Day 26, +38 since Chemo
Cathi received her brother's wbc's with little incident on Tuesday. Beth the transplant specialist had two giant syringes that were full of Walt's wbc's with the bone marrow stem cells attached to the wbc's and injected them right into the pic line. Each syringe took quite a bit of time to insert. Remember this was done to help increase Cathi's own wbc production to get her healthier to accept a full bone marrow transplant at a later date with fresh cells from her donor.
So this week saw a boost in her wbc count going up to .5 from the transplant. It is expected that the wbc count will go back down before her marrow will get production online and get improved wbc production. This will likely take 10-14 days before solid increases in wbc's will be maintained. In the meantime her wbc will likely go up and down.
Cathi is still not eating on a regular basis and has trouble keeping food down. Just in the past day she has seen some improvement on this and is now requesting Starbucks coffee brought in the morning with the paper. She is also working to venture beyond the hospital neutropenic menu to get some food that tastes better. All good signs of solid recovery.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A new Day, A new dose of Cathi's donor
Day 22 in the Hospital, +38 since Chemo
The weekend is over, the boys have gone home, and a new plan. There was one plan Saturday, another Sunday, and yet another on Monday. Here is the approach moving forward.
Sunday morning Mcguirk came in to say that Cathi looked good and her lungs sounded the same. He did decide that he wanted a CAT scan of her lungs on Monday or Tuesday to confirm it clinically. This was to see things clearing up in order to prepare for another transplant, a mini-transplant like before.
He viewed the mini-transplant as a potential solution since her body is not ready to go through the rigors of a full-blown transplant & the chemotherapy preparation. But since the WBCs are stubbornly not regrowing, it’s an option he feels will give the desired results. As you look back in the September blog posts to see what the process was but essentially it’s a very quick ramp-up & preparation period followed by the transplant. The difference in a mini-transplant is the prep does not kill off the host marrow and blood the way it does on a full-blown process.
Prior to moving forward, Mcguirk wanted to seek the advice of some Seattle colleagues as they have the most experience with these mini-transplants. So the Dr's do have consultations. Cathi and a lot of us use discussion boards for troubleshooting IT issues. The medical community benefits from these and other collaboration relationships in ways many of us had not even thought of! He said based on what he finds for his answers, he’d decide when to schedule the min-transplant and what modifications to the previous procedures may be required.
That was Sunday
Monday he came in with an update on the pneumonia and a new plan. The infectious disease doctor finally has resolution on what type of pneumonia it is – fungal pneumonia. Mcguirk said, ‘Acts, looks, and talks like a duck. It’s a duck.’ This one of the primary causes of mortality in leukemia patients…hence another plan with quicker impact and results.
The plan is two-pronged in Dr Mcguirk's terminology. As opposed to Conor's ‘two-phased’ approach. So here are the details:
- Infuse the leftover cells from Walt on Tuesday, remember he gave an extra 130ml in Sept. These wbc's are put in to help Cathi with some WBCs to fight off the pneumonia, and improve her health and lap times at the hospital. Remember Dr Ganguly would say 'You have your brothers blood, you should feel 10 years younger. This may lead to Cathi getting out of the hospital in 7 – 10 days (Mar 3-6). But then Cathi's brother was always an unknown... so no way to know for sure, as history has shown us the two together only tend to last 90 days. Not doing the chemo treatment before opens the door for a greater risk of graft Vs. host disease.
- Then a full-blown transplant in about a month, when Cathi has fully recovered. That would include the total body irradiation, (Chemo + radiation) that would squash all marrow prior to a transplant. Cathi would also infuse fresh cells from the donor. Fresh cells increases success rates by about 10% & there will be no more of Walt on file at the hospital to use.
It is a good plan. It will strengthen her ability to ward off the pneumonia on her own, or with a little help from her brother so to speak. And with all we have done at the hospital, a plan that is sure to change as conditions change and improve. We shall see. There is even a chance, very slight, but a chance, that the infusion tomorrow would ‘take’, and that’d be it. But that is kind of like a lottery ticket, people do win them, but it is generally somebody else, with odds at seven digits.
