We Thought It Was Chemo Day 🤷‍♂️ (July 25, 2024)

Just wanted to give you all an update on Ali. Earlier today, we headed down to the main Vanderbilt hospital downtown for what we anticipated would be Ali’s third chemotherapy treatment.

First thing, we had an appointment at the lab where Ali had her port connection installed and got her blood work done. It took about 45 minutes, and then we made our way across the hall for our appointment with Dr. Michael Gibson.

Dr. Gibson recently switched up Ali’s chemotherapy medications, so we were meeting with him before her infusion. The new medications are Fluorouracil, Oxaliplatin, and Nivolumab. Two of these (Oxaliplatin and Nivolumab) are administered in the hospital, while Fluorouracil is done at home over a 46-hour period.

Unfortunately, we hit a bump in the road... Ali’s white blood cell counts were too low for her to receive chemotherapy today. Dr. Gibson reassured us that this often means the previous chemo is still working in her body, so it’s not entirely a bad thing. It just means we have to delay the next treatment cycle by a couple of weeks.

After our appointment with Dr. Gibson, we also met with Victoria Guentzel, a dietician who specializes in diet for people with cancer. Due to the location of this cancer on her stomach, Ali struggles to eat enough calories to maintain her weight. Victoria gave us tons of guidance and recipes to try to boost Ali’s caloric intake. We will be hitting up Publix this weekend to get the ingredients.

As it stands, Ali has an abdominal paracentesis scheduled for July 31st, and her rescheduled chemotherapy treatment will be on August 8th, a day before her 39th birthday.

On a brighter note, we’ve been overwhelmed by the support from everyone. Numerous people have sent photos of themselves wearing the “Team Ali” shirts, and I’ve loaded all these onto a digital frame that sits next to her bed. This frame will also accompany us to each chemotherapy appointment, serving as a constant reminder of the love and support from all of you.

If you haven’t sent in your photos yet and still want to, please send them to either 615-804-1604 or keithrichmond1982@yahoo.com.

Lastly, a big thank you to Erin and Delaney for picking Liam up from camp today and bringing him out to Better Days Diner in Nolensville. He had a blast, and it gave Ali and I a chance to decompress after a hectic yet ultimately uneventful day at Vanderbilt.