Well, we are in the final month. Dad has had 16 doses of chemo-therapy, including the first dose of this final cycle which he had on the 2nd of October (Gandhiji ki jai!).
We are in the 6th and last month of this course of chemo-therapy and now have 2 more doses scheduled for the 9th and 16th of October.
The system is now down pat. Dad gets his blood test done the day before - then meets his oncologist at around 8.30 PM. The doc takes a look at the blood reports (this time the WBC count was just over 4000) and then takes a call about whether to go ahead with a dose the next day. Dad then reports at Bethany hospital at around 9 in the morning and gets admitted to a room where he is prepped for the chemo.
After running a bottle of fluid, the real stuff is put in and it drips away into Dad's chemo-port which then sends it up the aortic vein and into the heart - which then sends the blessed poison to all the other parts of the body.
Overall Dad has been doing really, really well with his chemo. We are now looking at the next step...
It looks likely that we will have a full body CT scan after his final dose on the 16th... and then?
Well, we would love to hear that 'there is nothing to see' and be able to have Mum and Dad head north for Shanti Kunj and the coolness of a Mussoorie October. It is rather warm here in Thane at present - and though Mum has been at her never-complain-about-anything best, we know that the hills are calling her.
However, we don't want to put the cart in front of the horse. At this point we still need to hear from the oncologist what he thinks. And then have a good chat and pray and make a choice based on what we know.
Yesterday night was a bit rough for Dad - one of the rare nights where he has not slept well with a fair amount of discomfort and even some dry retching. Dad woke up this morning with a fair amount of vertigo and so he and Mum decided to stay home today and not go to church.
He seemed a bit better at the end of the day. I did not see him much since we had a blizzard of meetings. I shared in church on 'God's dwelling place' and then we had a time of prayer in the afternoon, then a listening and personal prayer time with a couple before a final gospel meeting at JSK in the evening. But at the end of the day, I sat with my dear Dad in the cool of his and Mum's room while he ate his 3rd bowl of suji for the day. He was sitting on his chair. They had read the printout of my morning sermon and were in a calm and cheery mood - despite Dad still suffering from some vertigo when he is lying down or getting up.
And so the fourth day of October, the Lord's day, ends. Sheba and I still have some praying to do, however. The rest of the family have retired for the night, though.
Thanks for your prayers and walking along with us on this journey.
We are in the 6th and last month of this course of chemo-therapy and now have 2 more doses scheduled for the 9th and 16th of October.
The system is now down pat. Dad gets his blood test done the day before - then meets his oncologist at around 8.30 PM. The doc takes a look at the blood reports (this time the WBC count was just over 4000) and then takes a call about whether to go ahead with a dose the next day. Dad then reports at Bethany hospital at around 9 in the morning and gets admitted to a room where he is prepped for the chemo.
After running a bottle of fluid, the real stuff is put in and it drips away into Dad's chemo-port which then sends it up the aortic vein and into the heart - which then sends the blessed poison to all the other parts of the body.
It looks likely that we will have a full body CT scan after his final dose on the 16th... and then?
Well, we would love to hear that 'there is nothing to see' and be able to have Mum and Dad head north for Shanti Kunj and the coolness of a Mussoorie October. It is rather warm here in Thane at present - and though Mum has been at her never-complain-about-anything best, we know that the hills are calling her.
However, we don't want to put the cart in front of the horse. At this point we still need to hear from the oncologist what he thinks. And then have a good chat and pray and make a choice based on what we know.
Yesterday night was a bit rough for Dad - one of the rare nights where he has not slept well with a fair amount of discomfort and even some dry retching. Dad woke up this morning with a fair amount of vertigo and so he and Mum decided to stay home today and not go to church.
He seemed a bit better at the end of the day. I did not see him much since we had a blizzard of meetings. I shared in church on 'God's dwelling place' and then we had a time of prayer in the afternoon, then a listening and personal prayer time with a couple before a final gospel meeting at JSK in the evening. But at the end of the day, I sat with my dear Dad in the cool of his and Mum's room while he ate his 3rd bowl of suji for the day. He was sitting on his chair. They had read the printout of my morning sermon and were in a calm and cheery mood - despite Dad still suffering from some vertigo when he is lying down or getting up.
And so the fourth day of October, the Lord's day, ends. Sheba and I still have some praying to do, however. The rest of the family have retired for the night, though.
Thanks for your prayers and walking along with us on this journey.
Thanks for keeping us posted Andi. We somehow feel a part of this journey through your splendid postings. Please express our love to your parents and family. We are blessed by the depth of faith expressed in our sovereign, loving and wise God.
ReplyDeleteYours in Him,
Clarke & Rita