So here is the 'marching orders' as Cathi would say, for the rest of us:
-Hope and pray the infusion tomorrow takes care of the pneumonia. Cards & posts
-Hope and pray the infusion ends up being the solution. There is always hope! If it is not the solution, then it is support for recovery and then on to the full transplant in about a month’s time, and for that transplant to work.
The weekend is over, the boys have gone home, and a new plan. There was one plan Saturday, another Sunday, and yet another on Monday. Here is the approach moving forward.
Sunday morning Mcguirk came in to say that Cathi looked good and her lungs sounded the same. He did decide that he wanted a CAT scan of her lungs on Monday or Tuesday to confirm it clinically. This was to see things clearing up in order to prepare for another transplant, a mini-transplant like before.
He viewed the mini-transplant as a potential solution since her body is not ready to go through the rigors of a full-blown transplant & the chemotherapy preparation. But since the WBCs are stubbornly not regrowing, it’s an option he feels will give the desired results. As you look back in the September blog posts to see what the process was but essentially it’s a very quick ramp-up & preparation period followed by the transplant. The difference in a mini-transplant is the prep does not kill off the host marrow and blood the way it does on a full-blown process.
Prior to moving forward, Mcguirk wanted to seek the advice of some Seattle colleagues as they have the most experience with these mini-transplants. So the Dr's do have consultations. Cathi and a lot of us use discussion boards for troubleshooting IT issues. The medical community benefits from these and other collaboration relationships in ways many of us had not even thought of! He said based on what he finds for his answers, he’d decide when to schedule the min-transplant and what modifications to the previous procedures may be required.
That was Sunday
Monday he came in with an update on the pneumonia and a new plan. The infectious disease doctor finally has resolution on what type of pneumonia it is – fungal pneumonia. Mcguirk said, ‘Acts, looks, and talks like a duck. It’s a duck.’ This one of the primary causes of mortality in leukemia patients…hence another plan with quicker impact and results.
The plan is two-pronged in Dr Mcguirk's terminology. As opposed to Conor's ‘two-phased’ approach. So here are the details:
- Infuse the leftover cells from Walt on Tuesday, remember he gave an extra 130ml in Sept. These wbc's are put in to help Cathi with some WBCs to fight off the pneumonia, and improve her health and lap times at the hospital. Remember Dr Ganguly would say 'You have your brothers blood, you should feel 10 years younger. This may lead to Cathi getting out of the hospital in 7 – 10 days (Mar 3-6). But then Cathi's brother was always an unknown... so no way to know for sure, as history has shown us the two together only tend to last 90 days. Not doing the chemo treatment before opens the door for a greater risk of graft Vs. host disease.
- Then a full-blown transplant in about a month, when Cathi has fully recovered. That would include the total body irradiation, (Chemo + radiation) that would squash all marrow prior to a transplant. Cathi would also infuse fresh cells from the donor. Fresh cells increases success rates by about 10% & there will be no more of Walt on file at the hospital to use.
It is a good plan. It will strengthen her ability to ward off the pneumonia on her own, or with a little help from her brother so to speak. And with all we have done at the hospital, a plan that is sure to change as conditions change and improve. We shall see. There is even a chance, very slight, but a chance, that the infusion tomorrow would ‘take’, and that’d be it. But that is kind of like a lottery ticket, people do win them, but it is generally somebody else, with odds at seven digits.
So here is the 'marching orders' as Cathi would say, for the rest of us:
-Hope and pray the infusion tomorrow takes care of the pneumonia. Cards & posts
-Hope and pray the infusion ends up being the solution. There is always hope! If it is not the solution, then it is support for recovery and then on to the full transplant in about a month’s time, and for that transplant to work.
Monday, February 23, 2009
THe kiddie boost
The weekend was attended by both Mark & Conor. Cathi took a big jump forward in her spirits from this. It was also blessed with a cameo from Dr. Mcguirk. We say Cameo, because she has not seen much of Mcguirk lately and he always is so impactful on getting her eyes pointed in the right direction. When she checked in for the second round of chemo it was Dr Mcguirk that was so definite in his statement that they would get through this round of chemo and she would come out OK.
So Mark & Conor both spent the weekend with their Mom. Cathi's spirits continued to improve throughout the weekend as she does when her boys are present. No Maynard weekend could be complete without some exercises and a few laps. So Conor and Mark both got Cathi up for regular laps through the BMT ward.
