Chemo

This week I have been able to spend time with my best friend. We've been to both sides of the state combining good memories with the medical and keep Tom focused on the fun things in life.

On Wednesday Tom went to Henry Ford Hospital. I was able to accompany him and meet 2 of the main care takers. The team went over the side effects again with Tom and they were able to give him a prescription to help with his pain. They very carefully celebrated with Tom that he has these side effects while explaining to me that they believe he must be on the chemo and not the placebo. As we were leaving I had to laugh that they had a newbie taking Tom's blood, with his permission. Tom showed him which were the best veins for the draw (my medical expert!) . The chemo is starting to wear Tom down and the effects are taking their toll. It was explained that his dose could be reduced if the side effects became too much for him to bear. On the way home we made a stop in Lasing to watch Sammy Hager perform.

Thursday we received a call from HFH stating that Dr. Ali checked over his blood work and found that his platelets were a little low. Dr. Ali said the Tom was the first patient to have this reaction from the meds and requested that Tom's PCP order another blood draw for them so that Tom did not have to drive all the way back to Detroit. Friday morning he headed to Spectrum Health for his draw and we are awaiting the results this week from his doctor. On Friday night we headed down to my brother's house to do the annual Venetian Festival with him and the Diva a.k.a Robin, his wife. Tom did pretty well as we tried to make sure he was not pushing himself too hard during our visit. Tom is learning to slow down and this was a nice quiet get away for us to spend quality time together.

Tom's next trip to HFH is Tuesday, July 27. This will once again be an all day trip with many blood draws and E.K.G.'s Thank God that Tom has such a good attitude during this whole process. I am grateful for so many caring people and the support we are getting from so many.

"Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians: 17-18