Increasing chemotherapy

Back in early July, when Steve's immunity system crashed, he took a break from his chemotherapy regimen. When he started again, it was at a lower dose -- 200 mg, down from 300 mg. The risk of staying at the high dose was too great.

Today Dr. M decided to start the next cycle of chemo, which begins Monday, at 240 mg. Steve's labs have been consistently in range or close enough; no levels have been at an alert status. Dr. M thinks his body should be able to handle the increased dose. We pray she's right. We want to hit the tumor with as much poison as possible without compromising his daily health.

We also learned:

• At least one doctor thinks Steve's double vision could go away. A neurology resident examined Steve before Dr. M and thinks the affected cranial nerve may take care of itself when the tumor moves out of the way. This is the only doctor who has even suggested his vision could come back -- we hope the minority rules!
• The whole family needs flu shots. If any readers know a good way to make shots easier for 3- and 7-year-olds, please let us know.
• Dr. M encourages Steve to increase his steroid dose if he starts feeling especially rundown or weak. He's been at 2 mg for weeks and has some stability issues that are magnified when he's tired.
• His mouth and throat are free of thrush!
• The next MRI is Oct. 22.

Visiting Dr. M always lifts our spirits. She showers Steve with praise, telling him what a great patient he is, how thrilled she is that he's working and not just sitting around the house, how she loves our optimism.

In the past few months we've realized how small and connected our world is. Today we received yet another reminder.

Dr. M's new medical assistant and I were chatting while Steve was in the lab. I learned that she was the medical assistant for Cooper's first pediatrician, Dr. P, while we were patients there. While the nurse worked for Dr. P, one of their 3-year-old patients was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (the same kind of tumor Steve has).

The nurse kept in touch with the parents. During one of their phone calls, she learned that they were desperately looking for a qualified nanny to help care for their sick daughter. The nurse talked it over with Dr. P, who agreed to let her quit that day. She started working for the family and took care of the little girl until she died later that year.

Some may think of the nurse's presence in Steve's life as a coincidence, but I take it as a small sign that he's being taken care of in a very special way.