While the pneumonia does not show signs of improvement in the pictures. It does sound better when the Dr's listen to her lungs. The fever is still intermittent but holds down to low fevers for short durations. What does up, must come down, or in Cathi's case; What goes down, mostly comes up... Food is still a concern, but slight improvement in holding down food continues. She has sustained wbc counts of .3 for several days now. Again this is the key to getting healthy again is getting Cathi's own body doing the work and that requires WBC's.
Meanwhile back to Dr. Mcguirk. The new strategy is the old strategy. Another mini transplant. This is still considered a procedure that is not as tried and true as the full blown marrow transplant, but Dr. Mcguirk's continued research and follow up with those who are making it work, has brought him to having a better understanding on getting success on this and therefore is moving forward with this again. No dates are yet set, but having a clear direction, and set of items to complete is great news.
There is much more excitement and enthusiasm after this weekend then before it started. Walt will again be the donor, and will complete this like before as scheduled. More news will be delivered on this as more is known.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sat, 2.21 - Day +36 since Chemo, 20 days in the Hospital
It's been a while since a post went up, but here's an update to all you 'Rebooter Readers'. We need a moniker similar to 'Dead Heads' although 'Cathi Heads' doesn't have the ring to it. Feel free to suggest some on comments!
Cathi's been in the hospital for 20 days now. She is still dealing with Pneumonia, and there are varying schools of what type, its impacts, etc. This week the pulmonary guy thinks it is an odd form of pneumonia, the infectious disease doctor wanted to do a lung biopsy, and the tending physician (Abhyankar) is trying to sort through it all. The positive news is they don't stall the same way the 3 branches of federal government do! They all agree it's a form of pneumonia, and were able to agree upon a path forward.
Since the organs are still functioning well, the antibiotics were switched. And the infectious disease doc did not get the biopsy he wanted. They wavered back and forth on whether to do a less-invasive procedure to study the lung, but in the end decided not to do either one. The plan is to watch this 'cocktail' of antibiotics work over the next 3 - 4 days (it was switched on Wednesday and they like to see 5 - 7 days).
This morning Cathi is also getting a suped-up neupogen shot that is highly concentrated and works at more of a micro-level. Clearly if the WBCs can rise up then they can team with any of the antibiotic combinations to enable Captain Cathi a formidable match for the little p.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Cathi's been in the hospital for 20 days now. She is still dealing with Pneumonia, and there are varying schools of what type, its impacts, etc. This week the pulmonary guy thinks it is an odd form of pneumonia, the infectious disease doctor wanted to do a lung biopsy, and the tending physician (Abhyankar) is trying to sort through it all. The positive news is they don't stall the same way the 3 branches of federal government do! They all agree it's a form of pneumonia, and were able to agree upon a path forward.
Since the organs are still functioning well, the antibiotics were switched. And the infectious disease doc did not get the biopsy he wanted. They wavered back and forth on whether to do a less-invasive procedure to study the lung, but in the end decided not to do either one. The plan is to watch this 'cocktail' of antibiotics work over the next 3 - 4 days (it was switched on Wednesday and they like to see 5 - 7 days).
This morning Cathi is also getting a suped-up neupogen shot that is highly concentrated and works at more of a micro-level. Clearly if the WBCs can rise up then they can team with any of the antibiotic combinations to enable Captain Cathi a formidable match for the little p.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Valentine's Day Hello's
Progress comes in small pieces. Saturday it was No vomiting!!! and Keeping breakfast down AND protein shakes. This is such good news Ms Cathi ventured out to try some caffeine free diet coke, (no Pepsi, coke). But not the individually wrapped heart-shaped caramel filled Valentines chocolates brought by the dining staff.
She took a trip to get another CT scan. They are concerned because she is not remembering things, even right after they happened. Have they not met our mother, or Grandmother in Margaret's case. At least she has not lost her glasses on her head.... I think, oh yeah I'm a product of my mother as well, I can't recall if she lost her glasses on her head either. We had another Ace transport Gal #549. She stayed by Captains side, and even bumped her up a few spots in the waiting line. The results are in CT Scan of sinuses from a couple of days ago is "all clear."
