On Sunday, 11December, Karen began to experience severe pain about 2 a.m. She said the pain came quickly and was some of the worst she had ever felt. Given that it was a weekend and in the middle of the night, we went to the emergency room. The doctor was concerned she may have a kidney stone since the pain came on so quickly and seemed to be getting worse.

After X-rays, blood and urine test it was determined Karen had a bladder infection. The reason that the infection gained ground so quickly was due to the weakness of Karen’s immune system. The doctor ordered Levaquin by I.V. which took about an hour. Karen was released about 4 a.m. with a prescription to take 9 more days of Levaquin in pill form. As of this posting she hasn’t had any more issues with pain and will finish the Levaquin on Tuesday, 20December.

Karen received the 10th treatment of Herceptin on Thursday, 15December. This was the last treatment of Herceptin for 2005. The infusion and blood tests went smoothly. However, the next day she felt bad and spent much of the day resting. Thankfully that was the only day after treatment she really felt ill. Her energy continues to comes and go. We’re grateful that it comes!

She has no scheduled appointments this week which is good because she has a long list of things she’d like to accomplish. On that note, this time of year typically becomes hurried and stressful with so much to do and so little time to do it in. Please try to slow down, remember the Reason for the Season and spend time with family and friends.

Thank you for checking on Karen’s progress.