Finally home!

After Heather's chemo treatment this past Wed night we were finally able to head home on Thursday morning.  It was a 8 hour trek to Oklahoma City, but dad drove the whole way so Heather was able to rest (thanks dad!).  Luckily Heather didn't experience really bad side effects from the first treatment so she wasn't too uncomfortable in the car. The fatigue did set in, but being in the car gave her plenty of time to rest. From the beginning she took the prescribed medication to keep the nausea from getting too bad.  The nurse said if you don't take it at the first onset of nausea, then it's too late.  We were warned by Dr. Alvarez that the side effects will get worse after each treatment because the chemo is killing all cells, not just bad ones.  The most noticeable side effect will be the hair loss, which will happen around week 3 or 4.  While we were in Houston we checked out some wigs and figured out that there are some really cute ones available. 

Heather is hoping to be able to do her weekly treatments in Springfield or Kansas City, but unfortunately her ex-husband is fighting her about that.  Neither him or his new wife have been compassionate about the situation at all.  They have told Heather that they don't care if it's in her best interests to get treatment somewhere else, they want Mary Grace to stay in Oklahoma City.  While Heather tried to explain the severity of her diagnosis and what it's going to take for her to beat it, they said they didn't care.  If anyone knows the ex, this is typical behavior for him, but we were hoping that his new wife might help him be a little nicer.  The crazy thing is, the ex only gets custody every other weekend so it's not like he would see her any more or any less than he already does.  Heather promised him that she would have Mary Grace back in OKC every other weekend for his pre-determined visitation, but he didn't care. To most people, this sounds completely ridiculous that someone could act like this, but unfortunately we have been dealing with his irrational behavior for years so it doesn't surprise us. We were just hoping that when it really mattered he would come through, but he didn't.  It breaks my heart that Heather is having to worry about him and going back to court when she has a much bigger fight on her hands.  The last thing she needs is additional stress. 

Thank you so much for all of the supportive messages, emails, and cards...they all mean a lot to Heather (and her family)!