Temperature was all over the place Saturday. We have good days and bad days with the temperature, so it spiked in the night and then went lower than normal. Not to worry as some temp was from getting a bag of blood, which is not unusual to get a spike in temp while the red guys are dropping in. Warm blankets were the theme for the day. The first one was to warm(toasted in odor actually 'like burnt french fries') But the next one was just right.
Highlight of Valentines day was Harrison popping up for a web cam Valentine hug. Got some good laughs with his vomit antics. Mark came by for a visit this evening and she was very happy. She always pulls lots of good energy from Mark's visits. Must be his Redneck Carma....
Kstate/KU game on this afternoon & Cathi now has the staff lined up rooting for KState. All this direction to get a cheering team for KState and then she slept through as KSU gave away the game to KC.
Cathi is up walking laps regularly, 3 walks on Saturday, last one was two laps around the hall. Not yet an Olympic contender, but good for a someone who is still not feeling 100%. No news on increased blood counts, but Dr's still willing to wait and see. Maybe a biopsy midweek to check the marrow. She has the prerequisite joint pain from the neupogen shots, so she will wait & see and think about little white guys growing in Cathi.
She took a trip to get another CT scan. They are concerned because she is not remembering things, even right after they happened. Have they not met our mother, or Grandmother in Margaret's case. At least she has not lost her glasses on her head.... I think, oh yeah I'm a product of my mother as well, I can't recall if she lost her glasses on her head either. We had another Ace transport Gal #549. She stayed by Captains side, and even bumped her up a few spots in the waiting line. The results are in CT Scan of sinuses from a couple of days ago is "all clear."
Temperature was all over the place Saturday. We have good days and bad days with the temperature, so it spiked in the night and then went lower than normal. Not to worry as some temp was from getting a bag of blood, which is not unusual to get a spike in temp while the red guys are dropping in. Warm blankets were the theme for the day. The first one was to warm(toasted in odor actually 'like burnt french fries') But the next one was just right.
Highlight of Valentines day was Harrison popping up for a web cam Valentine hug. Got some good laughs with his vomit antics. Mark came by for a visit this evening and she was very happy. She always pulls lots of good energy from Mark's visits. Must be his Redneck Carma....
Kstate/KU game on this afternoon & Cathi now has the staff lined up rooting for KState. All this direction to get a cheering team for KState and then she slept through as KSU gave away the game to KC.
Cathi is up walking laps regularly, 3 walks on Saturday, last one was two laps around the hall. Not yet an Olympic contender, but good for a someone who is still not feeling 100%. No news on increased blood counts, but Dr's still willing to wait and see. Maybe a biopsy midweek to check the marrow. She has the prerequisite joint pain from the neupogen shots, so she will wait & see and think about little white guys growing in Cathi.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Dr. Fever has left the building
Wohoo 36 hours of no fever! Can you take a number on that one? But the only happy dance is the one in Cathi's stomach. As good as it may feel it comes back to a little overzealous dance every now and then. Food and the stomach dance just do not mix. Good thing for protein shakes. Dr. Aj says more protein shakes, not to be confused with protean shakes...
Today's events included a chest X-Ray and CT scan of the sinuses. With Pneumonia X-Rays are overrated. While the Dr. may hear that things sound better, it always takes several days before the X-Ray would actually show improvements in the lungs. So we are happy to when they say it sounds better and do not hear wheezing or crackles when listening through the scope. CT scans take a gaggle of Dr's to look at it before they can say anything about it, but they are spending their time looking for why the lungs were congested with the brothers. (Pneumonia Brothers that is) Kudos and an extra smile for the traveling attendant, code name #78 (that is what they call them at the hospital - 'traveling attendant #78'). She did a great job did not abandon her post and kept company with the Captain.
Once again Captain Cathi is after definitive answers from the Dr's. And the Dr's. speak in terms of what they see for the current day, and what needs to be focused on for better health. So Cathi and her team are anxious to see how things are developing and looking for counts to start coming up in the next several days.
Back at the ranch, her niece Margaret is in Kansas City for the holiday weekend and is attending to Cathi in the hospital. She is likely telling math jokes and the latest events in the college scene from the university. Not that this is a suggestion, but it would be highly recommended that this might be a good time to add some good jokes to the blog to help Margaret out. Cathi will need some good jokes for valentines day. Hey someone taught Conor some humor to add to the blog...
