Quick Update-Nathan

This will be a very brief update on Nathan. 

NATHAN:
Nathan had his first chemo treatment on Friday, February 25th.  It took 2 1/2 hours to administer via IV.  The nurse who had administered the treatment, Aladeen, was wonderful. He took a lot of time to explain all the side effects that could be associated with this particular type of chemo.  It was the 3rd time that day we had heard about the side effects but Aladeen spent the most time explaining them and really approached it as a lesson.  Nathan is so happy with his choice to be treated at MSK.

Unfortunately, some of the side effects they told us to expect came on strong right away and there are others we can't explain.  The strangest expected side effect associated with this chemo is a sensitivity to cold.  Nathan cannot drink, eat or touch anything cold.  He can't even pull anything out of the fridge with his bare hands.  Do you know how many things are cold?  How about the air in NY right now?  Just walking home from the car that evening, his face was on fire.  Yes, the cold translates as a burning sensation.  So no ice in his drinks, no food still cold from the fridge, no cold water when turning on the tap to wash his hands, etc.  I swear it's the small things like this that can drive a person insane. 

Strangely, Nathan's tear ducts and salivary glands also seem to be reacting adversely to the chemo.  The doctors have never heard of these areas being painful but Nathan is special.  As you might imagine this will probably prove to be very inconvenient.  The man does need to eat and tears are cancer's constant companion.

Of course, to be expected was fatigue.  Nathan spent much of the weekend in bed and thankfully less time in the lou.

By the time the effects of the chemo were starting to wane, Nathan had to have his Power MediPort put in his chest on Monday.  He is now recovering from the pain of the implant.  He isn't allowed to lift anything heavier than 10lbs for 10 days.  Since we haven't given stats on Sadie lately you should know she is 27lbs.  So sadly he isn't able to pick her up for another week.  Again, it's the small things most people take for granted (like being able to pick up your child when she says,"Dada, uppa") that cause unexpected pangs of grief. 


Friday, Nathan will be meeting with Dr. Segal in the morning and then having a second round of chemo via IV.  Even though the power mediport has been implanted it needs to heal completely before they can start using it to administer the treatments.

In the next post, I will give a quick update on me.

Thanks for continuing to check in.