Life Without St. John's Wort

01/18/06


Unremarkable.  A perfect word to describe Erin's first two and a half days of the new chemo regimen.  In the pediatric cancer world, unremarkable is practically a perfect word.  It means nothing worth mentioning (particularly, nothing bad) is going on.  So, let me mention it again. Unremarkable.  I only hope that any viable tumor cells are remarking to each other, "Oh my, I think I'm dying."


We have a slightly new routine to accommodate this drug.  Someone has to wake Erin up around 6:00 (so her stomach is empty) to give her the gelcap.  This must be done gently to increase the chance that she goes back to sleep for another hour (so far, so good on that one).  We have also had to strike grapefruit and grapefruit juice off the morning menu (a loss, but one we can live with).  Apparently, St. John's Wort is also a no no, but since I don't even know what St. John's Wort is, it should be easy to avoid, unless it is commonly slipped in to more palatable-sounding things like cheesecake or ice cream.  That's it.  No other changes.


Today, Erin will double dip on after school activities--horse back riding and children's choir.  We are so glad she can do the things she loves.  Everyone deserves that chance. 


Davis's soccer team roared to the championship of the tournament they played in last weekend, winning 5-1, 5-1, and 4-0 in bracket play.  The final was more of a challenge.  The Vikings played a well-matched team in a tight game.  They were down 1-0 for a good part of the game.  About halfway through the second half, Davis got the assist by serving up a long (and accurate) pass to his forward who put it away to tie the game.  The game remained that way to the final whistle and the Vikings clinched the win in the shootout.

 
Last night they made the long drive to Lufkin, where they squeaked out a tie.  If that's not enough soccer for them, they have games scheduled Thursday, Friday, and Saturday over in Brenham at the Diadora Cup.  All I can say, is that I'm glad Davis is a good student , or I doubt he could balance it all.