Today's events included a chest X-Ray and CT scan of the sinuses. With Pneumonia X-Rays are overrated. While the Dr. may hear that things sound better, it always takes several days before the X-Ray would actually show improvements in the lungs. So we are happy to when they say it sounds better and do not hear wheezing or crackles when listening through the scope. CT scans take a gaggle of Dr's to look at it before they can say anything about it, but they are spending their time looking for why the lungs were congested with the brothers. (Pneumonia Brothers that is) Kudos and an extra smile for the traveling attendant, code name #78 (that is what they call them at the hospital - 'traveling attendant #78'). She did a great job did not abandon her post and kept company with the Captain.
Once again Captain Cathi is after definitive answers from the Dr's. And the Dr's. speak in terms of what they see for the current day, and what needs to be focused on for better health. So Cathi and her team are anxious to see how things are developing and looking for counts to start coming up in the next several days.
Back at the ranch, her niece Margaret is in Kansas City for the holiday weekend and is attending to Cathi in the hospital. She is likely telling math jokes and the latest events in the college scene from the university. Not that this is a suggestion, but it would be highly recommended that this might be a good time to add some good jokes to the blog to help Margaret out. Cathi will need some good jokes for valentines day. Hey someone taught Conor some humor to add to the blog...
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Chest xray in the bowels of ku med center where they left me sitting in the hall. Next time I'll have my sister take me out to the clinic and I'll come back. The lung scan part of this hospital needs a good course on Emily Post. Which I told the customer relations lady.
Then I called the cleaning lady back to clean the floor beside my bed and that was much more entertaining than being abandoned in the hallway. The lady returned and vigorously swiped the floor with her swiffer style mop, all the while eneregetically insisting that "it won't come up." I replied that it seemed like every day there were new "spots that wouldn't come up." Anyway it was marvelously entertaining.
I'm still having about one fever every 24 hours. Haven't had to change the sheets for several nights...just the pillow cases. So we hope the bright yellow antibiotic that delivers a chill along with its help, is doing the job.
The Pulmonary guy (American one..cute but no match to the Brazilian one) said the lungs sounded better yesterday after the bronchoscopy. They definitely hurt less.
I'm still trying to find food with the highest caloric value that is least likely to end up in the bin. (sigh) I am not getting far from the bin, but I haven't used it for a couple of days! The Nutritionist, Melinda, (Darth Vader type in this drama) visited today but agreed that if I would add protein powder to two shakes a day.
I'm still having some trouble with spelling and stuff --I recommend you treat these like the interesting things I hear sometimes.
xoxo Cathi
Then I called the cleaning lady back to clean the floor beside my bed and that was much more entertaining than being abandoned in the hallway. The lady returned and vigorously swiped the floor with her swiffer style mop, all the while eneregetically insisting that "it won't come up." I replied that it seemed like every day there were new "spots that wouldn't come up." Anyway it was marvelously entertaining.
I'm still having about one fever every 24 hours. Haven't had to change the sheets for several nights...just the pillow cases. So we hope the bright yellow antibiotic that delivers a chill along with its help, is doing the job.
The Pulmonary guy (American one..cute but no match to the Brazilian one) said the lungs sounded better yesterday after the bronchoscopy. They definitely hurt less.
I'm still trying to find food with the highest caloric value that is least likely to end up in the bin. (sigh) I am not getting far from the bin, but I haven't used it for a couple of days! The Nutritionist, Melinda, (Darth Vader type in this drama) visited today but agreed that if I would add protein powder to two shakes a day.
I'm still having some trouble with spelling and stuff --I recommend you treat these like the interesting things I hear sometimes.
xoxo Cathi
Monday, February 9, 2009
2.9 - Pneumonia Returns
Hi everybody -
I wanted to post another time today as the doctors have confirmed the pneumonia has returned. I do not have a confirmed % blockage reading on her lungs, but I know I'm optimistic that she's as alert as she is and that was definitely not the case when she was admitted to the ICU last summer.
They're also taking her in for a bronchoscopy tomorrow to try and clear out more of the funk in there. That can definitely help but isn't the most comfortable procedure.
Have a great evening and let's get the lungs clear!
Conor
P.S. I've posted my email address to the profile information so you can email me should I let the blog updates slide again.
