Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Meal Coordination

Tammy has graciously volunteered to coordinate meals for Susie over the course of her Chemo treatments. If you can help out, please contact her at allenandtammyalbright @ adelphia dot net. Of course you will need to remove the extra spaces and format this appropriately for email (trying to keep her from getting spammed from web crawlers). Please email her with your phone number and what day(s) you can bring what meal(s).

Many thanks to Tammy for her help!

First Chemo Day

Yesterday Susie had her first Chemo treatment. She was surrounded by friends and we brought chocolate. (I think that is why she invited us!) She got to the clinic around 1:30, and after much poking and prodding, they managed to get a line into her vein (3rd try is a charm) at around 3:30 to draw blood. After they ran some tests, they began her chemo treatment at about 4:30. First the Adriamycin is pushed in through a large syringe slowly. It is bright red, and she was told it would make her pee red.
After that, the Taxotere drip was started. About 5 minutes in, she said, "I am feeling short of breath," and turned quite the bright shade of red. I called in the doctor, and they stopped that drip. She was having an allergic reaction. She was seeing silver spots "like when the sun hits the dust specks" and sweating pretty profusely for someone who is always so cold. They gave her some Benadryl, Zantac, and Decadron (Dexamethasone) for the reaction, plus some additional saline. After 10 minutes, they started up the Taxotere drip again at a much slower pace, and slowly ramped it up to full speed. She was done at about 6:30. And her pee was already red!

We took her home, had a bit of dinner, and she went to bed. I am sure she was exhausted, I know we all were, and we didn't have to get poked, prodded, and poisoned!

She probably will feel very fatigued over the next few days, and may be sick. So while I know she appreciates all of your calls and emails, she may or may not be able to respond in any timely manner. But know that she knows you are there and that you care, and she will try to get back to you as soon as she feels up for it!

(Not So) Random Acts of Kindness

One of the things that has been amazing is how kind and caring people are when they hear Susie has cancer. Now, you should also know that it has worked to her advantage in cases like with her landlord that hasnt exactly been responsive to her needs over the last 8 years, but now is practically falling over himself to get things done that she needs! But there are also others out there who are just being kind. We will use this post to recognize those people, and encourage you to go to these businesses if you have the need in the future.

Susie's Hairstylist, who she has been going to for 10 years, recently gave her a haircut, but didn't charge her because she said "how can I charge you for a haircut you will only have for 2 weeks?" Normally $75, Susie got this cute haircut for free.


Susie was shopping in the outlets last weekend and saw a woman wearing a shawl that she admired. When she asked where she got it, this woman, Grace, explained that she actually imported and sold them herself. And as it turns out, she lives in the Marina. So Susie was going to purchase a shawl from her for $99, but Grace decided to give it to her instead. Grace's primary business is as an International Travel Consultant, but she also imports Pashmina silk and cashmere scarves, as well as other items and can be reached at gracegerales @ hotmail dot com.

Jamie has a co-worker that Susie met a couple weeks ago when they went to his office holiday party. He sent her a beautiful bouquet of roses. Many thanks.

We will try to post others as they occur. Thanks to all.