Dr…. Who?

“The universe is big. It’s vast and complicated and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles.” ~Dr Who

And our miracles continue… Rich had his blood work done again today and the counts are on the rise. The oncology team is pleased with his progress.No platelets need to be transfused! There is still needed improvement before chemo can start again, but we’re headed in the right direction.

The first possible day for our next cycle of RICE is on Thursday… a full 14 days minimum from the start of the last cycle. We’ll go in on Thursday, have blood work done and keep our fingers crossed that the counts are up to where they need to be and we start on the second and last cycle of RICE. Nothing is certain. Day two is yet another game of waiting… there is no set time appointment… you’re basically on call for a bed to become available… because day two is an overnight stay to day three. You hope for an early call because once you get your bed, you’ve got to get to the hospital and get admitted, you then wait. Wait for someone to access your port, wait for the meds to be ordered and approved. Wait for the infusion to start.

‘Cuz that’s when the REAL waiting starts. The second day of RICE is when you have a full 24 hour infusion. The earlier those meds start, the earlier you can go home on day three. That’s because after that full day/nite marathon, you’re ready for your last infusion before you get your discharge papers and go home.

But it is so worth the wait when you realize this is it. This is the very last cycle of chemo before we begin the stem cell process. A milestone we’re happy to put behind us on this journey since it gets us closer to our goal!

In prep for our goal, today Rich climbed into his own version of a Tardis, but instead of a time/space shift, he had a pulmonary function test. After an hour of what ended up being a full spectrum of Lamaze breathing, there didn’t seem to be any change in the Time And Relative Dimension In Space… he was let out… back to where he started and we were sent home. Last stem cell pre-test completed!

In all honesty, we would have preferred another test, another consult, hey… give us a tour! SOMETHING! Because at home we’ve had little to no power for four days. And in this brutal hazy/hot/humid coming-up-from-the-south jetstream, the house has been a soupy place to be. We were lucky to have pockets of electricity so we could run a tiny window air- conditioner and a few fans in the porch. Our fridge has been plugged into a socket in the living room and wifi snaked across the room to another outlet. But the rest of the house has been pretty much a no-man’s land of stifling heat. And today the electrician was working to get us back up and running… but the kicker is, even our little bit of power was cut off while the new panel and circuits were put in. So no wifi, no airconditioners… no fans. <sigh> Hello soup, c’mon in. And then, nine hours later, he flicked the switches and… Blessed cool air and fans… air…moving air!!! Heaven!

So, as we settle in for the night to sleep on the porch with the fans once more moving the cool air, we listen to the rain and watch the lightning and count the blessings of family and friends who are with us on this journey and give us continued strength. Because as Dr Who once said, “There’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive… wormhole refractors… You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.” And we’ve got a whole bunch of hands. Thank you all.