Upswinging

Yesterday was definitely the worst. He drifted in an out of sleep all day, which was nerve-wracking for me at work to not be able to call and check-in lest I wake him. Tim ate hardly anything and only when coaxed. The entire 9 hours I was out of the house he had only a glass of seltzer water. Following advice I found online, I made a very bland chicken noodle casserole and served it at room temperature for him. He ate about a bite every five minutes, but finished his plate so that he could take his pills. He reported feeling much better after food.

Today he's all good, though he was initially nauseous when he first woke up to take his first set of a.m. pills. Those he has to take on an empty stomach, so he goes back to sleep for a couple of hours before taking his second a.m. pill set that must be taken with food. When he woke up the second time, he inhaled a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich and was up and around for a while before crashing for a nap about an hour ago. It is such a relief to see him feeling better.

I'm not sure if the next chemo sessions are going to get progressively harder, which is something we're going to ask Dr. G about, but at least now we know a little more what to expect. His future sessions are going to be scheduled for Thursdays, so if the worst days are always the second day after I'll be with him the entire day on Saturdays to get him to eat and run out for anything that he needs. The timing will work out perfectly!

Some of his symptoms are subsiding, as Dr. G said we might expect. He doesn't have night sweats any longer, which our pillows and sheets are thankful for, and the coughing is much better. I'm picturing the tumor shrinking away in his chest, something that is likely inaccurate at this point, but makes me feel better regardless. The tumor is pictured below at Tim's suggestion, along with a dazzling view of our neighbor's air conditioner. This is the one from Dr. B's office. The tumor is on his right side, so it's just below and to the left of the white dot above the air conditioner. I'd highlight it, but I'm an absolute dolt when it comes to editing pictures.