Home Again
Debbie arrived home yesterday afternoon and is doing remarkably well for all that she has gone through over the past 5 months. She was more than ready to leave HUP when I arrived, about 1 hour later than expected, on Tuesday afternoon. Literally, she finished her last dose of chemotherapy at about 11:00 and was allowed to leave. Obviously, over the next few weeks we are going to need to be very careful that Debbie does not pick up a bug or a cold until her counts recover. As it now stands, her counts are still good -- the scary part is that they will continue to fall for quite some time before they bottom out and begin to recover. They will be taking blood samples twice a week to monitor her counts so that we have some idea of whether she is heading up or down. But that will be a far cry from the daily counts that they took while she was an in-patient. The hospital sent us home with a 2 week supply of neupogen which is the "super-shot" that is intended to jump start her system. Debbie will take these shots once aday until her counts recover.
Deb's rash is continuing to worsen, which was not unexpected. The last batch of rashes took quite a number of days before they peaked and began to subside. Debbie is very itchy, but she is tolerating this well, as she does with most of these things.
Debbie's "home coming" meal was her favorite egg plant parmesano which we prepared after she returned home. Apparently, she had that again for breakfast and lunch today -- so her appetite remains unaffected by this ordeal, which is good. Debbie stayed at home and took it easy today getting her house back in order. Except for the rash, she is doing superbly.
We need to be very careful with Debbie until her counts return to normal. Presently, she is on the upside of the slope and the chemo will continue to drag her counts down for some number of days. I would expect that she will be hitting the bottom some time next week. As we understand where her counts are and what this means for visitors, we will keep you posted. For now, the cautions are obvious -- no colds, flu, maladies of any form, etc., nor anyone in the immediate household. We must remember that no matter how good she looks, her immune system is completely compromised.
Deb sends her love to all.
posted by Joe @ 7:50 PM
17 Comments:
Debbie:
Once again I am attempting to be the first to blog. This will be my last for a while as we take the 6:30 am flight out for Honduras in the morning. I am still not completely packed. Doing all those "mommy" things for the boys before I get to it. Dave is all ready and Mere, God love her, went from Track practice to a phon-a-thon for her high school and won't get home until 9 PM. 3 am will come very early for her as she still has some packing to do.
Brendan will be at Aunt Angies each day after school til the sitter can pick up both Colin (after track) and Bee at the same time. That will serve them both well as Bee will get his work done and he will also keep an eye on Mom. I'm not sure who is watching who exactly. I will remind them to check the blog during the week. I will most likely not see a computer until Thursday night or Friday of next week. Know that I will be wondering what you are up to while I am away.
Sounds like it will be good and warm in Honduras. Got a call last night from our coordinator who has been there since January. Sounds like it is warming up just in time for our arrival.
I will check my emails on Friday and read the blog and send you a note then.
So....Happy Early Birthday. I will send you more well wishes when we are on the other side of the medical brigade.
Love to all....Keep doing so wonderfully well. COD Eileen
So much for being first. :( Eileen
YEAH! I kept checking for an update and it's great to hear that you are home and doing well. The eggplant dish sounds great! I'm sorry to hear that the Benadryl didn't get rid of the rash. I hope it doesn't get any worse! Hang in there and keep us posted!
Love,
Lisa
eggplant parm for breakfast..
mmmmm...So glad to hear you're home. Here's hoping that the rash takes a hike real soon!
It's gonna be hard, but no shopping. Hopefully the neupogen will get your immune system up and running again soon so you can get back to being the social butterfly you were born to be.
Prayers and positive vibes coming your way! Mussie
Debby & Joe,
We were delighted to read that Debby is at home, & in particular that she is doing remarkably well. Hopefully at home, she will "take it easy" & give herself every opportunity to get her counts back up to normal. As far as visitors are concerned,let's hope that everyone gives you the time to get better by waiting for an input from you. Hopefully the rash will subside shortly. The only thing better than eating eggplant parmigian for dinner, breakfast & lunch is to have it as a snack in-between. Of course, one of Joe's deep hearty Syrah's would accompany it well. Our thoughts & prayers are always with you, love, Mom & Dad
Hello Debbie:
What great news that you are home. Enjoy every minute and eat to your heart's content. You are on the upswing and that is great news. Now you can really enjoy that new little girl - life is grand. Stay well - Love Shelly
Deb and Joe,
I'm glad that Deb is home and is doing well and enjoying all her favorite dishes. I hope the rash gets better soon and that you are taking good care of yourself and resting. Emma is absolutely gorgeous!
Love,
Jeanne
So DEB, are you resting or vacuming? Have you washed the kitchen floor, or have you decided that the little drop of spaghetti sauce is okay for awhile? I hope you are resting! The house doesn't have to have vacume cleaner lines to survive!! So glad your home..
