Chemo, Cousins and John McCain

Calling each stage of chemotherapy a round makes some sense: the patient steps into the ring and battles a one-two punch -- the cancer AND the side effects of treatment -- especially in the early rounds. 

Harry did ok in round one.  When he came out for round two, he started to feel the blows, with a return of the severe nausea he experienced at the outset of chemotherapy -- some days even before Harry received his Ara-C (Cytarabine) home infusion in the afternoon.

Yes, today, you can receive high dose chemotherapy in the comfort of your own home, even while sitting as Harry did, on his couch.  

The infusion was delivered manually over a five-minute period through Harry's port -- the removable external line plugged into the IV that goes right into Harry's vena cava.  



Today's infusion was done by Barbara, the in-home nurse sent by Walgreens Infusion Services -- Walgreens being, yes, the official pharmacist of Children's National.  

Harry's nausea didn't prevent him from doing practice math drills, watching the Argentina-Netherlands World Cup semi-final, or the Tour de France. To keep the food down and remain hydrated, Harry made a concerted effort to avoid "Maury." 

Harry was grateful for the presence of a few friends, and especially happy that his big cousin Jacob was there to spend a few days with him. Jake's presence allowed Amy & Ken to actually work, as he was in charge.  This was not an easy task this week.  But by the time, Jacob was joined by his brother Josh on Friday, Harry was ready to go out again and tour DC - going canoeing,  Toki Underground, even Ben's Chili Bowl and watching lots of late night movies.  The visit made the week much better.  What was really nice was that the three cousins got what Harry calls "bro-sin time."  (Meaning without sisters.)



The Three Bro-sins: Joshua, Harry and Jacob

Notice a family clothing resemblance?

Though the Dems won Ken over last week in Nantucket, there was a big swing back home to the Republican camp this week (who knew Ken could be a swing vote?  Madame Secretary, Mr. Vice President - you are still in the game for Ken.) The 2008 Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, called Harry to see how he was doing.

McCain noted his deep concern for Harry, indicating how much he felt for Harry in his struggle, how difficult it must be, and how much he admired his courage...."in putting up with all those liberals at Sidwell Friends."  

This is why the Senator is still an SNL favorite.  After the pitch perfect delivery of this joke, which had all of us laughing, the Senator spent ten minutes discussing his own battle with cancer, as well as other lesser issues such as the situation in the Middle East and on the U.S. border.  He invited Harry to visit him in his Senate office before too long, which Harry very much hopes to do.

Special thanks to our friend Dan McKivergan and Brian Rogers for setting this up and bringing a big smile to Harry during a tough week. 

Harry's New Friend

Lastly, we are deeply grateful to everyone who is giving platelets and blood at Children's National.  This effort has made a major difference for the patients.  As a reminder, privacy rules prevent the blood center from letting us know who has donated, so please let us know so we can thank you. 

This week's numbers:
Normal                      Harry 6/18       6/24        7/1         7/8
Hemoglobin  12-16      14.1                13.3.     13.2         13.3
Platelets 150-350        235                 174.       168        170
WBC  5000-10000     8750                 6300.      6200       3900
ANC.    Above 1500.                          4700.      2770     1460