Steady As He Goes

No news is definitely good news when it comes to cancer.  Steve continues to improve, and we are hopeful and grateful for the little victories and advances in his health.

We are on a 3 week visit schedule to the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center/Clinic.  Dr. Altman wants us to check in by phone weekly,  just to touch base with her patient.  She decreased his Tacrolimus again today.  He is taking 0.2ml  x2 daily, which is about the amount of vermouth in a dry martini.  I give him a 480mcg injection of Neupogen every other night.   As of this week, home health only comes twice a week for assessments and a CBC and chem panel draw.  Steve still has his triple-lumen PICC line.  We hang a 500ml magnesium IV rider twice a week for sport.  His hemoglobin this morning was 6.8, which is when Northwestern yells, "BINGO" and he takes blood.  He has a standing appointment on Friday mornings at Christ Hospital for two bags of red cells.  If he doesn't need it, we cancel the appointment.  Here's a photo of "The World's Most Expensive Advent Calendar."  Loading up for the week ahead, pills are only twice a day now, at 10 & 10.  Much easier than four times a day!

Last weekend he was physically able to drive round-trip to Madison, Wisconsin.  We took our daughter back to college and spent a night in a hotel for the first time since April of last year.  We were also able to enjoy a wonderful dinner with our friends Gary and Donna Harrison, and the Packers won.  Steve was inhaling appetizers and fried shrimp while the restaurant crowd cheered for the green and gold.  He enjoyed half a glass of Spotted Cow beer, and I helped him by finishing it, immediately after my two glasses of wine.  It will be interesting to see what his weight is next week.  I know mine is up.

Yesterday Steve got his first post-chemo haircut, and the stylist didn't charge him, wasn't that sweet?  We celebrated the occasion with dinner at a nice restaurant in town that he had not been to yet due to his illness.   We ate well and brought home leftovers.  He grazes constantly through the day.

We are expecting extremely cold weather the next day or two, and the good news is that he is not nearly as cold all the time, not layering his clothes and covering up in the chair.  His energy level is markedly increased, and he even puttered in the garage for a while today.

Another wonderful thing we have learned through this experience is that people world-wide are reading this blog, from South Africa to Alaska.  AMAZING.  A big hello to all our new friends in Spain!!!  Blogger has statistics I can follow, and the only thing more fun than seeing all this activity from all these countries is that the MAJORITY of viewers are reading from a Mac, not a PC.  With that in mind, a most heartfelt GET WELL SOON to my former boss, Steve Jobs.  We're pulling for you at the Reppen house.