Day +11 - Seems to be doing better

Lynn seems to be doing a bit better today and got stronger as the day went on.  The doctor gave her half of the dose of methotrexate (chemo) because of the degree of mucositis and the swelling/fluid retention.  The nurse explained that they often scale back the final dose if the patient is reacting as Lynn has.  From what we understand, that's it for that drug. 
We were able to get Lynn up and showered, and she even did a couple of laps on the unit.  She was able to talk a bit more but isn't yet able to swallow much or eat.  Again, the nurse said this is not uncommon at this stage of the game and given the severity of Lynn's mucositis.  During the evening she was unhooked from the morphine pump for 1.5 hours and seemed to do well as her pain held steady at a 2 which is fairly low.  Here's hoping she has a good night and things continue to progress.
Her blood counts continue to be low so she received another unit of platelets (she had some yesterday too) as her counts are only 8 (I believe normal is above 150).  She also received two units of blood as her hemoglobin dropped to 71 (normal is about 120 but Lynn hasn't been much higher than 100 since she started her first round of chemo in the fall of 2009).  We're still waiting on some blood test results from Christmas eve as Lynn had spiked a fever and had a racing heart beat.  They've again put her on prophylactic antibiotics until those results come back.  Since then, her temperature and heart rate have been normal.  She's also been on oxygen as her saturation levels had been dropping to 86-87% (normal is 97-99%). 
We can tell that the chemo is working as Lynn is starting to lose her hair.  The shower or brushing it just takes it out in clumps - she seems okay with it though.  We knew it was a possibility.
I know that Lynn is feeling a bit better as she was joking a bit with her Mom today and we were able to have a few laughs throughout the day.  Lynn's Mom flew back to Ontario today and it was terrific that they were able to get in one more visit.  Marg came in with David, Maddie and Molly for about an hour before they took her to the airport.
That's it for today.  It definitely felt like a better day.
'Til tomorrow.
Irena