I read this message, I was feeling very blessed, and I took a mini stress vacation as I continued the drive, pondering the wisdom…
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Taking Advantage of Some Hospitality
Amy started running a fever this afternoon, and it was close enough to the end of regular office hours that we went to the emergency room to have her examined. Her fever reached a level of 103.5 (F) before it started coming down (Tylenol to the rescue). A blood test revealed that she was suffering…
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The Darkest Hour
There are a set of songs that always provoke a visceral reaction in me, with symptoms including tingling, goosebumps, teary eyes and, on some occasions, even sobs. One such song is Long Time Gone, by Crosby, Stills and Nash, which I just played, and which had the intended cathartic effect. Amy has been in more…
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Major Combat Operations have Ended … Not (Week 5 update)
Last week, I thought — and wrote — that Amy would be done with chemotherapy and radiotherapy yesterday (Friday). I was half right, in that the chemotherapy is over; however, her radiation oncologist wants her to undergo three more radiation sessions — with a narrower field — to help ensure that the anal cancer is…
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Christopher Paolini on Multiculturalism, Synchronicity and Dwarven Operas
I took Evan and two friends to see Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon and Eldest, speak at Mercer Island High School at an event sponsored by Island Books on Tuesday night. Paolini gave an engaging presentation on a number of themes related to his books and his writing process. He said that second books of…
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Reinforcements Arrive before the Final Battle (Week 4 update)
It occurs to me that we’re actually at the end of week 5 since the start of Amy’s cancer treatment, but given that she had a week-and-a-day hiatus from radiotherapy, this can still be considered the end of week 4 based on the number of treatments (20) … and that way the headers on my…
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The Battle is Rejoined (Week 3 update)
After an 8-day radiotherapy cease-fire, Amy’s platelet (PLT) and white blood cell (WBC) counts increased above the threshold required for the resumption of daily radiation treatments this past Tuesday, so she has completed another [nearly full] week of treatment … and we are hopeful that she can continue on with the remaining two weeks of…
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A Radiotherapy Cease Fire
The week in Amy’s cancer counterinsurgency started out "normally" (in sharp contrast to events unfolding in the southeast US in the wake of Hurricane Katrina), with Amy heading in for her daily dose of radiotherapy on Monday. On Tuesday, however, her complete blood count (CBC) test revealed a platelet (PLT) count of 39 (thousand per…