Hurry up and wait

Hope was happy to get to clinic today. She eagerly got dressed, grabbed her jacket, put on a mask, and practically skipped to the front door, as we chatted about seeing her nurse Lisa, the routines that have become so familiar, and getting her band-aid before we leave.

We arrived at 9 for an hour of physical therapy downstairs and went up to clinic for her blood draw. She got hooked up to a giant bag of saline because if her counts are high enough to get chemo today, one of the drugs can cause bladder damage unless you are swimming in fluid. Then we wait. Watch some Barney. See the bubble-blowing clowns that wander around the hospital entertaining kids. And wait. Do some "cooking" and meet a new friend in the playroom. Red blood cell and platelet counts come back looking good. Platelet count is one hurdle for starting her next round of chemo and she surpasses the threshold by a mile. And then we wait for her ANC. Walk around the clinic and do some dancing with a couple of nurses. Have a popsicle. And wait.

In the end, her ANC was 280 - not even close to the required 750 to restart treatment. So we wait for some prescription refills and discharge paperwork. Next Friday, we try again.