Cycle 1, Day 3

Gianni resting with her new sock monkey

Day 3 of Gianni's 1st cycle. We are being told that we may be able to go home today (Sunday). We were told what to expect, but nothing can prepare you for all the yucky side effects of chemo. She has been quite the trooper (so has Tony, but don't tell him I said so). She began throwing up a little on Thursday night, but we attribute that round to hospital food. She continued to get sick through Friday night (that round we can't blame on the food because she had not eaten - no appetite). The no appetite is no good for her but a boon for Bruno, we have now stocked the house with high calorie foods to entice Gianni - that means lots of ice cream, butter, cheese, milk . . . no more low-fat cooking in our house!

She has had fevers up and down, headaches, some constipation, and all the side effects that go with the pain medication . . . It is entirely miserable to watch her suffer, but she really does seem to be tolerating this as well as could be expected.

Her counts (blood counts) are going to drop as expected which means a blood transfusion is in her near future (probably as part of our weekly clinic visit Thursday).

Hopefully the next update will be from home.

She continues to run the show. When a nurse asked if she had any pets at home (we don't), Gianni responded with a resounding "YES!"; when asked what kind of pet, she says, "A Panda bear and baby, they live in the tree outside my room."

[referencing giant Panda from her Panda Bear classmates]

Love to all of you, thank you for the calls, cards, notes, and good wishes.