Monday doctor visit

We just got back from Dad's oncology doctor visit and everything is a "go" for chemo treatment this week. Since Dad's hearing is ok (other than the slight "cricket chirping" noise in his ears), the doctor (with Dad's approval) said to continue with this particular chemo recipe. Dad's blood work was really good today...his platelets are way up...which is really good. So the plan for this week is this:

tomorrow (Tues): chemo from 8:00 til probably around 6:00

Wed. chemo 8:00-12:00 and then again 8:00 PM to midnight

Thurs. steroid drip 8:00 for about 45 min

Fri: steroid drip 8:00 and Neulasta shot

We asked about what we should do if the same thing happens at the hospital on Wed. night as the last time...when the bag of chemo had a vacuum seal in it and it took an extra 2 hours to finish the bag...and we didn't get out of there til around 1:30 AM or so. So Dad's doctor today as we were in the office with him, picked up the phone and talked to a nurse on the oncology floor at St. E's so hopefully that won't be a problem this time. We really like how this doctor is a "take charge" type of person...he does NOT mess around!

A scary note: when the doctor started to write up the orders for this weeks treatment, the one chemical that Dad gets on Wed...where he gets one dose in the morning and the other in the afternoon...there is a shortage of that chemical (across the country). The doctor said that there are now critical shortages of certain chemo drugs (the Ara-C (Wed. drug) being one, and another one is for colon cancer treatment. I guess the shortage is a result of cutting back on Medicaid (or did he say Medicare??) and the fact that the profitability is down so far that some plants have closed down. Also some manufacturing plants have been closed by the FDA because of some possible lower quality output...but here's the kicker...now they are looking into getting some of these chemicals made in India or China...which is a no-brainer to figure out that that would be way worse in quality.

So as we sat in the doctor's office today, he sent his nurse out of the room to check to see if they even had the drug for Dad on Wednesday. She came back in and thankfully they had just received a shipment on Friday. We continue to be filled with gratitude for the small...and not so small things.

After this week of chemo, then Dad is off for several weeks and scheduled for a PET/CT scan on Monday, March 28 (Delia's birthday!) and then an office visit again with the Omaha doctor on the following Wednesday, March 30.

Right now there is a gentle snow falling....no wind. It looks like a scene out of an old fashioned snow globe that you shake and watch the snowflakes fall. We aren't supposed to get that much snow accumulation tonight.

I will be posting tomorrow while Dad is getting his chemo treatment...it's a long day, so any comments are welcome as Dad loves to hear them/read them...it helps the time pass by a bit quicker.