Monday, followed by Chemo. Then we get to come home! By Monday, they will have exchanged 31 liters of plasma in and out of my body. What fun!
Cathy's Blog
Wednesday--December 04, 2013
Hello from Vanderbilt! It has been
another long day. It was a very foggy drive and there was a horrible
accident that blocked all lanes of the opposite side of the
interstate–a car drove under a tractor trailer that was parked on
the shoulder of the road.
When we finally arrived at Vanderbilt,
we had to drive around the parking garage several times to locate a
parking place. We do not valet park when we are here for the week,
since I make daily trips to the car for supplies. We found a place in
basement parking; Iwould rather have ground level. I moved the car
several hours later to a better location.
Our first stop was Endocrinology for an
8:30 AM appointment. Kerry was scheduled with Dr. A.U. next week, but
since we were coming this week she wanted to test blood that had not
been “plexed.” Our second stop was admissions. The clerk did not
give Kerry an arm band, stating, “I will send it on up to
dialysis,” which made no sense since he was being admitted. Kerry
told her he was heading to radiology for a procedure and asked,
“Don't I need the arm band?” She said “no.” When we arrived
at radiology, the clerk asked, “Where is your arm band?” Kerry
said, “they sent it upstairs.” So, he sent me to admissions to
get the arm band. The clerk also came up there to make sure they gave
it to me. Inner office confusion I guess.
They finally took him around 2:00 PM to
insert the vascular catheter. The ten minute procedure took longer
than usual because they could not use the vein on the right side of
his neck. The vein was scarred and narrowed from past surgeries and
was a little “wonkie,” (medical word meaning not straight). At
this turn of events they had to rearrange the operating room, moving
the tables, and x-ray machine to his left side. He now has his first
vascular catheter on the left side of his neck.
He arrived in dialysis and plasma
exchange was started at 3:00 PM. The process took a little over three
hours. The Dialysis department has been moved to the seventh floor
and each patient is in a semi-private room. The tenth floor dialysis
room was like a ward, big and open, which I think most of the workers
liked best. I liked it as well. Our room is on the seventh floor and
is a short walk from dialysis. The room is in the organ transplant
area and is a great room. The Lord was very gracious to us, since the
room is large for a hospital room and I have a chair bed instead of a
lounge chair to sleep in.
Those who follow Kerry's blog, will
remember the chemotherapy (with some modifications) has kept the
anti-body that his body keeps producing, somewhat at bay. Which means
he has not been admitted to the hospital for almost one year–a
blessing from the Lord. It was becoming more and more apparent to
Kerry and myself that he needed more plasma exchange. The doctor
wanted to wait until after the November chemotherapy to see if he
that would get him over the hump. Kerry also wanted to wait until
after Thanksgiving as well. The November treatment did not have the
results we wanted. Kerry likes to wait as long as possible before he
schedules a plasma exchange, but we both knew that waiting any longer
was not really an option. Putting off a treatment too long just makes
him feel worse during the exchange process. Chemotherapy is scheduled
before we leave the hospital so he will not miss his December
chemotherapy.
Medication
We learned the hard way to bring his
medication with us each trip. He can use his medication until the
pharmacy gets the medication order from the doctor. If it is a really
busy time, it can take awhile to get the medicine to the floor.
Getting his medications set up at the hospital is lots of fun for the
hospital staff since he has so many medications.
Thursday—December 05, 2013
This was first time Kerry has ever been
accused of looking like a model! As they were rolling him to dialysis
he was propped up on one elbow and had one leg crossed over the
other. The nurse said, “You look like a super model propped up like
that.” We all got a good laugh. Tuesday morning Kerry returned from
dialysis around 11:20 AM. During the plasma exchange, the neurology
team made rounds, performed the usual test and asked the usual
questions.
There are premedication orders for
zofran and Benadryl at the beginning of each plasma exchange.
Sometimes Kerry needs extra nausea medicine during the treatment.
Today, was one of those days, but it was not on order. In the past it
was a standard order. Sometimes the doctors do not order nausea
medication, because they do not expect him to need it. Just because
it may be ordered one day, doesn't mean it is available for the next.
The nurse called to get permission to give the medication.
After we returned to the room, he sat
up in the lounge chair to rest, since lying in the bed all the time
is tiring. He was not feeling well, and had a headache and felt
feverish. These symptoms can be typical for him after a plasma
exchange. The doctor ordered an intravenous “migraine cocktail”
for his headache and he began to feel better. During the night he had
some chills and slight fever.
Friday—December 06, 2013
Kerry has completed his treatment for
Friday and things went well. He had a good bit of swelling in his
legs and in three days has lost ten pounds due to the exchanges. The
nurse came in and commented that the room smelled like Christmas. I
guess it was the orange he ate before lunch. He finally received a
dinner tray at 1:10 and it looks fairly good. Doctors are happy with
his improvement at this point. Kerry's breathing is a little better,
but he gives out of breath just walking to the bathroom. His
headaches are still an issue. Dr. C.L. thinks we may need to look at
nerve block injections for the headaches if they do not resolve in a
few weeks. The current plans are for plasma exchange on Saturday,
rest on Sunday, then plasma exchange and chemotherapy on Monday
before heading home.
==Cathy
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