Round 21/Round 6
After almost a month since Charlotte's last chemotherapy treatment, we found ourselves back at Hotel SCH this week for another course of Etoposide and Ifosfamide. As our last two posts have shown, we packed a lot in to our break, which recharged all of our batteries, but was also enough time away from our chemo routine that it was a little tougher on Charlotte to get back into "treatment" mode. Still, she proved her resilience once again, and settled in on Wednesday afternoon for the 5-day admission.
One major change for this round was that Charlotte still hadn't gotten a new NG tube placed since our trip. The value of the tube is to provide food nutrition and medicine without having to swallow. Very handy when chemo suppresses your appetite and you have to get medication on a frequent basis. However, we know that it's traumatic to get placed, and would result in more tubes connected to a pole, and more things to beep at us, just another layer of discomfort.
Charlotte has been eating well at home, and even had some appetite during past rounds of this chemo, so she was willing to try this course without getting a new NG tube placed, at least as long as she could. It took a little trial and error on the food front, but we found a decent rotation of snacks, Starbucks baked goods, and ever-reliable Happy Meals for Charlotte to eat this admission. Not the most well-balanced diet, no, but we mostly cared about calories going in, and we got there. Vegetables can come back next week. As for the meds, she had a few that had a strong flavor, but she powered through all of them with minimal fuss and the occasional lime Jell-0 chaser. Overall, a big win to make it through the admission without needing an NG tube!
Charlotte also got confirmation from her surgeon that she is cleared to put full weight on her right leg - no crutch needed! Ok, they still advised that we use the crutch for long distances, but getting around the house, backyard, etc, she's fine without it. One fewer hindrance to mobility is a big win!
For better or worse, the biggest side effect of this chemo for Charlotte has been fatigue, so there was a lot of time in the room. We tried to take little walks here and there, and spent a bit of time at the rooftop garden enjoying the sun, but the energy wasn't there for sustained activity. She did get to participate in a super-cool art activity though. Bryan Woo, pitcher for the Mariners, donated a few pairs of cleats to the hospital to have patients decorate. Charlotte and a few other kids on the floor did some splatter paint in navy, teal and silver for their cleats, so hopefully we're able to see those on the mound sometime this season!
We're excited to get Charlotte home and able to sleep in her own bed, eat some home-cooked foods, and snuggle with Clover!
