NCI

Yesterday, Aimee arrived, got admitted, and was scanned. Today, she had a port put in her, and she's due for 2 or 3 more MRIs later today. The fun, however, doesn't really start until tomorrow, sometime in the afternoon, when she gets her first dose of chemotherapy. Dr. Lanier explained to us that the chemo will be at its worst in the beginning, for 2 or 3 days, and then gets better. (Although Aimee's held on to her red curls throughout this, he said she'll most probably lose them this time around.) The schedule for the treatment will be slightly different than what I posted before, but the content will remain the same.

But so far, things are good. Aimee's been sleeping and feeling ok.

For the duration of her treatment, they've put me up in the Safra Family Lodge , which is right next to the hospital. No back-breaking cots this time, and I can go back and forth between the buildings 24 hrs a day. I don't know if Aimee can receive mail directly here, but you can send it to me at the lodge, and I'll gladly deliver it to her. The address is

c/o The Safra Family Lodge at NIH
65 Center Dr.
Bethesda, MD 20892


Other miscellaneous events, observations, ramblings:

- Aimee and I tried to watch "Heroes" on NBC last night. But a number of things got in the way. First, the nurses had to take a blood sample, but since Aimee had to fast before her scans, her hydration was low, and it was difficult to get a good vein to poke. So they stuck her 7 times. But she was stoic throughout, until the last nurse finally succeeded. You see, they have a policy here at NIH where a nurse only has 2 chances to find a vein. If they are unsuccessful, then they call in another-- hopefully more experienced-- nurse to give it a try. So, 4 nurses had already tried, some only daring enough to try once. But each had their own unique approach, and each promising they'd get the vein. One claimed to have the steadiest hand on the floor, one professed the "old school" nursing techniques, but none of these worked. Finally, Nurse Ann Brady came in and dimmed the lights. "Don't be alarmed-- I don't work by sight, but by feel," she said. Amazingly it worked, and Aimee, who had been quiet the entire time, blurted out, "Ann Brady, I love you." Aimee wasn't in a lot of pain, though-- she was just frustrated that she couldn't get any rest throughout the ordeal. (With the chest-port put in, there will be no more needless needling-- thank goodness.)

By the time they were finished, most of the "Heroes" premier was over. And then it was just to difficult to get into. I guess we also remembered why we stopped watching it last year too. There's really not much more to that show than the mere novelty of the superpowers. The script is poorly written, and many of the characters are just too bland to watch.

- There's mass offered daily at 11am and there's a chapel of the Blessed Sacrament on the 7th floor. The chaplain is a little bizarre though. He stopped by yesterday, only to invite us to play with puppies. (Apparently, pets are supposed to help reduce stress. Pet therapy, they call it.) So no God today, just Dogs.

- They have an arts and crafts room somewhere on Aimee's ward. We have yet to see it, but we're certainly curious about what it has. Scissors, paste, felt, and googly-eyes? I guess we can start working on Christmas presents...

- Some good news: Aimee put on 5 pounds since her last visit here, mostly due to high calorie shakes and smoothies that the dietician prescribed. And they actually tasted pretty good too. (I mixed and tasted them for her.)