December 8, 2007 Update

Dear Fods,

Debbie finished her first week of the new chemo and she seems to have gotten through it with flying colors. Her WBC is normal, hmg is fair, but her platelets need work. She is getting tired now which is a natural reaction to the chemo. Many thanks to Fods Eileen, Ron and Pam who helped this week with the rides, it makes a huge difference to us.

Thanks to Fod Pam for the great pork dinner on Friday night. That tray vanished in a few moments.

The big issue for Debbie this week was a debilitating pain in her lower back that emulates down her legs and makes walking very painful. This is a new development that came on last Sunday. While she is able to hobble around the house by holding on to walls and rails, she needs a wheel chair for any type of extended walking and we have a walker in the bedroom for the evenings. Fod George let us borrow his mother in law's wheel chair and that helped a lot this week at HUP. Finding a wheel chair on the right floor is scarcer than hens teeth, so it made our visits much easier. Also, HUP allowed us to call from the road to order the chemo and the chemo was typically there when we finally arrived on the 15th floor.

Debbie will be nadering down this week as the chemo does its job. Most likely there will be a trip or two to HUP for blood or plateletes. We hope that this new chemo will be more gentle than the last round and that she will tolerate the downsides better than the last drug.

Debbie continues to decorate the house here and there as she is able and she is looking forward to the holiday season. Her indominable spirit is an inspiration to us all.

Thank you for your cards, blogs, calls, visits and rides. They help us more than you can imagine.

Debbie sends her love to all.