Saturday, July 21, 2007
Hannah continues to do well this round. She has not had any nausea so far, attributed to the 2 anti-nausea meds she is on round the clock. She is very tired and emotionally volatile at times, but who could blame her.
We had a bit of drama this afternoon when I noticed upon our walk to the playroom for some glitter crafts that Hannah was a bit wobbly. I then had her walk the toe to heel line, and she did very poorly. I notified the doctor here-the resident-that she may be exhibiting signs of the neuropathy beginning, as she had with this medicine the first round. Although it was not significant, I wanted them to be aware so that it could be monitored. Well, the resident notified the fellow who notified the attending and next thing you know they were holding chemo for Hannah for today. I was NOT happy with this, especially considering the attending had not even bothered to come up and evaluate her. The fellow had not seen her either. This was all based on the opinion of the resident who admitted to me when I asked for her opinion, that she "was not experienced enough to know" one way or the other about Hannah's symptoms. So, to end this long story I told them I wanted to speak to either the attending doctor (who was now already at home) or Hannah's doctor before this decision to hold the chemo was made. The fellow arrived, watched her walk for all of 10 seconds and instructed the chemo to be given as scheduled. Oh boy! We will be keeping a close eye on this as she progresses with the last 2 days of the chemo to be sure the neuropathy is not getting worse.
Hannah got a visit from Grandma and Grandpa today, but after a bit of time was overwhelmed and lay down to take a nap. Colby and dad are coming up tomorrow for the day with some of Grandma's lemon cake. Up until dinner tonight, Hannah had only had 2 bites of peaches and 2 cookies. For dinner though she ate quite a bit of edamame (soy beans, so good for you and fun to eat!)and rice with butter. Reminds me of Boston, when this was her favorite dinner of choice most nights. Aunt Josephine is also bringing her famed ravioli, one of Hannah's utmost favorites tomorrow, so I'm sure she'll be eating that too. So many of these kids here have eating problems. The floor is full of kids who can't eat, and who spend much of their time throwing up. It's very hard to see.
Hannah's is tucked in for the night, and things are relatively quiet and calm for the moment, so I'm signing off for some sleep also until the next bathroom break.
xoxoKim
We had a bit of drama this afternoon when I noticed upon our walk to the playroom for some glitter crafts that Hannah was a bit wobbly. I then had her walk the toe to heel line, and she did very poorly. I notified the doctor here-the resident-that she may be exhibiting signs of the neuropathy beginning, as she had with this medicine the first round. Although it was not significant, I wanted them to be aware so that it could be monitored. Well, the resident notified the fellow who notified the attending and next thing you know they were holding chemo for Hannah for today. I was NOT happy with this, especially considering the attending had not even bothered to come up and evaluate her. The fellow had not seen her either. This was all based on the opinion of the resident who admitted to me when I asked for her opinion, that she "was not experienced enough to know" one way or the other about Hannah's symptoms. So, to end this long story I told them I wanted to speak to either the attending doctor (who was now already at home) or Hannah's doctor before this decision to hold the chemo was made. The fellow arrived, watched her walk for all of 10 seconds and instructed the chemo to be given as scheduled. Oh boy! We will be keeping a close eye on this as she progresses with the last 2 days of the chemo to be sure the neuropathy is not getting worse.
Hannah got a visit from Grandma and Grandpa today, but after a bit of time was overwhelmed and lay down to take a nap. Colby and dad are coming up tomorrow for the day with some of Grandma's lemon cake. Up until dinner tonight, Hannah had only had 2 bites of peaches and 2 cookies. For dinner though she ate quite a bit of edamame (soy beans, so good for you and fun to eat!)and rice with butter. Reminds me of Boston, when this was her favorite dinner of choice most nights. Aunt Josephine is also bringing her famed ravioli, one of Hannah's utmost favorites tomorrow, so I'm sure she'll be eating that too. So many of these kids here have eating problems. The floor is full of kids who can't eat, and who spend much of their time throwing up. It's very hard to see.
Hannah's is tucked in for the night, and things are relatively quiet and calm for the moment, so I'm signing off for some sleep also until the next bathroom break.
xoxoKim
Dear Kim,
Please tell our Hannah that her Boston friends are thinking and praying for her. Kim, this is so hard for both of you and I had tears in my eyes tonight when I read about your hospital stay and your need to pay attention and advocate for Hannah. I'm sure you weep many private tears, but I do feel in my heart that Hannah will be running about just like her friends a year from now. Hannah, I'd love to send you a new WebKids (probably not the right name), but need to know what you have already. Kim, please tell me.
Hannah, the Red Sox seem to making a comeback from the past two weeks of terrible play and just may beat the Yankees this year. Keep that Red Sox hat handy! You may be in Fenway Park in September, cheering for the Red Sox.
Love, Judy Griffin