Sicker Than a Junkyard Dawg

Well, that, apparently is how this cancer goes. Feelin’ groovy one day and sick, sick, sick the next. It’s Irene here; Kathy has asked me to fill you in on what’s been going on. As she mentioned in her last posting, she was feeling pretty queasy for about a week. Then, on the 7th day after her treatment, she popped out of bed, full of energy and sunshine. Recognizing that she had a week until her next treatment, she took full advantage of feeling great by meeting with friends, getting out to restaurants and doing some final holiday preparations. A group of United girlfriends got together to toast the season. To everyone who was there, thank you so much for coming. For those who couldn’t make it, we missed you, but ate your share of Maria’s fabulous praline torte. If successful, you should be able to see a picture of that fun night here.
The week was also devoted to more scalp prosthesis research (wig shopping). An order has been placed, and, none too soon since the cats are no longer the only ones leaving their hair on the chairs. More on that, next time.
Thursday was not a good day. Kathy’s treatment was scheduled to begin at 12:30. We decided to try to make it a fun day and arrived at MGH armed with the Mama Mia DVD and boxes of Junior Mints and Charleston Chews. We would blithely watch movies while killing Igor. Igor had other plans. Dr. Erban examined Kathy and declared that Igor had gotten a bit smaller. Igor was insulted and decided not to go quietly. Kathy developed an excruciating headache and an extremely elevated blood pressure. Her pressure was so high that the infusion treatment had to be postponed while all efforts were put into quelling the headache and bringing the pressure back into the normal range. The more drugs they administered, the sicker Kathy became. Through it all, she kept her sense of humor and suggested the title for this posting. It took several hours, a CT brain scan and an extended trip to the ER to fix things up. But 12 hours later Kathy was home and sleeping soundly.
What a difference a day makes! Friday, Kathy’s headache was gone. She and Steve headed back to MGH. Surprise! She got an upgrade. Of course she did. Who knew that there were private areas in the infusion wing? Bed #2A for her Friday’s cocktail hours. This is bad news for MGH. Now that Kathy has seen what’s in front of the curtain, they’ll never get her back in economy again. Vitals were taken, all signs were “Go” and Igor got his next blasts of poison! Take that, Igor! You Will Not Win!
Kathy sends her love and thanks to all. The cards, emails, good wishes and prayers mean so much to her. She loves checking in and reading your comments. She feels blessed to have such supportive family and friends.
Happy, Healthy Holidays to Everyone.