I wanted to post another time today as the doctors have confirmed the pneumonia has returned. I do not have a confirmed % blockage reading on her lungs, but I know I'm optimistic that she's as alert as she is and that was definitely not the case when she was admitted to the ICU last summer.
They're also taking her in for a bronchoscopy tomorrow to try and clear out more of the funk in there. That can definitely help but isn't the most comfortable procedure.
Have a great evening and let's get the lungs clear!
Conor
P.S. I've posted my email address to the profile information so you can email me should I let the blog updates slide again.
2.9 - Ups and Downs
If anyone has any idea how many times we've gone up and down over the past 7 months, please let me know. :)
Thursday was much of the same as what I wrote earlier. She was doing much better Friday as the antibiotics appeared to be taking over against the infection. More importantly her fever had subsided for over 48 hours until Saturday night...
Saturday night she started feeling poorly again, but the nurses said even then she's doing a lot better than she was when she entered the hospital. Her temperature was higher and nausea returned.
The big news is Friday her biopsy was positive which means they are could begin neupogen shots in preparation for a transplant, and were even talking about a schedule. There was a time prior to her fever coming back Saturday that she may have gone home yesterday.
Now they say she will be in the hospital longer and it's potentially pneumonia. For some reason these chemo-induced illnesses mom's gotten sure do have a way of being difficult to confirm. At one point, it was strep. Then they thought she had an infection from the picc line. Now pneumonia? Seriously - that seems like every possibility underneath the sun!
All in all though, she's doing well - able to exercise although shortness of breathe comes with it, is pretty alert, and the fever is present at a manageable (i.e. not 104 degree) level. That's the update for now.
Conor
Thursday was much of the same as what I wrote earlier. She was doing much better Friday as the antibiotics appeared to be taking over against the infection. More importantly her fever had subsided for over 48 hours until Saturday night...
Saturday night she started feeling poorly again, but the nurses said even then she's doing a lot better than she was when she entered the hospital. Her temperature was higher and nausea returned.
The big news is Friday her biopsy was positive which means they are could begin neupogen shots in preparation for a transplant, and were even talking about a schedule. There was a time prior to her fever coming back Saturday that she may have gone home yesterday.
Now they say she will be in the hospital longer and it's potentially pneumonia. For some reason these chemo-induced illnesses mom's gotten sure do have a way of being difficult to confirm. At one point, it was strep. Then they thought she had an infection from the picc line. Now pneumonia? Seriously - that seems like every possibility underneath the sun!
All in all though, she's doing well - able to exercise although shortness of breathe comes with it, is pretty alert, and the fever is present at a manageable (i.e. not 104 degree) level. That's the update for now.
Conor
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
2.4 - Hospital, Day 4
Most of you would have been fairly amused at the email I got from mom regarding today's update. I know she got a kick out of it and was hopeful I could translate it (per Walt). I'll just say that I did my best. :) As anyone can imagine, I like it when Mom can email me with an update so here goes:
'Chasing and tracking an infection. Gathering info by the loads from (and about) my body. This is nothing like the first time. I have learned some things:
- Big machines are noisy and barely fit in your room.
- They generally come with least a half dozen people who might be affiliated with another machine.
- They have dozens of colors of conductors. It takes a lot of time for this group though.
- It doesn't seem disoaorganized.
- Orderly or not, I wish they could work in the day.
- Wait, that's when my fever went up again.
- And the night before that was all about my rate.
I've reached the dark side. Folks like staff cardiologists, including infecitous disease doctors.'
Needless to say she's got a long way to go but is much more functional than she was and we're still anticipating that improving as her counts rise.
Good evening everyone!
Conor
'Chasing and tracking an infection. Gathering info by the loads from (and about) my body. This is nothing like the first time. I have learned some things:
- Big machines are noisy and barely fit in your room.
- They generally come with least a half dozen people who might be affiliated with another machine.
- They have dozens of colors of conductors. It takes a lot of time for this group though.
- It doesn't seem disoaorganized.
- Orderly or not, I wish they could work in the day.
- Wait, that's when my fever went up again.
- And the night before that was all about my rate.
I've reached the dark side. Folks like staff cardiologists, including infecitous disease doctors.'