Things continue to be wet out here.. been rainy for so long, i forgot what dry pavement looks like.. got our new little student.. second day he called us " stupid mother f*****" cause we won't let him on the bus.... the next 55 days of school are going to be interesting (ha) cute kid though..
well deb.. hope you are RESTING..get your counts up soon.. spring is just around the corner( i hear!) love , mdf
Hey Deb,
Glad you're home. God knows the amount of times that place has seen Clorox, there couldn't possibly be a more germ-free environment to hang out in! Rest, snuggle, read, snuggle, eat, snuggle, watch some movies & snuggle, eat again, etc. All that providing you aren't still scratching yourself...a little shot of benadryl in your cosmo would probably do the trick.
Heading to Mom's for dinner tomorrow night. I'll blow kisses towards Tennis Way on our way by.
Love ya, Kim
Hi Debbie,
Glad to hear all went well and you're back home. Home is where you heal. My prayers continue as always. Best medicine for building ammune system is to rest, so sit awhile in between your cleaning.
God Bless
Love
Pam K.
Dear Deb,
Great to hear that you are home again and just in time for spring. As we all know, spring brings new life and beauty to our surroundings. For this we are grateful. We celebrate your life! (Your beauty goes without saying!!)
Let us welcome you home by surrouding you with hugs, kisses (and rashy scratches) of love. Jax and Con
Hi Deb and Joe!
I'm glad you're home safe and sound! Hope that rash goes away quick. Been thinking of you guys so much over the last couple of weeks but haven't been able to blog. Congrats to Jessie and Walid on the birth of Emma! So happy to hear everybody is doing well in their family. I was in San Diego for business a week ago - it was warmer in Philly but SD is such a nice place. Got off the plane and headed to St. Joe's for Karen's first lacrosse game. She started, scored two goals and after the game, the coach came up to us and told us what an impact player Karen is and she'll talk to us about a scholarship for her! We're so thrilled! She has an academic scholarship and if she can get an athletic one too that will help when we have to pay that tuition bill. We've been busy with wedding plans too - Margo found her dress and we put our deposit down on the Washington Crossing Inn for the wedding/reception on Oct 6 2006, a Friday nite. Everything is falling into place. We're having cards at Beth's tonite, we'll drink our cosmos and think of you both.
Love,
Paul and Barb
Good Morning-
Though I haven't been able to check the blog, I've been talking with Jess and I know things are going a little better this time. How wonderful that you get to do that hard part, waiting for the counts to plummet and return, at home. I'm glad your appetite stayed with you this round. When next we meet, I'll treat you to a yummy grilled cheese sandwich. I was so glad I got to see you and more importantly that you got to see Jess and the kids. She still looks great, a little more tired now I think than before, but I'm so glad things are going better this time around. Get some REST (or at least tell everyone you've been resting so they feel better :)) Hope to see you again soon.
Jenn Kelleher
Hey Chiz-
I was just coming back from the post office and bank, driving down the road, minding my own business when I have to come to a screeching halt for a big, old, wild turkey standing in the middle of the road!
Old Tom sauntered across to the other side, taking his sweet time about it, too. I always thought these guys were skittish. Not this guy. He was quite mellow and not only that, he was huge!
Tried to call you so we could talk turkey (hah-hah), but there was no answer, so I thought I'd hop on here and see what was happening. Good to see all the FODs again.
Sending you my prayers today, Chizzie. Hope that you are weathering the chemo storm, that your rash is soothed and your eggplant parm is holding out!
Love you, honey. K
P.S. It's Brunswick stew for lunch here!
Hey Girl, it was great talking to you the other day..hope you are loving Ocean City.. I'm sure it's doing it's healing job on you..like nothing else..except maybe Emma and Mr. C( you'll be seeing them soon no doubt) ..thank God for all of this and much ,much more to come!! My first choice would be eggplant parm too..talk about comfort food..I could roll around in it and be very comfortable forever more!! Hey that's an idea ,maybe it would cure the rash...continuing the positive waves for you my Dear Deb and the roasaries etc. just to be sure:)...love and have fun :)Bev
You little stinker! How do you find the time to pamper me! Haven't slipped in the tub yet but will do so after dinner.
Hope you are on the other side of the dark side. Waiting for an update. Tried you home phone today and left a message. Know not to try the cell as it's always in your car.
All is well here. Aunt Angie survived our abscence and she and Bee had lots of time together after school.
Mere is now catching up and craming in the ACT prep course that she missed a few evenings of while we were away.
Colin and Mere and both doing field events in track. That should be fun. Bee starts baseball this Friday.
Hope your feeling swell and want to catch you up on our adventure when you get some free time.
Lots of love and thanks....COD Eileen
Hey Deb:
What is going on? No new blog and haven't had a chance to call again. I will do it today.
How is the greeting card assembly going?
Love, COD Eileen
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