Sam has been tolerating the first round of chemo extremely well to date. Side effects have been minimal with the biggest challenge being his taste being off and some swelling in his feet. He did start a different chemo drug today, Rituxan which has had some more challenging side effects. Swollen feet, some heaviness in the chest and thrush in the face. They have been managing symptoms today by adjusting speed of delivery and also putting loads of prednisone and benadryl onboard.
One other skill Sam has picked up is something we are calling “tube management”. He has a PICC line installed for right now that will be replaced with a port in an outpatient procedure. He has three different IV pumps hooked up and getting him anywhere requires some interesting gymnastics with all the cords, tubes, etc. AKA Tube Management.
I must say watching Sam and Grace navigate this challenging time makes me extremely proud of them both. While fully understanding how scary things are, their attitude has been beyond amazing. They are well grounded and so, so strong both for each other and those around them. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things that throw them for a loop or cause challenges, but it is to say they are processing things well and leaning on the Lord in a really cool way.
Regarding schedule, the plan is to bust Sam out of the hospital tomorrow sometime. He is soooo ready to be home! I already clued him in last night that the discharge process may take a little patience and could be frustrating with how long it will take. Pray that all goes smoothly.
The medical community has indicated that next week he will most likely not feel too well and have given him ideas and ways to help make him as comfortable as possible. Their support group is on the case and working to help with meals, etc. Pretty cool to see how so many people have rallied around them! That includes both emotional and physical support!
One of the things Sam and I have been discussing early in his marriage is perspective and that experience (we call it mileage) helps with developing wisdom. We talked about the fact that some of the mileage is uphill and that at those times we are really investing in developing wisdom. Well, neither of us expected this kind of uphill mileage at this point in both their lives or their marriage. I joked with him that they are getting a PhD in mileage very early on! Which goes along with his prayer request that the Lord would not waste this situation. It has been so great to see how even in the smallest things their attitude is providing them the opportunity to share their faith.
Latest Prayer Requests
- That this current round of chemo causes minimal challenges
- That the discharge process from the hospital goes smoothly
- That he and Grace get settled in at home well
The Gordon Family Site 