November 8, 2006 - Pump is out!

We went back to the Vince today and had Jim's pump detatched - he's chemo free for another week and a half! It only takes about 1/2 hour to detatch the pump. They spray saline through his port and then put a blood thinner through it so there won't be any clotting around the site of the port.

Jim is feeling 100% better than he did in his last phase of chemo. He was a little nauseated today, but not nearly as nauseated as he was last phase, and he wasn't sick at all. Needless to say we're excited about that. He's very tired this time around. Last night he fell asleep around 8:00 pm, and tonight he went to bed at 7:45 pm - just 45 minutes after Jake and Rachel went to bed.

He actually said that he's thinking of going to work tomorrow if he feels up to it. Jim's terrible habit of pushing himself too hard is going to really show through this process. He's a wonderfully motivated man, but sometimes it's really hard to get him to slow down - chemo or no chemo. He seems to resent it when I suggest that he rest or that he might be pushing too hard.

On the organic healthy-eating front, we've officially switched to organic milk. It's $5.00 for a HALF gallon, which is very difficult for me. But we're doing soy milk in cereal and oatmeal, so we're using less milk overall. Basically he should be drinking green tea and water, so at the price of organic milk, it won't be long before we phase it out completely!!!!

Hope everyone is doing well. We're getting by - my parents left today (they watch Rachel and Jake during chemo), so it's a sad time for me when they leave, but at the same time it's good to know that they are able to leave because Jim's doing well. On a happy note, Jake is 5 months old and has his first tooth! His bottom tooth appeared late last week. Even with cancer, everyday life goes on, and we have many, many happy moments at home.