Sammy's Got Some New Platelets!

Sammy went to Dartmouth on8/25/06 for some more chemotherapy. Thankfully, it was a short hospital stay and we were able to return home on 8/27/06 (Sammy gets two different types of chemo: one kind only requires a short hospital stay but the medicine makes her feel sick for a while; the other kind isn't quite as bad but it requires a longer hospital stay). So the last visit was a short stay but Sammy hasn't been feeling too great. The chemo also caused her "platelet count" to drop. What that means is that when Sammy's nose bled, it was pretty hard to get it to stop bleeding because the chemo destroyed the healthy platelet cells in her blood ... the cells that are needed to stop bleeding. I don't know if that makes sense but that's the best I can do for now... So today Sammy went to her doctor's office and, while watching a movie, was able to get some new platelets. Hopefully that will help. Great movie, by the way. "Thirteen Going on 30."

On 9/5, we head down to Boston to see a surgeon. A couple of Boston surgeons are going to look at Sammy's leg and all the x-rays. Sammy will probably have surgery in late Sept./early Oct. Before surgery (in about a month), Sammy will have a repeat MRI, bone scan and x-rays. The surgeons will look at the the new films and compare them to the old films. That way, the surgeons can see how Sammy's leg tumor has responded to the chemotherapy. Based on the tumor's response, the surgeons will make recommendations about what type of surgery would be in Sammy's best interest.

So, that's the scoop for now. No more chemo until 9/15.

Rebecca is VERY concerned that her mother has forgotten how to cook... She can't remember the last time she and Sammy ate a can of Spaghettios for dinner (that's mom's cooking, by the way) and for that I thank all of you who continue to cook and deliver such wonderful meals to us. Many thanks, too, to our family, friends, neighbors, employers and colleagues, who continue to support us through this madness.

Thank you for checking in.

xoxoxox

Shari and David