We were at Stanford today getting a transfusion of two units of blood. Fittingly, Graham's blood type is A+, because he is an A+ kind of guy! Graham already feels more energetic now that he has more red blood cells. Apparently, the cancer cells crowd out the regular blood cells, so every 3 weeks or so, Graham needs a refill.
The transfusion should only take 3-4 hours, but inevitably there is waiting for various forms to get filled out, waiting for the pharmacy to fill the order...We were on time for our 10:30 appointment and were finished at 4pm.
Luckily we got an awesome spot in one of the smaller, quieter rooms in the 2nd floor Infusion Treatment Area. Graham got the treatment chair next to the electronic massage chair, so I got to hang out with my sweetie and get massaged all day. Heaven!
Graham also had radiation today, as well as a consultation with Dr. Advani on what chemo they can try after the radiation is finished next week. They're going to try doing chemo in a dose that he can do every week, rather than every 2-3 weeks. The hope is that having it more frequently will stop the breakthrough growth that often happened between the 1st and 2nd week of treatment.
She said most people would have given up on treatment by now, but she's happy to keep trying as long as Graham wants to continue fighting, since right now he's in pretty good physical shape.
He's lost a lot of muscle in his legs since he hasn't ridden his bike in a long time, and his already tiny butt is almost non-existent, but because he started out in such fantastic shape, and because he continues to push himself to do exercises in the morning, such as push ups, he's still pretty strong.
Last night we had a lovely visit from my cousin Lisa from Florida and her fiance, Dave. What a great couple!
Mmmm, cheesecake!
It was wonderful to catch up with her and meet Dave. Lisa is such a delight. She's always been a friendly, can-do, high energy person. Lisa and Dave met way back in high school and last year reconnected and fell instantly in love. I'm so happy for them. Dave is a super nice guy. They are a really good match and obviously adore and respect each other.
And I'm still amazed that I'm related to someone who regularly competes in triathalons and teaches an exercise class for fun. Do I actually share any genes with her?? I don't think so.
One of my favorite childhood summers was at her family's beach house in Clinton, CT, when we were both around 9 years old. I remember how all the kids in the neighborhood crowded into the living room to watch the first walk on the moon. Another Lisa memory...we went to Disney World together when we were around 12, and it was 99 degrees out, and we were waiting outside in line for the Haunted Mansion for about 45 minutes. My sister and I both fainted (we were never good at drinking enough water, even though we were native Floridians!) and Lisa hyperventilated. My sister and I snapped out of it in about 20 seconds and felt fine after having a sip of OJ, but Lisa's hyperventilating...lordy, that went on so long, we got to see the clinic at Disney World!
Graham had been so crazy tired yesterday, but as soon as Lisa and Dave came over, he perked right up and even felt good enough to go out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Palo Alto. At the end of the evening, Graham remarked to me how he felt so much better that night than he had for a while, and how much he enjoyed chatting with Lisa and Dave. Thanks, Lisa and Dave!
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