5/14 - Week 2, Cycle 3: Lovenox and Lucas

Week two of Kristine's third cycle is complete and she's been feeling very well with an amazing amount of energy. Her nadir appointment with the Oncology team went well last week. Her blood cell counts were almost as low as they could go, but this was as expected. She received a shot of Aranesp to stimulates her red blood cells in order to prevent anemia.

Since February 13th when we were skiing in Colorado and first learned of Kristine's condition, Kristine has been getting a shot of Lovenox (a blood thinner administered subcutaneously) to prevent further clotting in her blood vessels. She has received the shot twice a day for 81 days, once first thing in the morning and again before bed. She was taken off the injection about a month ago and given a pill form called Coumadin. However, the swelling in her neck and chest increased and we immediately resumed the shots (I, and a few other lucky visitors, had taken on the task of administering the shot to Kristine's abdomen since she understandably had trouble giving it to herself). But a little over a week ago Kristine started taking Coumadin again in lieu of the shot and this time it seems to be working well with no related side effects. As you can probably imagine, this was a huge relief to Kristine and for me.

I was careful to say "related" above since new side effects consistently crop up. The latest is a swollen, white-coated, tender tongue. It is not painful but is causing Kristine some discomfort especially when she eats. The doctor prescribed Fluconazole, an antifungal medication used to treat several types of yeast and fungal infections. The doctor believes that Kristine has Thrush a common side effect of chemotherapy. All of us naturally have fungus in our mouths which our bodies, under normal conditions, defend against. However, with Kristine's immune system at it's lowest point she is susceptible to even the most commonplace, and otherwise harmless, infections. The medication seems to be slowly relieving her symptoms.

On a note not related to Kristine's health but certainly to our daily lives, Lucas, our foster dog of almost 5 months, was picked up on Saturday by his new parents. Before we were ever aware of Kristine's condition we agreed to take on a foster puppy. At the time the 7 month old Catahoula Leopard Dog had been rescued from a house in Tennessee where he had been malnourished. Kristine had left our names with an organization called abuddyforlife.com that finds foster and adopter homes for rescued dogs. In January, we got the call to help Lucas.

It has been a long several months never mind the addition of a second dog and an abused puppy at that. Nonetheless, we had nearly resigned ourselves to the idea of keeping the pup. But a couple of weeks ago a woman from Rochester, NY inquired about Lucas' profile on the rescue website. She and her husband went through the adoption process and drove down 5 hours on Saturday morning to pick him up. It was a bittersweet ending for Kristine and I. As much as we had grown weary of cleaning up his accidents, calming his hyper, playful spirit and handling 2 dogs during daily walks each morning and night, Kristine and I couldn't help but get attached to the little guy and feel guilty for passing him on to yet another home. Even Rufus has been hanging his head realizing that his little pal may not be coming back. Ultimately, with all that has hit our lives we know it's for the best. We're happy that we were able to save his life and find him a good home out in the country where he can run and get some of that extra energy out.