Needless to say she's got a long way to go but is much more functional than she was and we're still anticipating that improving as her counts rise.
Good evening everyone!
Conor
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
2.3 - Hospital Day 3, Part 2
After I wrote earlier, I was able to connect again with Mom and the nurse. Word from them (and Walt) is that the temperature is still up and down a bit although much more down than up. The nurse indicated she's been cold to the point where they've had to cover her in blankets.
The picc line was successfully moved to her left arm - woo hoo! I haven't heard whether they got it to the right point or if we have to go through the same routine of x-raying to confirm it's reaching it's intended destination.
She's still working to eat without vommitting and overall just feeling a little cloudy / stupid. That being said, she sure sounds a lot better than Sunday and is lamenting the fact that somewhere between Midnight - 5 AM Sunday, she was waylaid by something that's left her in the hospital the past two nights. You and I could equate it to completely being blindsided about like our stock portfolios the past few months!
I'll try to get another update for tomorrow. Keep the good thoughts coming. :)
The picc line was successfully moved to her left arm - woo hoo! I haven't heard whether they got it to the right point or if we have to go through the same routine of x-raying to confirm it's reaching it's intended destination.
She's still working to eat without vommitting and overall just feeling a little cloudy / stupid. That being said, she sure sounds a lot better than Sunday and is lamenting the fact that somewhere between Midnight - 5 AM Sunday, she was waylaid by something that's left her in the hospital the past two nights. You and I could equate it to completely being blindsided about like our stock portfolios the past few months!
I'll try to get another update for tomorrow. Keep the good thoughts coming. :)
2.3 - Hospital Day 3
It's funny because you want to start out this post with 'I'm sorry I haven't gotten to this because I haven't had time' or something like that. Then you realize no excuse is really good enough.
The weekend after mom's last post was good. We had quite a time at her house and it was great to be there. Multiple times she said, 'it feels so good to be here.' She dilligently checked her temperature and we watched for any signs that things were going south. Unfortunately with chemo and a compromised immune system there are seldom warnings.
Mom woke up Sunday morning and was vommitting while running a 100+ degree temperature. So Walt immediately took her to the hospital. By the time I got there they were still assessing the situation, but the first thing they went after was the temperature although it rose to as much as 104 prior to starting to subside today. The nurse actually said she's a little cold now so let's hope that's not a return. Along the way her body broke out in a rash (which combined with the temperature indicates some form of infection).
Early blood cultures showed a sign of strep. But they're starting to think that it's actually an infection through her picc line. And in hindsight, one of her valves had been giving a lot of difficulty the past 2 weeks requiring a bit of a 'punch' to get it flushed. That was removed and will be replaced today.
All in all they're saying this is likely a 5 - 7 day stay meaning mom will be discharged somewhere around the weekend for next Monday although you're fine with her being in an insulated environment until her counts come up. That should be sometime in that timeframe.
Just quick update but as I write things are much more positive than they were Sunday night and yesterday so let's keep them trending that way! I'll try to get an update out here tomorrow too.
The weekend after mom's last post was good. We had quite a time at her house and it was great to be there. Multiple times she said, 'it feels so good to be here.' She dilligently checked her temperature and we watched for any signs that things were going south. Unfortunately with chemo and a compromised immune system there are seldom warnings.
Mom woke up Sunday morning and was vommitting while running a 100+ degree temperature. So Walt immediately took her to the hospital. By the time I got there they were still assessing the situation, but the first thing they went after was the temperature although it rose to as much as 104 prior to starting to subside today. The nurse actually said she's a little cold now so let's hope that's not a return. Along the way her body broke out in a rash (which combined with the temperature indicates some form of infection).
Early blood cultures showed a sign of strep. But they're starting to think that it's actually an infection through her picc line. And in hindsight, one of her valves had been giving a lot of difficulty the past 2 weeks requiring a bit of a 'punch' to get it flushed. That was removed and will be replaced today.
All in all they're saying this is likely a 5 - 7 day stay meaning mom will be discharged somewhere around the weekend for next Monday although you're fine with her being in an insulated environment until her counts come up. That should be sometime in that timeframe.
Just quick update but as I write things are much more positive than they were Sunday night and yesterday so let's keep them trending that way! I'll try to get an update out here tomorrow too.
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