Not Much Doing

It has been a quiet few days.  Now that the weather is cooler and Tate is better rested, he has started venturing outside for some fresh air.  He has not gone outside for the sake of being outside for probably four months.  Between the blistering desert heat and the side effects of all the chemo, he felt going outside would be more harmful than helpful.  Friday night his friend Clark came over and they took a walk.  Tate had a blast!  I don’t think they went far, but the fact they went means the world.

Tate has physical therapy tomorrow and occupational therapy Friday.  He has really benefited from therapy, and we are so glad that even our insurance carrier agrees home visits are necessary.

Tate is scheduled to begin a new treatment phase the Monday after Thanksgiving:  Delayed Intensification.  Delayed Intensification (DI) will be hard, and according to the Nurse Practitioner, most patients end up in the hospital during this phase.  Greg was telling me the reason for this is they are given heavy chemotherapy regardless of how their blood work looks.  In previous phases, Tate couldn’t be administered chemo or undergo procedures if his hemoglobin, platelets, liver panel, etc. didn’t meet certain thresholds.  DI is the last of the intense treatment phases and will last 64 days provided there are no delays.  After DI, Tate will begin a 3-year maintenance period.

Greg and I are going to be extra diligent with Tate’s care going into the next phase.  We want him as healthy as possible when it begins, and we’re going to do everything in our power to help him through.  We ask that you take extra good care of yourselves, too!  The holidays are coming, and we want to celebrate with our families and friends, but we can only do so in small groups and if everyone in the room is healthy.  We are readying ourselves and our house for another bout of intense treatment and all the emotions that go with it.  Please be gentle with me as I continue to hand out face masks and douse you with hand sanitizer; I do not foresee being able to stop these behaviors any time soon.

#momswithdisinfectant