Fifth Round of Chemo

This update is written from a different viewpoint, rather than Marilyn writing herself. She thought it would be a nice change for me, her guest, to write about my observations of the treatments. (She did quickly say I'm not allowed to post until she reviews it though) :)

Last week she had all three kinds of chemo, so this week she only had one. That meant we only spent Friday down in Auburn, instead of another two day trip.

We headed down about eight o'clock in the morning, and she went in for her usual tests before chemo. Gary and I took the shopping lists she made, and picked up what we hoped was the right items before going back to the hospital to sit with Marilyn during chemo. It is a pretty nice room, with recliners along the outer edges. After the tests come back fine, she gets hooked up to an IV drip and waits in one of the recliners.

The pre-chemo meds have benadryl in them, so they usually make her pretty tired, but they give her a pillow and blanket, and she just naps through most of the chemo. By one o'clock she was finished, but we had a couple more errands to run, so we didn't get back to Packwood until four that afternoon.

During the week between treatments, she takes short naps throughout the day, but otherwise stays pretty active cooking and doing housework. I've been taking longer naps during the day than she has, actually.

Overall I am glad to be able to watch her and spend time with them both, because I wasn't really sure how they were both doing just from talking to them on the phone. It can be hard to tell unless you can observe in person, and see for yourself how she is. It's been nice to see Gary go with it, being willing to drive there and back for treatments so she can sleep, and do all of the shopping as well. Likewise it's wonderful to see Marilyn be her usual self, keeping him on his toes and staying upbeat. She takes care of him too, reminding him to take vitamins and generally take care of himself.

Thank you for all of your prayers and cards, it is neat to know so many people I personally don't know are all praying for Marilyn. God is good, and has been answering them each week. I know she appreciates the encouragement from everyone as well.

Sarah, a friend of Gary and Marilyn's from Haiti