The Calm Before the Storm

Bo starts chemo on Tuesday, so this is our last normal weekend before we become a real "cancer family." They say we will get so used to the new normal that it will be a huge adjustment to going back to living like normal people. I guess we'll find out in 36 weeks. But this weekend is Fourth of July, I guess I must have some odd foresight because I generally don't close more than one day for holidays, but this year I just closed Friday and Saturday. So I think tomorrow, we are going to see the Carolina Chocolate Drops. If you ever get a chance to see them, go, they are SUPER talented, and fun and Bo just loves them. Then on Saturday we will drive out to Arrow Rock and see West Side Story. And on Sunday, if the kids are still up to it, we will go see Cabaret at MUs Summer Rep. For all our Columbia friends, our very own Ryan McNeil is playing the emcee part made famous by Joel Grey. Ryan is also SUPER talented and a great role model for Bo since we were an active part of Columbia Entertainment Company when Ryan was finishing high school and found out he had leukemia. We went at least twice to see him play the Teen Angel in CEC's production of Grease, and even bald, he was able to bring down the house, so do go if you have a chance. Also for our Columbia friends, Jay's parents are looking for a furnished or partially furnished abode so they can be here for a good part of our adventure, so if anyone knows of anything affordable, please let us know!

Bo's PET scan was clear, though we are still waiting for confirmation that what he has is actually PPB. If it is not, it is still a very related sarcoma and the chemo regimen will be the same, though if I talked about it before, it is slightly different due to a little problem with the PPB files. It is 12 three-week cycles, with the first seven weeks VERY intense. He will go in on Tuesday and have his portacath placed in a simple surgical procedure, then go straight to clinic. We picked Tuesday as his treatment day so that it will interfere least with violin and orchestra which is on Monday. On weeks 1, 4, and 7, he will plan to be there at least one, maybe two nights since those are his doxorubicin days--one of the most terrible chemo agents as far as vomiting goes--commonly called the red medicine, and the nurse said some kids start to hurl as soon as they see it... The first seven weeks he will go to clinic every week for treatment, and probably at least one other time to check his counts. Then after week seven he will have two weeks after every treatment cycle. There will be no radiation since the PET scan was clear, but he will have chest x-rays, MRI head scans and CAT scans throughout treament and another PET at the end.

Anyway, I gotta get ready for work. I worked the first full day in over two weeks yesterday. My girls have been awesome, though apparently we have angered a few customers since it is so hard to keep up with all the new recipes and which need rice, or pasta, or buns, not to mention just finding them! But I told them not to worry, if we lose customers over this, it will not be the end of the world, and as long as they are doing the best they can, which I think they are, that is all we can ever do. And I told them that it is an important lesson for them also, people don't generally screw up on purpose, so a little forgiveness goes a long way. Apparently it did not go far for me as I screamed at the Sprint customer service guy--Note to self, work harder on the patience thing... Have a great day and remember just once before you lose your cool or have a bad thought about someone that does something less than intelligent or considerate, imagine what heavy bags they might be carrying and give them just a little break. Truly, Lisa