There and Back Again

Before I get started, I just wanted to say I know it has been a while since I have updated the blog. We have had a busy last few weeks of summer and Zoë has had her ups and downs with her chemo. After the break from Carboplatin her nausea seemed to subside. She did not have Carboplatin for a total of 3 weeks. After the 3 week break, she was given a full treatment. She seemed to handle it pretty well. She was slightly sick the first couple of days as expected but had recovered by Monday. The following Friday she was again given a full dose of chemo. Again, she did pretty well handling the treatment. Nana and Papaw Tim came down to see us that weekend and we have a fantastic time with them. Zoë, Nana, and I had a great time having a “girl’s day out”. We had lunch at a swanky bistro and then headed to the mall for a little retail therapy. Zoë had been complaining that her hair was beginning to bother her. It had been falling out in small clumps and she was tired of the hair being on everything and everywhere she went. To my surprise, she asked me if she could get a haircut and have it all cut off. By this point, she already had a substantial bald spot on the left side of her head because she likes to twirl her hair. When she realized that she could twirl it, give a little tug and pull it out, she would show everyone. That Sunday, Nana and I took her to get her hair cut at JC Penneys. We had them cut it very short, like a pixie cut. WE DID NOT HAVE HER HEAD SHAVED!!! I will try to post a couple of pics so that everyone can see her with her new ‘do! Nana and Papaw left that evening and we settled down for the rest of the week. She had a good week. When we went to doctor day, her blood counts were very low. They decided to hold off on the Carboplatin as giving it to her would cause her counts to drop even further. She was limited the following week to the house. If she was to get sick or run a fever she would have been hospitalized for a minimum of two days. We made it through the week without any problems or hospital stays! On her doctor day two weeks ago, she had a physical therapy appointment before her chemo. She had a great time “playing” with the therapist and popping bubbles with her feet. We grabbed some lunch from the hospital cafeteria (which is actually good food) and headed to her chemo appointment. Her counts were back up so the decision was made to give her a full dose of chemo. As before, she had a great week. No nausea or vomiting throughout the week. Last Friday, she was very excited to go to doctor day. Gigi and Gabby were coming with us!!! We had a good time (well, as good as it gets when receiving chemotherapy). That weekend we had a blast. We took everyone to Shoal Creek just south of Joplin to float down the creek in our tubes. Zoë took a nap while the water was calm and had a blast going over the rougher areas toward the end of our trip. While she had a great weekend, Zoë’s condition declined throughout the week. We were back to the nausea and vomiting we had seen at the beginning of June. We have tried to make her as comfortable as possible with the medicines we have but her belly still seems to always hurt. Yesterday Zoë had an ophthalmology (eye) appointment as well as chemo. She did very well at the ophthalmology appointment. The doctor said her vision is 20/20 in her right eye and 20/30 in her left. He didn’t feel the need to correct her vision at this point as it is probably due to her tumor. Her left optic nerve is a little pale. I was informed this is more than likely due to her tumor and its location. We will keep an eye on it and go back in 3 months to see if there are any changes. After lunch, Zoë was tired and didn’t feel well. She has continued to lose weight, a concern for both me and her doctors. Zoë is obviously not handling the Carboplatin very well. She has a three week break from chemo and during this time we are hoping she can start feeling better. When we return, we will discuss other possible treatment plans. Her birthday is August 4th so we are hoping she is feeling much better by then. She will have home health come out this coming Thursday to draw labs so we don’t have to go back to Kansas City just for that. If her blood counts are good then she will not have to have labs taken again until we go back to the doctor on August 12th. I know everyone is wondering when she will have another MRI done to see if the chemo is working. I am happy to say she will have one done on August 10th at noon. We are looking forward to the next few weeks of not having to go to Kansas City and Zoë is looking forward to starting back to school soon.