Tonto and "Chemo-sabe"

Well, Tonto was always the Lone Ranger's sidekick! Although it was terribly sad in the chemo area, Denny was far from being a Lone Ranger today. There were so many sick people in there; it was just a revolving door. I had a tough time when a 13 year old girl with a port in her chest was in the next bed to Denny. It made my heart bleed for that little girl. What is going on in our world that so many people are suffering from cancer?

We just got back to the lodge and I wanted to let everyone know that Denny's chemo went better than expected. All of his blood levels were great. He didn't have any reaction to the new chemo. (They tested a small level of it before starting the required dosage.) He has a pump attached to the port in his chest so the next few days will be interesting. We have done this before - we can do it again!

While he was resting in bed, the nurses went over everything we are supposed to watch out for. Of course, the list is as long as my arm. He has a boat-load of medicines to take for nausea and anti-infection. Just keeping all of that straight will be a full time job!

The nurses talked to us about nutrition and how important it is for Denny to stay hydrated. They were very relieved to hear that our niece, Brooke, is in the picture. She has a Master's in Nutrition from Purdue and has kindly stepped in to help manage that area of Denny's care. She is getting together some recipes and info for me to help keep Denny physically strong. We appreciate that more than these words can say.

Denny handled today probably better than I did. Everything in me rebelled at the fact that we had to be in there again. Seeing all the mortally sick people suffering with this disease makes me even more angry and determined that Denny can beat this thing. Between the anger and sadness, I felt sick to my soul that this has become Denny's path to survival; suffering through the treatment to get to the cure. However, I also know that this therapy was successful the first time and I believe it will all be worth it the second time around.

I also say he is a VERY LUCKY man - so many wonderfully, caring people out there supporting him. With Brooke's help and all the wonderful comments he gets on the blog, Denny has everything possible to help him fight this battle. Keep the prayers, emails and comments coming! You have no idea how good it feels to open the blog and know that even though we can't "see" you, we know you are behind him. Each day is a victory!

"There is no time like the present. No present like time." - Author unknown

Love to all,
Deb