Preparations for my son's 16th birthday party took the focus off of treatment this past week which made both Angela & I lose track of her schedule. As she was coordinating all of the activities the message came back to her that once again there would be no treatment because the white blood cell count was still too low. This news, though demoralizing, could not be digested thoroughly because there was too much to do to get ready for the party.
As we have been realizing throughout this whole ordeal real life doesn't stop because my wife is battling an illness. Two teenage children usually mean that yes there will be other challenges along the way. One such challenge came to our doorway on Tuesday when the birthday boy awoke with an illness of his own forcing my wife to cancel & reschedule the entire party. That being said there would be no illness bad enough to stop my boy from getting his drivers license on this day. The trip taken by my wife & boy to the DMV is an epic story in its own right ultimately resulting in a newly issued license but not without drama.
As my son recovered on Tuesday more details about my wife's treatment were communicated. Angela was told that the path forward would include a Neulasta shot (to boost the immune system) on Wednesday & the cancellation of treatments 15 & 16. The most recent cancellations along with one in May means that she will only receive 15 of the 18 treatments that were originally prescribed. While Angela seemed to be very happy with the news I felt very unsettled about the decision. It puts her on the fast track to be done but is that what we want or do we want to be thorough? Angela explained that the basis for the decision was the good CAT scan that was done in June & the beating her immune system has taken. I tell myself I'm not a doctor so I have no right to challenge but I do hope he is prepared to make me feel comfortable at her next consultation. Regardless of my reservations it is great news that the end of this phase in near & we can start to plan the next phase.
Just to finish the birthday party saga friends & family gathered on Thursday to finally celebrate my son's milestone birthday. Again for one day we set our thoughts & concerns aside to focus an event that only happens once in lifetime.
There were a lot of stories to tell when I lived and trained to run 100 mile races but there are many more to tell when you share your life with others. What I'm learning is that with a little determination & discipline anybody can run an ultramarathon but to support a family it takes the extra ingredients of being unselfish & loving to support a family.
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