I fired my nurse! - Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Day 3, Cycle 2 (Wednesday)
I fired my Nurse!
Tuesday night things didn't go as planned. My chemo (Methotrexate) was ready to be hooked up about 9pm. Prior to that they had been giving me an IV of Sodium Bicarbonate (SB) to increase the pH of my urine. The RN (name and sex left out) started the chemo, but “forgot” to also continue to run the SB. After an hour, I was noticing the flow rates, and thought it looked suspiciously low. I asked the RN to come to my room, and check the flow rates. The RN quickly changed the rate. The RN, in my opinion, just seemed a little “spacey” prior to that anyway, so I asked to speak to the nursing supervisor (NS). After explaining the situation to the NS, the NS said that they would be my nurse for the remainder of the shift - and I never saw the first RN again. I also made sure Dr L was aware of the situation when he came by Wednesday morning.
Discharge Delayed
I was hoping that this would be a 3 day stay – Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday. But, it currently looks like because of the room not being ready as early as I was, and I guess a miss calculation on my part, I will probably be discharged on Saturday morning.
Current side effects:
* Numbness of finger tips
* Hair is still coming out (head looks fuzzy on the sides, with a few long ones left on top.
* Took a 20 minute walk this morning in the hospital, and I noticed a little bit more tiredness in my legs than yesterday, probably chemo related.
That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
Grandma got ran over by a reindeer, and so did I - Thursday, December 21, 2006
Day 4, Cycle 2 (Thursday)
Wednesday evening, I finished up with the Methotrexate, and started on a new chemo: Cytarabine (aka Ara-C). This one, the last in the series, is a bit scary. I'm taking special steroid eye drops to protect my eyes from damage; I must sign my name before each dosage, and they compare the signature for nerve damage; I also have to do some balance tests to make sure there is no degradation there. It's currently about noon on Thursday, and I'm just about finished with dosage 2 of 4 of the Ara-C.
The reason for the title, is that I really had a hard time waking up this morning, and my eyelids are still very heavy - probably a result of the eye drops and chemo - at least I didn't see any reindeer . I did take about a twenty minute walk this morning, and had no problems, so I guess I'm okay.
Breakfast was Great. They told me they were having French Toast (one of my favorites), so I asked if I could have some extra. Normally they give you one slice and some scrambled eggs. This morning, I had 3 pieces, plus the eggs – yum.
Visitors
Wednesday I had visits from Jeff and Pastor Eric. Thanks guys for keeping me in mind.
Pill Count for today: (Not counting IV's & Eye Drops)
* 3 Diovan/HCT (blood pressure)
* 1 Valtrex (mouth blisters)
* 1 Protonix (GI anti acid)
* 2 Sodium Biconbonate (raise pH of urine)
* 16 Leucovorin (rescue drug for Methotrexate)
* 2 Coumadin (blood thinner)
* 2 Zocor (cholesterol)
* 2 Sotalol (heart medicine)
How does the body know where to send each of these? Is there a pill cop in the stomach?
Current side effects:
* Numbness of finger tips
* Hair is still coming out, but not much left on my head.
That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
A room with a view - Friday, December 22, 2006
Day 5, Cycle 2 (Friday)
The room I have here at the hospital does have a view. My room overlooks the Medical Center Drive and is directly above the main entrance, where patients are dropped off and picked up, but on the fourth floor. Not a bad view, except for the rainy conditions today.
It's about 10 minutes after noon, and my last chemo has just shut off, so I'm done with chemo for Cycle 2, almost. They will continue to monitor the residual amounts of Methotrexate and Ara-C for the next day, and give me additional protective IVs in the meantime. Discharge is still going to be Saturday sometime.
I passed my tests each time prior to the Ara-C, so I guess that was good. I have noticed this morning that my hands are swollen (retaining fluids), and I'm not able to get my rings on.
I had about 45 minutes of freedom this morning when I was not connected to any IV lines. During that time, I took a shower, dressed and then took my walk through the hospital. The walk took about 5 minutes less without having to push the IV pole around with me. It was nice to be free of that pole.
More good French Toast for breakfast. The rest of the meals around here leave something to be desired - like flavor!
When I do go home, I will be experiencing something new this time: I'll be giving myself shots for 10 days. Supposed to be getting Neupogen shots, to help rebuild the immune system. Cost of this for 10 days is a little over $5000, but that's about $3500 cheaper than the single Newlasta shot was about 3 weeks which is supposed to do similar things.
Speaking of costs, for those that might be interested… Including diagnostic fees the total is approaching (or may have exceeded, as my numbers are lagging) $100,000. I don't know what people do without insurance.
Pill Count for today:
About the same a yesterday.
Current side effects:
* Numbness of finger tips (from Vincristine)
* Hair: mostly gone on my head (any/all)
* Energy levels are down (any/all)
* Swollen hands with slight rash (from Ara-C)
That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
I feel like a blimp - Saturday, December 23, 2006
Day 6, Cycle 2 (Saturday)
Yesterday I mentioned that I had some swollen hands and a slight rash. Well, that turned out to be just the start of a problem. By 8pm, I could hardly move, because my body was retaining liquids. The nurse put me on a “bed scale” (one built into the bed itself), and we calculated that I had gained 22 pounds from check-in on Wednesday. I don't believe that number, but I had certainly gained a bunch of weight for sure. So, the next step was to give me some diuretic, to get rid of the water, so you guess what I did for the rest of the night. The first 3 hours was the worst of it, and I did get a little sleep, but not much. This morning, the problem is better, but not gone, so when I get home I will take some diuretics.
