1 down, 62 more to go

The first day of chemo was completely uneventful, which is exactly what we wanted. Other than Collin staying home from school with a sore throat and cough (which magically improved under Nana's care and White Chocolate Mocha therapy), all went as planned, and we were out the door and checked in by 8:30. Reese picked the most comfy looking recliner from the hodge podge of eight that were assembled in the back room of the oncology office, and settled in for his 5 hour day. There wasn't much that I could do to help, and the recliners started to quickly fill up with other patients, so I left after seeing how well taken care of he was. I guess five full-time oncology R.N.'s can handle him if they all pull together! After a saline drip, anti-nausea meds, steroids, bleomycin, cisplatin, etoposide, and more fluids, he was cleared to go home for the day. Mental note: bring the cord for the DVD player, because the 2 hour internal battery is NOT going to cut it.

Although he offered to give the dog a bath when we returned home (who had decided to dig a muddy hole in the back yard this morning), we shooed him upstairs where he's been dutifully resting on the bed, working on his laptop. A quick trip to pick up his repaired car from the dealership and a wonderful dinner, provided by good friends, broke up the monotony.

Reese is scheduled for three cycles of chemotherapy, each three weeks long. Dr. Minow (our oncologist) told Reese that the effects of the chemotherapy will be much like a dimmer switch on a light. In the beginning, he won't feel much, but as this first week draws to an end and the chemotherapy begins to accumulate in his body, he definitely will. Extreme tiredness, nausea, and an increased susceptibility to infection are the main concerns during week two. Then, he'll start to perk up around the third week-- and maybe even feel almost normal -- which means it's time to start the process all over again with the next cycle.

I have a mental calendar in my mind of the next 9 weeks -- one day is checked off and we're on to day number two.