She's Laughing

November 12, 2008

Walter and I don't know what kind of news we'll get when the scans come in tomorrow. I don't think the doctor is very optimistic, although it's hard to tell. We've certainly had enough signals to confound us over the last week and a half. Nevertheless, there are some positive signs. Erin's counts looked great on Monday:

HGB 9.6 (headed up from a low of 8.8 last Thursday)
WBC 10.2 (normal)
ANC 7800 (high normal)
PLT 375,000 (also high normal, what's going on here?)

And all of the liver panel numbers looked better, as if some virus or huge dose of chemo was resolving itself. Erin's massage yesterday felt like a train wreck under the fingers of the masseuse, but it also felt muscular rather than tumor-y (as if I could ever discern a difference). Princess Barking Dog still sound like she is coughing up a lung every time she lets a series of coughs loose, but so do half my students these days, thanks to the BVC (Brazos Valley Crud).

The best sign? Jackson and Noah came over this afternoon, and for the first time in almost two weeks, I heard Erin belly laughing. It started with a heated conversation (definitely, middle school material) about the difference between "gross" and "nasty." I got lost in the finer points of the debate. Then they started listening to their music downloads, definitely bring back old memories (maybe high school?) of everyone trying to sing the falsetto part to "Bohemian Rhapsody." I think they hit replay thrice before they moved onto another tune.

If you read this on Thursday, think about us. Walter, Erin, and I are driving to Houston, and hoping for the best on the CT and bone scans we have scheduled. If all is okay (at least stable) we'll do another round of pemetrexed next week (hopefully without the viral and allergen side dishes). If all is not okay, then I'm not sure what will happen, since we don't have that many options left. Anyway, think of us and send all the positive vibes our way that you can afford.

Also, we are really enjoying the contributions to The Erin Project! It's not too late to join.