First half of the week of 11-13-2006

Saturday, we just hung around the apartment with George and Susy on their last day. We had a nice relaxing breakfast/ brunch/lunch and just sort of recapped their stay. That night, as one last taste of America, we ate at In'N'Out Burger and then got them to the airport. It was really wonderful to have them out here and I was sad to see them go. I feel bad that Eva is so far from her family and I know how much she cares for and misses them.

On Sunday, Eva and I slowly got up, had a nice breakfast, and then were off to The Griffith Observatory. It had just reopened a week and a half before so you have to get timed tickets for the shuttles but I had no problem getting tickets the day before. The other option is to walk or bike up to the observatory which we may do in the next little while. The observatory was really interesting and it was just such an wonderful place to be for a gorgeous day. You could see Downtown LA, Westwood, the ocean, all the way down Western to San Pedro, and even Catalina. Eva and I would enjoy the exhibits for a while, then hang out and enjoy the view, then more science, and so on throughout the afternoon. The Planitarium show has been redone a bit and was really enjoyable. Eva was so cute as I think she was more excited about the show than a lot of the kids were. I really like that the show still has live narration and our "guide through the universe" gave a great performance. Nothing like contemplating the size of the universe to make yourself feel really insignificant. It was tough, but we resisted the urge to inform some particularly energetic kids that, as we learned in the show, we are all made of stardust and, despite what their mother's say, they are not special.

After the observatory, we went on a little Target splurge and then had a quiet evening at the apartment. On Monday, I took care of some things around the apartment and then my father came and took me to my infusion. Everything is still looking good. Dr. Isacoff goes down his checklist and my body seems to be coping with the chemo pretty well. With everything that had been going on, I had been taking Xeloda for an extra week and had stopped last Friday. I had a few days of but he said to start again that night and stop next Sunday. Then I think I will get about 5 days off and then start again and be back on track cyclewise (it is roughly supposed to be 3 weeks on, one week off, and start about 4 days before your full round of chemo). My counts were all good. My whites were high but in the normal range, reds were a little low but in the normal range, and my platelets were at 400K which is towards the high end of the normal range. I got Gemzar and Irrinotecan and everything went pretty smooth. My dad got me home OK and we just veged until Eva got home.


On Tuesday I took care of a few things at the apartment and then drove myself to my infusion. I got a couple bags of Hydration and then the Cisplatin. I received no Erbitux this week because the rash is still going strong. Adam Shaffer took a break from his lab and came up and hung out with me for a while which was really nice. He seems to be doing well though dental schools sounds a bit rough at times. Eva put in her time at work and then ran from our apartment to Cedars (just about 5 miles) to pick me up. Go cutie! The infusion went well. I was really hydrated by the end and looked like a bloated little hamster. I added 8.5 pounds to my already plump body during the day - that’s a lot of water. We just took it easy that night and I ended up passing out on the couch.

-TN