On 24 July, Cindy writes:
Joey had her first chemo session today, lasting about three hours.
Joey is not getting the dual dose of chemo because of the toxic effect on her liver.
She didn't find the infusion to be particularly uncomfortable,
at least this time. Her personal cost was $85
out of the treatment cost of $490 per session.
Hopefully her insurance will pay the rest of the cost.
This chemo cocktail is particularly destructive to blood cells
and she needs to have an injection tomorrow to help that.
The cost per shot is $585 and she doesn't know yet
how much the insurance will cover.
She will have a shot after each one of the six infusions.
The usual side effects of nausea and hair loss are expected.
So far, so good on the nausea part.
Transportation to the chemo visits seems to be covered:
Bette Leyden is doing August;
Pam McKusick is doing the first one in September;
and Ann Townely has offered to cover the other three sessions.
On 29 July, Cindy writes:
Joey had her first round of chemo last Wednesday.
Thursday she went into get an injection to encourage platelet growth.
She was feeling okay until the weekend.
Then she had a great deal of pressure in her abdomen and was very uncomfortable.
Today the VNA took her temp and it was 101.
Her friend Cheryl took her to the ER and will stay at the house with the dogs.
They are keeping her overnight and possibly a day or two.
She has an infection somewhere.
They plan to do a CAT scan to find where it is and may drain
her abdomen to examine the fluid. If the infection is in her abdomen,
it could be very serious.
Please gear up those prayers,
On 29 July, Cindy writes:
Joey is home from the hospital. Tests indicate that she has a UTI.
While she was in the hospital, they drained five liters of fluid from her abdomen.
It was an instant loss of almost ten pounds and
relief from the pressure! They did test the fluid,
but she was already taking an antibiotic,
so that makes that test result moot.
She is to walk every two hours to avoid blood clots
and eliminate the need for another shot.
I made her promise to stay close to the house and
to carry her cell phone. Other than being tired,
she is very glad to be home.
As a group, your prayers and positive thoughts have worked again.
If you have the time, it would be wonderful to send her a card
as she starts this stage of her treatment.
PLEASE SEND TO:
JOEY FINERAN
c/o ANDREA DENNINGER
7835 43 AVE
KENOSHA WI 53142-4201
If you are sending a DONATION WITH your card, please let me know HERE
If you are sending just a card, please let me know HERE
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