When the Registrar finally came, there appeared to be an internal mis-communication. A few minutes later the Professor turned up. It was decided that Maria could come off the IV antibiotics and one of her oral antibiotic (Ciprofloxacin) doses would be increased.
Gabi and I watched the nurse remove the line. As you can see from the photo, Maria didn't feel it at all, which is amazing as you can see it has some length to it. Ben couldn't watch the action, but he was interested in having a "sticky beak" (look) afterwards to see whether there was blood on the line. Upon examination there was very little.
Maria tried on a mask, should she need one in the future to avoid illness while on chemo. The kids and I (even the nurses) agreed it made her look like a duck!
We headed home for lunch. We also received a call from our dear friend, Elizabeth, who had arrived in Canberra with her daughter and would be visiting us later in the afternoon.
Elizabeth, her daughter, and a friend came over for afternoon tea. It was great to see Elizabeth, yet a bit strange having last seen her in Israel. The two girls had to shoot off so I took Elizabeth back to their friends' apartment later. When Elizabeth returns to Israel, she'll only be there for a further six days before returning to the US indefinitely.
Maria took her first dose of chemo for this cycle (as you can see). Although she is now on a virtual double dose (290mg/day) compared with her first regimen in Israel (150mg) because that was administered concomitantly with radiotherapy, she is taking a small number of tablets (3 compared with 5 last time). Here's praying for some positive effect, yet no/minimal side effects.
