Cycle 5

Thursday is Chemo day. Here is our day in the life :)

Andy wakes up and takes his medicine. The first 5 days of Chemo are the hardest because he has 17 pills he has to take every morning. 

We then head to breakfast. It is Andy's "Last Meal" for a few days... and the last time he feels good. Today we headed to Marley's to try something new. We all decided Lucas' pancakes were the best, but my egg and cheese sliders were pretty good too. 

Lucas thought it was fun to run back and forth through the entire restaurant multiple times. 

Filling up the drinks... not to worry we all drank water and got a Diet Coke at Sonic on our way to treatment. No Pepsi for this family :)

Trying to get a family picture... Lucas was not in the mood.

We tried again and Lucas had another meltdown. Better luck next time :)

I love his little hand.

Lucas' new favorite game to play with "Bay Jane" (he doesn't say the last "B" in baby, so now we all call her "Bay Jane" instead of "Baby Jane"

This is Jane's "Shy" face. When anyone tries to get her to smile she nuzzles into your neck and smiles. I love it.

Today our day went a little differently since we headed to Salt Lake instead of our usual Provo clinic. Let me tell you that this is such a blessing for our family. The facility at the Huntsman Center is out of this world. Words cannot describe what a difference our day went. 

You can tell by the exterior of the building how advanced they are.

The infusion room is rated #1 in the nation. Every patient has their own private area and the entire room is floor to ceiling windows. It is so happy! Especially for such a difficult day. At our old clinic it was such a depressing room with everyone crowded together... just looking at one another feeling sorry for everyone. Here everyone has there own space, thermostat, light switch. The chairs have a remote to recline and every station has a warming drawer for blankets. I am telling you- it is amazing. 

Skull Candy donates headsets to all patients so they can watch TV without disturbing others. 

Here was Andy's station. Lucky number 6A! 

View from my lunch spot. The cafeteria was yummy too.

I think the best part of this new facility is the nursing staff. The nurses explained what they were doing. The IV poles (is that the proper term?) were computerized so the nurses could tell exactly how much medicine was going in. Then after every 20 minutes they would ask Andy if it was too fast or too slow and adjust as necessary as to not get too sick. In Provo the IV drips were on a dial and the nurses would deem how fast or slow to insert the medicine. Sometimes it took 3 hours, sometimes 5. And every time it was too fast making Andy even more sick.

They also mix his medicine at their clinic so it is fresh and perfect for just him. This has been such a blessing. Tonight Andy has been feeling well, actually ate dinner, and although still feels crumby, is feeling the best he has felt since after a treatment! We still can't believe we are able to go to this wonderful facility. And it is only an hour away. 

While we are at treatment, my in-laws watch the kids. Today I sat with Andy half the time then we switched. 

Cycle 5 is over. Now we only have ONE MORE!! Hip Hip Hooray!!