7/25/18 Update after visit with oncologist (how's that for a creative title?)

Hi, folks.  Steve checking in.

Her visit with Dr. Goff went well this afternoon.  We discussed all the options, which mainly boiled down to two:  chemo or no chemo.  Houston is off the table as she is too ill for the trip and the rigors of the trial.  There are pros and cons to each option.  Chemo is very hard on her.  But it has the potential to help.  The "no chemo" approach would focus on keeping her comfortable and minimizing suffering.  After much discussion, she (we) opted to try a little more chemo with the full understanding that at this point, it is mainly to shrink the tumor size, not get her into remission.  A lot of the pain is coming from a swollen liver, and the hope is that if the tumors are even a little bit smaller, then the pain won't be as bad.

She is slated for another round of Taxol on Friday (two days hence, assuming I get my days correct...though one is never sure these days (have been up since 3:30)).  

Today, after her oncology visit, she got a liter of IV fluids as she really has not been drinking much.  She perked up quite a bit.  The current thinking is that the fogginess was a combination of dehydration and liver involvement which can cause confusion.

When we got home, we were treated to a wonderful cooler of goodies including dinner, yogurt and blueberries from Karissa and Jon.  Apparently some squirrel (or other varmint) thought so too as the top of the cooler was gnawed all to bits (see pix below).

She is much clearer today than yesterday, and I would be willing to bet that she has a better handle on what day it is than I do.  She even picked up her phone for the first time in three days to check her messages.  Go ahead and text or e-mail her if you like.  I am not sure if she will answer, but I'm fairly sure she'll read the message.

She chided me for trying to help her eat dinner, telling me in no uncertain terms that she could do it herself.  She also shouted directions to Daniel in the kitchen on how to tweak his homemade clam dip:  "how many cans of clams are in here?  You need more!  And a touch of onion powder.  And a little more cream cheese!"  It's good to have the old Gabrielle almost back.  

She is still quite weak and unsteady on her feet.  She doesn't like us "hovering over her", but is also very good natured about it and knows it's for her own good.  

Thanks for your prayers.  

And now the pix.  Here's what greeted us on our porch when we got home:

Hungry squirrel...either that or a woodpecker with a lot of fortitude.

And here's the payoff!  Granola, Greek salad, wonderful beef kabobs, pita bread.  Even whisky cherries (they must have a special tree!).  I wonder what exactly the squirrel was after.  I am hoping it wasn't the amazing kabobs as that would mean we've got carnivorous squirrels (or woodpeckers...oh my!) in the neighborhood.  And if that's the case, we've got bigger things to worry about than cancer.  Cue Hitchcock's The Birds!