Bonus days
In support of
The Steinhaus Family
View Support Registry
The Steinhaus Family
Andrew’s experience with chemo round 2 was night and day compared to the first round. He had a few tough hours on Monday afternoon where he didn’t feel well, but recovered by around 8pm and even ate before bed. Dr. Vivian assessed the situation and felt comfortable with his overall status. Tuesday and today have been like normal days without any nausea. Andrew is calling them “bonus days” because he didn’t expect to feel good but does.
He does have a couple new symptoms—hiccups, jaw pain, and cold sensitivity. Cold sensitivity is a common side effect of one of the chemo drugs, but he didn’t experience it last time. He was disappointed that it showed up yesterday because it’s uncomfortable and spoiled his plan to binge ice pops. Neuropathy effects can be cumulative, so it’s unclear whether it’ll go away before the next chemo or last for the duration of treatment. Andrew is already taking a medication for nerve pain that can be increased to help some.
Today we are back at NYU to disconnect his take-home chemo pump and get IV fluids. We ran into his palliative care doc in the waiting room, who moved his virtual appointment scheduled for Friday to today so she could spend time with Andrew in person. She lifts his spirits, and this was a good appointment. His oncologist also dropped by to say hey and celebrate that he wasn’t having a heart rate in the 200s, an allergic reaction, or other interesting episode. (We are trying to be less “interesting” in general.)
Once he’s done with IV fluids, he’ll get the white blood cell booster shot, and they’ll send him home until chemo #3 on July 22. The only other medical appointments we have scheduled between now and then is with a speech language pathologist (for stroke rehab) and neuro-ophthalmologist (for stroke-induced blurry vision). He has been making great strides with reading, but the vision changes are bothering him more now.
Elyse Steinhaus
over 1 year ago
Comments
Harley Duncan
Your are such a good writer, and I consider myself a tough grader on sentence structure, grammar and proper paragraphing. Not to mention the medical translation. Absolutely incredible. Please give Andrew my best, and know that I think about Andrew, you and the family often. My name is Harley, and I have known Andrew since I joined the Firm. He is absolutely top notch. I have always been impressed with his intellect, preparation and kindness. Just a good human being as I know you are. All the best. Keep writing. -HTD
Donna Beasley
Francesco Deluca
Bob Cagle
Kelley Myers
Deb Long
Joyce Geddie
Susan Wacasey