Two cutters that can't agree....

Thank you all that have sent cards, emails and posted prayers. It helps us all bolster our spirits and strength and Dad is so grateful to everyone.

Sorry for the brief post- I tried to hit the highlights before I passed out.

The back- two compression fractures at T12 and L2. This is right in his mid to lower back, right where his pain has been. He is still in pain, despite the pain medications and muscle relaxants. This is to be expected since he has two broken bones in his spine. The remaining bones are intact, but very weak from the myeloma. They can fix these bones by injecting a resin that turns into cement into the bone itself. Or that was the plan until today. But more on that later.

The infection: no more fever. So far, no cultures are showing any infection. He is still on two antibiotics plus an anti-fungal medication just in case. What his oncologist is thinking is that the fractures could have caused the fever and there might not be an infection. Still, just to be safe, he will stay on the antibiotics for now.

The lungs: he is still on oxygen. When he is off oxygen his oxygen levels in his blood are too low. This is because he has areas of his lung that are collapsed from not breathing deeply and lying in one position too long. He went for a CT scan today and it show these collapsed areas, but nothing else that was concerning. His lung specialist finally came last night at 10PM, mom and I had already left and Dad doesn't remember what he said with all the meds. Now he is on breathing treatments and some lung exercises by deep breathing every hour.

His appetite: He woke up this morning hungry. He no longer looks like he's 9 months pregnant and his belly is starting to talk again. He started with some broth and jello and is now on cream based soups and applesauce and puddings. Tomorrow he might be back up to a bland diet. He really wants a tuna sandwich from Earl of Sandwich, but will have to settle for pudding.

The new pain last night: As dad was trying to get up he noticed a new pain spring up in his leg and groin. This was a pain the back specialist had asked about, that sprung up as he was trying to get up. I spoke with his oncologist and she was very concerned that there might be some compression on his spinal cord causing him to have this pain and trouble going to the bathroom. This is very dangerous since this can cause severe nerve damage and even paralysis. He got steroids last night---which really helped. He was able to get up and walk to the bathroom. Today he went for another MRI and it did some bleeding that probably happened with the fracture. Since he is on blood thinners for his heart, this means that the bleeding just keeps getting worse and compresses his spinal cord. There was also a slight shift in the L2 vertebra into the spinal cord. This is where the two cutters can't agree. The back surgeon specialist says he can fix T12 with the resin/cement and for L2, he would need to make an incision and relieve the compression on the cord and fix the bone with the resin and reinforce it with a rod and pins. In order to do this he has to be off the Plavix so that there isn't any bleeding near his spinal cord. The plavix won't be out of his system until probably Tuesday of next week, maybe a little earlier or later depending on his labs. Now the new doctor, a neurosurgeon comes in to give his opinion. He specializes in surgery on the nerves, brain and spinal cord. He doesn't think dad needs surgery. He wants to just keep treating him with the muscle relaxant that don't work. This is the funny part, because you would think cutters (i.e. surgeons) recommend surgery and these two cutters are completely polar opposites in their recommendations. Tomorrow a new specialist on the brain and nerves will come and give his opinion. In the meantime, he will still get the steroids until something is decided. This means insulin again if needed.

Dad's anemia: Dad's pretty anemic now with all the blood draws, plus the bleeding from the fracture. Today he got a blood transfusion so he's nice and pink.


Dad's heart: Because dad's myeloma is so bad right now, they are thinking they may have to delay his bypass and start his aggressive treatment first. We still aren't sure about this, but it is looking like he won't have bypass next week.

How much longer: Dad will stay in the hospital probably until next week when they fix his back. They haven't said for sure one way or another, but they are watching his back very closely.

No more poking: I asked today about getting a special type of IV placed in Dad called a PICC line. This is a long catheter that stays much longer than his regular IVs. This line they will be able to draw blood from and give him several IV medications and blood transfusions all at once. This is good since, they had to restart his IV three times in the last two days and they haven't always been able to get it on the first stick.


Dad has become part of so many part of people's prayer circles. Thank you all. Will post more tomorrow.

Oh, in case you haven't keep count---Dad now has 14 different doctors. Crazy huh?