update #2

Wow things have been really busy around here. On Thursday, John and I spent the entire day at the hospital for his final tests before beginning chemo. He also had a blood transfusion, which ate up about 5 1/2 hrs. He was looking and feeling much better after that. I wonder if he's bionic now. hee hee. On Friday, he started his first day of chemo. We arrived early in the morning for him to have an echocardiogram, and then he had to have an IV of an antibody. That was about 5 hours. Then they gave him his little pump of the chemo and a fanny pack to carry it around. Oh how the fanny pack brings so much humor into the situation. So for 5 days (today being day 5), he's had to carry around the fanny pack of hazardous chemicals being pumped into his body, and return to the hospital every 24 hours to have the bag changed. Meanwhile, our house has been invaded by John's family. His mom and sister have been organizing our house like mad women. It's been helpful and stressful, but mostly helpful. It is really difficult having people come into your house and work like that! John's father and brother also finished putting up insulation and plywood in the attic, so we now have a lot of storage up there. whooohoo!

On top of all this, our washing machine decided to break again. I spent 3.5 hrs last Wednesday at the laundry mat, something I never want to do again! John's parents thought it was ridiculous, and bought us a new washer and dryer! I could hardly believe it, but now we have new whirlpool appliances that will last us a good 10 yrs (hopefully).

Today is the end of his first chemo cycle. He'll received the last drug, which is a drug that can be harmful to the bladder. It'll be a long day, because in trying to prevent damage to the bladder, they give IV fluids before and after the drug is administered. I tell you, this is a very interesting process. After today, he will have his PICC line pulled, and then he will be receiving injections of a bone marrow stimulant. Plus, he'll have his blood drawn twice a week for the next 16 days. I'm just glad to put this first cycle behind us. Miraculously, John's symptoms have begun to subside, and I'm happy to say John's acting more like his old self. The drug he is receiving today may make him sick, so it'll be interesting to see what happens. I just hope that it doesn't happen as I'm driving him home in D.C. rush hour traffic!!

I've received some great mail the past few days. Nothing like mail to lift your spirits! Lots of great fabric from some very nice people. I'll be back tomorrow to show it off!