I've been disconnected from my IVs now since about 9am, and am waiting on my first shot of Neuprogen before leaving - it's scheduled for about noon. Will pick up the rest of them on the way home for self administering starting Sunday.
I'm looking forward to getting home again; seems like most of the last two weeks have been here. My energy levels are way down. I had to force myself to take a walk this morning - even with an IV pole, it took longer, but I was determined to complete my route through the hospital, and did.
I may update this from home later, or I may not.
That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
Merry Christmas - Sunday, December 24, 2006
Day 7, Cycle 2 (Sunday)
Made it home yesterday pretty much on schedule. Trying to get caught up on things around the house. Lost several pounds of fluids yesterday, but still have some retained fluids.
Attended regular church service this morning, and was uplifted by the service, and the many comments of friends. You truly are a blessing to others, including to me. Thank you. We have services again tonight, and tomorrow, and with the Lord's help I will be attending at least one more of those, perhaps both. After all, it is the birth of our Saviour - let us rejoice.
This afternoon, a nurse is scheduled to stop by and show me how to give myself shots. Picked up the shots yesterday, and the needles look fairly short, so guess that's good.
I'm feeling pretty good, just a little weak. Pill count is way down, like about to 6.
That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
Merry Christmas, again! - Monday, December 25, 2006
Day 8, Cycle 2 (Monday)
Yesterday was a pretty routine day, except for attending church in the morning. I decided not to attend the evening service because of the lateness of the service, and the fact that I hadn't slept well the previous two nights. We did attend services again this morning to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus.
The nurse stopped by yesterday, and showed me how to give myself a shot, and I managed to do it again today; not really any big deal. The only problem is that the nurse said I should give it to myself in the fat of my stomach. All I could find was pure muscle! Then Verna pointed out that the “spare tire” was what the nurse was referring to. Hmmm…
Oh, one more thing about the shot of Neupogen that I'm giving myself. When you go to http://neupogen.com website, it says “NEUPOGEN® is produced by Escherichia coli (E coli)”. Maybe some of these fast food chains with E coli should consider making Neupogen ….
My immune system is apparently still okay, as I'm not supposed to start taking medicine for that until the 29th (Friday). Water retention is slowly going away, and I was able to get my wedding ring back on my hand this morning.
That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, my family, and the medical team on my case.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Tuesday was a Good Day - Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Day 9, Cycle 2 (Tuesday)
Tuesday was a pretty much routine day. I did have a minor nose bleed in the morning; had an appointment with Dr L in the afternoon. They confirmed that my blood Platelets were low because of chemo, so I guess I need to go into hiding for the next week or so.
I did start taking my antibiotics and anti-fungal medicines also. Originally it was supposed to start this coming Friday.
Could be my imagination, but I think the numbness in my fingers is starting to disappear. Appetite and taste is still good.
That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, my family, and the medical team on my case.
I feel fine, but… - Friday, December 29, 2006
Days 10-12, Cycle 2 (Wednesday-Friday)
Well, I feel fine, but I went to Dr L's office Friday morning for some routine blood work. They tell me that my WBC/ANC (White Blood Count/Absolute Neutrophil Count) is 0.4/0.0 (Normal: 4.3 to 10.8/1.5 to 8.0) and that my Platelet count is 32 (Normal: 150-400). So, Saturday I will go to the Blumenthal Cancer Center to get a Platelet transfusion, based on more blood work then. From what I've read on the Internet, this simply is given as an IV, and takes about 15-30 minutes per bag.
As I said above, I feel fine, and have been doing “routine” things here, but avoiding contact with people. Appetite and taste are normal, although a couple of days ago I had a slight “metallic” taste in my mouth. The problem with retaining fluids is gone. Finger and toe tip numbness is still here. No mouth sores. Overall, I have to say that the Lord has blessed me, from a side effect standpoint, as well as in other ways.
That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, my family, and the medical team on my case.
I don't feel good - Sunday, December 31, 2006
Day 13, Cycle 2 (Saturday)
Saturday morning we went to the Blumenthal Cancer Center at 9am. They took a blood sample to see if I needed platelets. An hour or so later, the results came back – I did; my platelet count had gone from 32 on Friday to 20 on Saturday. But, they didn't type my blood with the first sample, so they took it and sent it off to the lab for typing. An hour later they knew it was AB+, which is what I told them, but they needed to verify (I guess that's good). They then found a bag of platelets that was compatible and gave that to me. We left about noon.
Friday night I noticed that I had a slight sore throat, and it was getting worse during Saturday. This morning, Sunday, it's about the same. Today, I notice that I am very weak feeling, and light headed when I stand up. The last two days, I have developed a large (2 inches) bruise around each of Neupogen shots; which I believe is caused by the low platelet count. Last night before turning in, I took my temperature (100.0) which was just below the panic state (100.5).
Anybody know of a good, quick, reliable digital thermometer? If so, please let me know. We've been through three of them, and I don't trust this one.
That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, my family, and the medical team on my case.
Another bump in the road - Sunday, December 31, 2006
Day 13, Cycle 2 (Saturday)
My temp has exceeded the 100.5, so I'm headed for the hospital. Pray for a speedy recovery. Happy News Eve everyone.
That's it for now. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, my family, and the medical team on my case.