The latest news

It's been over a month since my last update, mainly because she has been doing terrific and there's not too much to say.

Well, that's not really true, now is it??

The doctor said that her hair would start falling out two weeks after the first treatment. It did, right on schedule. She first started noticing it on July 26 and it started getting really bad on the 29th, so we made an appointment with Dale for the 30th and went to a wig store.

They were very accommodating at the wig store. She sat at a mirror and they brought 'em over for her to try. As she was trying them on, they told her the options for eyebrows and I asked them if they had anything for her mustache that fell out.

They were only slightly amused. The woman took me over to the counter and produced sideburns, mustaches, beards, goatees... it was amazing. In view of the fact that ALL of Chris's hair was going to fall out, I was very tempted to ask... but I lost my nerve and just couldn't. I'm not sure I wanted to know the answer anyway.

Dale, our hair stylist, did a number on us both. He has done this sort of thing before and says that you don't want to shave to cue-ball level, but rather cut it to about 1/2 inch or so and let THAT fall out naturally.

So that's what he did, but on the way to 1/2 inch we had some fun with it. He gave her a spiked-Mohawk, complete with safety-pin-in-the-eyebrow for that realistic "punk" look. After photos, that, too ended up on the floor but it was fun. Then he did the same with me, and now I look like I'm a Jarhead... fresh from the marines. Chris's head has a wonderful shape and she looks absolutely adorable as your typical-looking cancer patient. Every time I look at her cute head I smile; I just can't help it.

The 2nd chemo treatment was August 1, and Georgia came to that one as well. We ordered Thai food from across the street and had it delivered. It was surreal sitting there dining on this fabulous food while they were pumping poison into Chris.

During the treatment the doctor came in to chat and, after hearing about how well Chris had done, proclaimed Chris as her poster child for chemotherapy!

Chris was fine the next day, but the day after that she started feeling rather sick. I gave her the proper drugs, which made her very tired so she didn't want to take them.

She said she felt like having some fruit, so I cut up an apple and a pear, balled some watermelon, and arranged it all nicely on a plate. She threw it up all over the deck.

That's when she decided that tired was not so bad, so I gave her the anti-nausea drug. She had a craving for chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes, peas, and Hershey bar with almonds. (No, she is NOT pregnant!) I made a trip to the store, got everything, and prepared it all. When I served it up I asked her, as Prince Charles once said to Diana, "Are we going to be seeing this food again?" She said, "No" and was true to her word... it stayed down.

Chris's brother, John, arrived from the bay area on Tuesday and when he got off the plane he presented her with "Boo-Boo Kitty", a stuffed animal that Chris had given him several years earlier during a hospital stint of his own. He thought it would be best for Boo-Boo to be with the person in the family who needed her the most. Isn't that sweet? Now Geogia is up here as well and we are having a wonderful family weekend. She made a special toast to me for "being so strong and so wonderful to her sister"... there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It was very sweet of her and I appreciate it a great deal.

This update was posted on Saturday, August 17, 2002 at 7:24:04 PM (USA Central Time)
Last updated on Thursday, October 02, 2003 at 11:42:29 AM (USA Central Time)