Delays and a stent removal

     Radiation went well, this thought stays in my mind, Rebekah was able to hold still without being sedated, but her next round of chemo was delayed due first to low counts then to the return of shingles.  Once we were able to go in for her 5 day round of Iphosphomide and Etopiside she did well and was only sick a couple of times.
    While she was in she got another UTI, I asked her Hem/Onc if he would talk to her urologist about removing her stent. He did and Dr. Oottamatasthien agreed to remove it which he did on the Tuesday (10/8) after her chemo finished. He is so skilled and gentle, he told me that she might have blood in her urine for a few weeks making it cherry kool-aid colored but she hasn't and only the first 2 times she peed did she have any pain. He was a little nervous about removing the stent before he did it but in talking with him after he seemed pleased with how much less the ureter was kinked by the tumor.   The stent has been out for just over a week now and Rebekah hasn't complained of pain as she is peeing the way she was with the stent in place (happy dance).  Oh and a note to self : using gas to get her under makes her puke a bunch after so no more gas for that.
   Rebekah should have started another round of chemo this Monday but her counts remained low despite using neupoen shots to help boost her bone marrow's activity. Because her platelets fell to 12,000 (most people walk around with about 100,000) she was bruising easily and at risk for more severe bleeding so she had to get a transfusion of platelets as well as blood on Monday instead of her chemo. Delays add up and seem to increase the risk of relapse so we don't like them.
   Just got the news: Rebekah's counts are up and she will be able to have chemo tomorrow after she has an echo-cardiogram. (typing was hard because that is a reminder that her chemo can cause major life long heart problems. Rebekah hasn't had any changes yet but we have friends who's children have had serious complications and been unable to finish the protocol because of them.)