We left the house at 7:30am and pulled back into our driveway at 4:30pm...so a rather long day...but still not as bad as some have been. Woody's lab appointment was at 11am, but we had been told to get to the clinic no later than 10am. He was signed in and we were sitting in the clinic waiting room by 9:20am. It was a day after a holiday, so things were a bit backed up, but still he was called in for his lab work before 10am. The moment he stepped out from having the labs done the above pictured apparatus lighted up and started buzzing (very obnoxious sound and eerie blue light--these things are going off constantly all over this very large waiting room--seems to me that there should be a better way to page patients)saying that his doctor was ready to see him...now it is only a little after 10am and his appointment with Dr. Sosman isn't until noon! Hey...this was really looking good! We saw Dr. Sosman and the research nurses and were out of his office by 11am...but that is when the waiting game began. First wait = wait for all his lab results so the drugs could be phoned into the pharmacy; second wait = wait on pharmacy to fill the prescriptions and get them delivered to the research nurse (which happened a little before 1pm) At that point the nurse came and got us and took us back so Woody could take his first dose of the chemo and drug study meds. 3rd wait = after he took the meds then he had to wait an hour to have more lab work done. Then we were free to leave which put us at 2:20pm...really not bad! AND...we DON'T have to go back till October 5!
The visit with Dr. Sosman was very positive. He said that Woody's melanoma tumors had not grown and perhaps were even a little bit smaller than they had been and no new tumors...so VERY good news. Now...Woody didn't hear what I am sure that I heard...but I am pretty sure that Dr. Sosman said that he was guessing that Woody was probably getting at least the smaller amount of the study drug. Woody was concentrating on the statistics that Dr. Sosman was explaining about accuracy of the scans and the percentage that the scan measurements might be off...or some such. I knew that the numbers probably wouldn't stick in my head...so was concentrating on other things that the doctor said. Probably a good thing that we both hear different things...that way we end up hearing more!
Woody didn't go to work today since we had to head to Vanderbilt so early. And, we didn't walk this evening...I just felt too tired after our long day. Woody has gone in to lie down and asked me to awaken him to take his drug study meds, "if" he falls asleep (I think that I will be awakening him!)...now for me to stay awake or at least set an alarm to awaken us at 11pm. Since Woody took the first doses of the chemo meds in the afternoon (rather than in the morning), the research nurse asked that he take the next meds at 11 tonight and 9 in the morning and then gradually get back to taking them at 6am and 6pm.
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