An update

So it has been 10 days since Bonnie's first chemo treatment last Tuesday. The first couple of days were a breeze and all was going very well until Thursday night when Bonnie began experiencing significant joint pain. She described it as shooting, electrical pain in her elbows, wrists, knees and ankles. Friday was a hard day for her with a lot of pain and difficulty sleeping and just getting comfortable. Saturday started off pretty tough but by the afternoon she was beginning to feel better and we headed down to the beach for a short walk and a little fresh air. Bonnie called the doctor finally on Saturday (I had been away Thursday to Saturday finishing up moving) after a little pressure from me and the recommendation was to take Advil and Tylenol. It was hard to get ahead of the pain but by Saturday night she was feeling a little better. Sunday we went back to the beach and this time walked in the water which was very helpful for her knee and foot pain so we did that again on Monday and Tuesday.

A trip to Mercy for the weekly blood draw was Tuesday's event and she got a thumb's up on the blood work. Her white blood cells are a little low (3.5 down from 5.2) but they said not to worry unless it goes below 3. Dr. Inhorn also said they will give her something more for pain after the next chemo treatment to avoid that much discomfort.

Yesterday we went to Sanford to the Cancer Center for Bonnie's consultation with the radiation doctor, Celine Godin. She was very nice and gave Bonnie lots of information about radiation and the process involved with that part of the treatment which will occur in early February.

So now Bonnie is feeling pretty well, not 100% but good enough to be working and keeping everything running well in the store. This is the time when her white blood cells will be the lowest so she is keeping her distance from many people and is being extra cautious about washing her hands etc. So please ask her about hugging right now because she is very sensitive to all the germs out there and definitely does not want to get sick now.

Bonnie is waiting for her hair to fall out! Dr Inhorn and nurse Caroline have a bet going between 2 weeks and 3 weeks from her first chemo treatment. I'll let you know how it goes!!

Helen