Day 235

An update from Kirk:
Well, we are in the infusion clinic again today. Sarah isn't extremely sick today, but she would be this weekend if we didn't get her fixed up tonight. It is so strange that IV fluids, anti-nausea meds, and pain meds are what help her system feel better on a temporary basis, but somehow they do. I was thinking about this all the other day and realized that the only thing she receives that would last for days is the IV fluids. The other two drugs wear off in a couple of hours. It was with this thought that I came up with an idea. If Sarah's doctor wrote a series prescription for her to routinely get fluids twice a week instead of once, she might never get dehydrated and hopefully not get nauseous. I ran this idea by Sarah's doctor and he was all for trying it. So, from this week on Sarah will be getting IV fluids alone to see if staying hydrated keeps her nausea at bay. Please pray with us that this will help Sarah feel better. We realize that twice a week in the infusion clinic sounds not so great, but its all about perspective. When nausea and vomiting are the other option, the infusion clinic and an IV are a walk in the park.

This week we have seen a couple of specialists. The first was the SCCA nutritionist. The nutritionist has laid out a plan not to fix Sarah's nausea, but to try and help her body fight/deal with it. She asked Sarah to eat small portions every 2 to 3 hrs; never eating a large meal. Keeping something in her stomach at all times will hopefully help to lessen the severity nausea and help maintain a decent weight. The second was a sleep specialist at Swedish. Sarah discussed all of her troubles sleeping and was asked many different questions. The final verdict was that Sarah's insomnia is caused by everything she is going through (My first thought was, "Tell me something I don't know...") However what she continued to tell us was that this type of insomnia is very similar to post-traumatic stress induced insomnia. In this case, because Sarah's brain activity is so strong due to everything she has to think about and be worried about, the medications she has tried are rendered inneffective. Wow, that explains alot!!! The sleep specialist then told us how in these cases it is lifestyle changes that offer the greatest relief. So then Sarah said, "Well if you prescribed me a baseball bat, that would change my lifestyle." My Sarah never misses an opportunity to insert something that makes her situation light-hearted. I will always love that about her.

Please pray that these things we are trying to do help Sarah on all fronts actually work. She is desperate for sleep, desperate for nausea relief, and desperate to be done with all this cancer "stuff." I cannot thank you all enough for supporting my Sarah as you all have over these past 9 months. She has needed every bit you have given!

Kirk