Plain and White

No...the title is not a statement about me...although it could be. It is all about Shea's new regimen which I will detail out later in this post. I can't believe that May is almost here and that this will be the last post for April, 2011. I had somehow hoped to have a better handle on what exactly this journey through cancer was going to entail, but apparently I was very naive (stupid/hopeful/optimistic/crazy?) I now fully understand what the saying "got the tiger by the tail" means...I am just hanging on, but hanging on is what I am doing...so I hoped the tiger packed a lunch because it is going to take a good long time to shake me away from battling this one. We took a drive to Huntsman early this morning to begin the second cycle of treatment for Shea. We almost threw an impromptu party when they were weighing her in today...she has gained 4 lbs!!! She already is ahead of me, dang it (we have a race going to see if Shea can gain 20 lbs before I can lose 20 lbs....put your money down on her hahaha). Today her doctors told her they have a drug to stimulate her appetite if she doesn't gain more weight. They very seriously told us that it was a marijuana derivative, so they knew it would work. I laughed and told Shea she might get her medicinal brownies after all. Shea had all of her blood work drawn and we were told that her iron and potassium levels were still too low...so no chemo. So, the report is...Shea is fattening up, but she needs more umpf before more chemo. She was given a nice, comfy bed in an infusion room (she looked too worn out for the regular infusion room, so she wasn't asked to sit in a recliner all day. Hmmmm, note to self...if facing the butt-numbing chairs in the infusion room....fake sick....really, really sick...and see if you can score the bed...it is so way worth it). So, she was tucked up nice and tight, given grape juice, warm blankets and a TV...along with a couple of bags of what I am beginning to refer to as "Shea's Special Brew". Her blood will be monitored throughout the week, and if she needs more infusions, Kelt and I get to play nurse. We are scheduled for a return trip to the Huntsman on Friday and once again we will plan on doing the chemo. Until then...it is an all white diet (a good friend of ours calls it that, so it made me laugh today when the dietitian called it that as well) white bread, white rice, white bananas, white cream of wheat, white sour cream, no fried okra, no pulled-pork or barbecue chicken and Shea's new favorite....Minute Maid Cranberry Apple Raspberry. So....white is the new black...or so I'm told (it sure is boring, though).