Is nothing sacred?

It has been two weeks since my last post and Em has had her ups and downs. Literally. First, she spiked a fever, which is quite scary when you are a chemo patient. As long as your fever stays below 100.5, you are okay but once you hit that point, you must rush off to the emergency room, just in case. When her temp got up to 100.3, my dad fired up the heating pad and wrapped her in two dryer blankies. As all good Porters know, the heat treatment will fix anything! Fortunately the trip to the emergency room was averted and her fever slowly came down.

Her next crisis came during a fun afternoon outing with her lovely sister. :) She was feeling pretty good on Sunday afternoon and we trundled off to the movies together. After enjoying a good chick flick (27 Dresses, for those who are interested) and plenty of popcorn and candy, we stood up to exit the theater. The next thing we knew, she tripped and went rolling down the stairs! Fortunately for what was left of her pride, her wig and hat stayed firmly on her head, but she ended up sprawled out on the floor upside down, blocking the exit aisle. She managed to regain her composure (and her balance) but she has some nasty bruises to show for it. In the chemo literature that she received it does mention that the lack of red blood cells can cause severe lightheadedness and falling is actually very common. Bummer, huh? Especially in public!

A surprise highlight in her week came just today, when Jocelyn, Kathryn and I showed up for a visit. Em was getting ready to go to her chemo appointment and had not yet put on her hat. She put Jocelyn on her shoulders for a quick ride and got quite a surprise. Jocie could not resist leaning down and LICKING Em's bald head! We have attached some photos of the incident.

Being the good aunt that she is, Em just laughed and helped me search for a camera to capture the moment. It was truly an event to remember!

Today was her 4th chemo treatment and the last one of this particular drug combination. Starting two weeks from now she begins her Taxol treatment, which doesn't have nausea associated with it. Yipee! It will be interesting to see what fabulous new side effects it will have, however. She has reached the 1/2 way point! Way to go, Em!