Friday, 26th September

A change in scenery, a cup of coffee with friends and a positive outcome go a long way.....

It is amazing how the small things can uplift you.  For over 2 weeks now we have been in a rut and feeling rather down waiting for results and waiting to speak to Prof.  Although they did not agree to do M protein bloods again for us, today is Friday and we do see Prof on Monday.  I don't really see the point after all this time as we are both quite sure he is going to say that we must wait for the next set of results to get an idea of what is happening, but there is something positive about knowing that we are going to see him.

Jimmy had chemo on Thursday and as suspected needed Neupogen injections again for 3 days.  I felt good knowing that I had organised with the medical aid that I email the script to them and they will send it through to Dischem Direct who would overnight the injections to us and deliver them to our front door on Friday morning.  Huh...so much for this. 

We got home and I emailed the script and a copy of Jimmy's bloods through to the Oncology Department and then followed up with a phone call.  Not 30 minutes later they phoned back to say that Dischem Direct can't get the injections to us earlier than Tuesday.  I had popped out quickly and Jimmy took the call.  I tried phoning them back for half an hour from 15h30 but there was no answer.  So this morning I got on the phone and thanked Veronica for being so helpful but asked to please speak to someone above her.  I explained that I knew it was not her fault and understood that we had signed agreeing to the option of using Dischem as our preferred provider but I felt that the provider was not providing the service that we had signed for.  Jimmy has now been having chemo for 5 months and it is taking its toll on his system.  His blood results yesterday were the lowest they have ever been which means that recovery time between treatments is getting shorter as his system becomes more run down.  I explained that if he didn't start the Neupogen injections today, he would not be able to have chemo on Monday or Thursday next week, as between now and Tuesday his bloods are going to drop even further due to yesterday's chemo.  For the first time his red blood counts and platelets are also low and I felt that without the Neupogen injections he would have to receive a blood transfusion and platelets within the next week.  The whole treatment would also be delayed by a minimum of 2 weeks.  And then I told them that once chemotherapy is completed in the middle of October they are going to start the whole process for stem cell transplant and in order to harvest his stem cells he would have to have on going Neupogen injections and what were we supposed to do then?  Didn't they think that this was actually, in the end, going to cost them more money?  Seeing my point of view she agreed with me and said she would phone Dischem Direct and come back to me.  I then received a call from Dischem Direct to tell me that they had sourced Neupogen injections at the Panorama Hospital's Oncology Department and they were there, waiting for us to collect. Amazing!  But why is it the way of the world these days that we have to fight for everything to get results?  We took a drive out there today and met the team at Panorama Oncology and left with our injections in a cooler box on ice.  It was quite nice to see how their setup looks and works and a pleasant change in scenery from driving to UCTPAH twice a week.  We ventured out beyond the boerewors curtain today! lol

And then Kathi and Antony phoned to say she had a delicious pepper pie for us that had just come out the oven, so we popped in their on our way home for a cup of coffee.

We both feel like we have accomplished something today and have Monday's appointment to look forward to so yes, we are definitely in better spirits.

We've started watching another series called Homeland and we are totally hooked.  My 'chemo blanket' which I am crocheting is coming along in leaps and bounds and it is such a conversation piece with the oldies at chemotherapy.  Jimmy is a bit disappointed that we can't join the staff and customers in the box tomorrow for the SA vs Australia game at Newlands, but this is just one of those things.  We have a couple of visits from friends and colleagues to look forward to this weekend and will enjoy the rugby from the couch at home and of course there is the Ryder Cup to watch.

It is with a big sigh of relief that I am happy to say that exams are at last finished and the kids can all relax again for a month or so before finals start.  And then a big congratulations to Loren who passed her bike licence today and for a 250cc at that!

Thank you for all your prayers, love and support.  We have been down in the doldrums lately and your messages and phone calls always mean so much.