Finally home

So after several days in the hospital, lots of blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, antibiotics and medications to boost his WBC production Dad is finally back home.

During his hospital stay they were closely monitoring his labs and he was significantly anemic and his clotting factors were very low. This was to be expected from the chemo wiping out all of his bone marrow, where all of his blood cells are produced. He got several blood transfusions, platelet transfusions and close monitoring of all his labs. His blood culture did show that there was a bacteria growing, which means that there was bacteria in his blood stream (not a good thing), but it only grew from one culture and was likely a contaminant when they drew the sample. Just in case, they did treat him with several different antibiotics.

His main complaint, other than his stomach problems, was his extreme exhaustion. Dad got very poor sleep during his time in the hospital. Between trips to the bathroom, the brief moments of sleep he was able to get were not restful. For some reason Dad was talking in his sleep and acting out his dreams. Normally, during the dream cycle of sleep your body is mostly paralyzed, so you don't talk or move. Dad was talking and moving. This was so distracting to him that it would wake him up making his sleep very restless. During the days he would try to sleep while he could, but again the same problem happened. He would tell jokes, sing, gamble in vegas and talk budgets during his dreams. Sounds like him, he just didn't want it to affect him so that he would wake up. He had this problem after he had his bypass from the anesthesia they gave him, so now that he is back home we are hoping things go back to normal.

He only has one more daily visit to the clinic to have his labs checked, then he will be able to space it out a little more. The great news is that his blood cells are responding to the neupogen (the medicine to boost his infection fighters) and it seems that the stem cells are starting to do their job. His labs are staying stable and slowly getting better every day.

Dad wants to thank everyone for the constant prayers. He had some phone trouble in the hospital, so wasn't able to make or receive any calls for a short time. But for those who were trying to reach him, thank you for your kind thoughts and well wishes! Keep him in your prayers daily, each day we get closer and closer to D Day (+100 days).

Getting some blood and still run down

Dad is still having problems with his energy and his stomach. This morning, Dad was getting some blood, and they weren't sure if he would need to have one or 2 more transfusions. He is still getting Imodium, which is really working. Dad got little sleep last night, so they gave him something to help him sleep, except now he talks in his sleep and doesn't make any sense. Mom is concerned because he had such a bad reaction last time he was hospitalized with sedation. She talked with the oncologist and they agreed he would get Tylenol for pain or headaches and would not give him anything for sleep if they could avoid it. Dad still isn't hungry- which makes him very weak. No plans to discharge him home today.

Readmitted to the hospital

The last several days Dad still hasn't been feeling very energetic. His appetite is down, but thankfully he drinks Ensure or Boost to help support his calories. His WBC (infection fighters) is the lowest is has been. Yesterday, dad starting having diarrhea. This morning he went for his daily visit and labs. The bad news is that he had a fever and zero energy. Because of this he was readmitted to the hospital today. They are giving him IV fluids to help hydrate him from all the water loss from the diarrhea. He is also getting antibiotics to fight whatever infection he might have. He is finally getting some rest, since he didn't sleep well last night. They are hoping to possibly discharge him tomorrow night, but I am not counting my chickens yet. I anticipate he will be there for a couple of days before they send him home. Pray for a speedy recovery!

Just feeling a little run down

So every morning Dad has gone to the oncology clinic for follow up labs. These last several days he has been feeling very nauseated. Thankfully, they gave him some nausea medicine when he first started treatment, which he is taking and they give him IV medication at the clinic. He is very tired, and a little run down. He really doesn't have much energy and you can hear it in his voice. He hasn't been interested in eating when he feels so nauseated. So instead, to make the most of his calories, he has been drinking ensure and boost. Yesterday Dad had to get IV fluids to help hydrate him. Today they gave him steroids to boost his appetite and energy level. He sounded like he had more pep to his step this afternoon, a welcome change to what I've heard of him lately. The good thing is that the nausea lasts 7-10 days, so hopefully we are nearing the end of this. Late this week they will start Neupogen on Dad to boost his white blood cell production. As to be expected, his WBC count is still low- making him at risk for infection. Mom has taken such good care of him though, constantly vigilant of washing hands, cleaning everything and having his swish and spit to keep his mouth free of infections or sores. Fore the time being, Dad goes to the clinic then comes home to rest. Hopefully this time will allow his body to fight the cancer into remission. Keep your prayers strong!

And in a flash.....he was DONE!

Monday morning, dad was admitted to the hospital as planned. They have him his chemo around 11, as well as some Ativan to take the edge off his nervousness. The ativan works so well, he doesn't even remember if he ate dinner. Tuesday, again chemo at 11 and hanging out in his hospital room.

Finally, THE day has come! He got his stem cells around 11 am, by 11:15 he was DONE! He is now back of at home and is feeling great! Tomorrow starts the daily return to the hospital for checkups. I told him the goal was to stay HEALTHY! Thank goodness we are finally done. Pray for healthy days to come in the future. If he gets sick as part of the side effects of chemo, he will have to go back to the hospital.

Plan for Monday

So Dad had a follow up appointment yesterday and they decided to give his body a little more time to fully recover. So the plan is for admission on Monday, for chemo x 2 days and then stem cell on Wednesday. He feels great, just ready to get things going. Hopefully we won't have any more setbacks and we can get this thing into remission.

Probably an infection, no stem cell for now.

Dad had his IV antibiotics last night and then was sent home around 11:30 PM.

Dad went to the hospital this morning, they said his labs looked like an infection was brewing somewhere, which mean IV antibiotics and oral antibiotics. This means no chemo today, they don't want to wipe out his infection fighting ability before he is free of infection. They will reassess on Wednesday to decide when he gets his stem cell transplant.

Unexpected trip to the hospital

So Dad has been enjoying himself these last several days prior to the big day and event coming up. Today, Dad said we woke up with some chest pain because he was sleeping on his side so his back was hurting. Then they went to breakfast and church. After church they hit a movie. On the way down, Dad started to feel light headed, so he sat down to catch his breath. Then they got him home to eat something, check his blood pressure and his blood sugar. He still wasn't feeling quite himself so he went to lie down, when he noticed he was feeling a bit warm. When he checked his temperature, it was 101. He called his oncologist who told him to go to the hospital to get a chest xray. He might have to be admitted tonight instead of tomorrow. By the time they got their things gathered, his temperature was down to 100. With his fever, there is a good chance he will not be able to have chemo tomorrow. I will keep you updated as I get more information.