Green Light

Tate’s blood work was very strong at his appointment today, even though he wasn’t feeling very good. The worst thing is that he is exhausted; he is still not getting enough sleep due to the lingering effects of the steroids. He also has a painful sore in his mouth that almost kept him from being able to resume treatment. The oncologist said Tate has torn his frenulum and was concerned the sore could lead to a fever when his immune system dips. Ultimately, the team decided it was safe for him to get chemo tomorrow and he was prescribed antibiotics. The pharmacy does not have the antibiotics ready yet, which is a whole other story.

We will be headed to the clinic early tomorrow morning and staying the whole day. Tate will have a lumbar puncture with intrathecal Methotrexate, Cyclophosphamide and ARA-C through his port, and he will get Thioguanine in pill form. His appointment will last approximately 8 hours because the Cyclophosphamide will be followed by four hours of fluids. This drug can do permanent damage to the bladder if the patient is not hydrated enough before treatment begins or if they do not flush his body with liquids after.

We try not to let minor annoyances work their way into our story, but today I’m going to share one. When we arrived at the clinic this morning, a UPS truck was blocking a few handicapped parking spaces. All the really good ones! Greg actually said something to the driver, but he wouldn’t even look our direction. He just hopped into his truck and drove away. It was not a busy day at the clinic so there were other spots available, but this could really create a hardship for some people, including us depending on the day.

I’ll post an update tomorrow after we’re home from Tate’s appointment. He’s going to feel lousy, but we are encouraged he is strong enough to continue treatment.