Az
- Thread starter djv
- Start date
Been a tough coupleof weeks
Been a tough coupleof weeks
Guess you could say I (we) are hanging in there. Still getting over the initial shock of Kathy's relapse. She has completed the four days of chemo and has pretty much nadired with her blood values. White count is down to .2 which is real dammmned low. Drs. say it should stay down there for about two weeks or longer. I doubt that she'll be outa the hospital for at least three weeks or more.
Found out this weekend that she has contracted a strep infection around her hickman catheter (in her chest for administration of chemo and blood products). She has been receiving lots of units of blood and platelets.
My concern of course is that since her counts are down so low that it will be hard to fight any infection. She is getting megaunits of actinomycin (I think) which is a strong antibiotic. Doctors and nurses don't seem all that concerned altho once her counts get up they will definitely be removing the catheter and inserting another one. Something about bacteria infiltrating the plastic of the catheter line.
Learning a lot more about all this chit than I ever wanted to.
Thanks for asking.
Me......doing the best that I can which is just struggling to hang on ... work and try not to act or do anything crazy.
Wished we could have made it to the superbowl but knew it was too iffy to even make any plans.
Hope all who went had a great time.
I went to my doctor the other day and got him to give me something to help me sleep and "focus". Guess it's some sort of anxiety medication.
What? Me worry????
Damned Right
AzRusty
Randy
Been a tough coupleof weeks
Guess you could say I (we) are hanging in there. Still getting over the initial shock of Kathy's relapse. She has completed the four days of chemo and has pretty much nadired with her blood values. White count is down to .2 which is real dammmned low. Drs. say it should stay down there for about two weeks or longer. I doubt that she'll be outa the hospital for at least three weeks or more.
Found out this weekend that she has contracted a strep infection around her hickman catheter (in her chest for administration of chemo and blood products). She has been receiving lots of units of blood and platelets.
My concern of course is that since her counts are down so low that it will be hard to fight any infection. She is getting megaunits of actinomycin (I think) which is a strong antibiotic. Doctors and nurses don't seem all that concerned altho once her counts get up they will definitely be removing the catheter and inserting another one. Something about bacteria infiltrating the plastic of the catheter line.
Learning a lot more about all this chit than I ever wanted to.
Thanks for asking.
Me......doing the best that I can which is just struggling to hang on ... work and try not to act or do anything crazy.
Wished we could have made it to the superbowl but knew it was too iffy to even make any plans.
Hope all who went had a great time.
I went to my doctor the other day and got him to give me something to help me sleep and "focus". Guess it's some sort of anxiety medication.
What? Me worry????
Damned Right
AzRusty
Randy
- Feb 12, 2000
- 10,652
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AZ--I can only imagine some of the pain you are going through. My best friend is just completing his first (and hopefully last) series of chemo and bleo. We set up a website for him Team Benson for his friends and family to visit and let him know they were thinking about him. I can relate to learning more than you ever wanted to know about this stuff.
I just wanted to post and let you know that you are in my prayers. I have been doing a lot of reading and you may find a guy named Philip Day interesting reading. My fiancee and I have been doing a lot of research on his stuff lately and it seems right up my line of thinking. You may want to read some of it. It is dealing with the topic of the usefulness of the methods currently used. Just might give you some ideas as direction to go with this stuff.
Anyway, good luck and we hope to see you and your significant back in action soon!
Take care,
Jason
I just wanted to post and let you know that you are in my prayers. I have been doing a lot of reading and you may find a guy named Philip Day interesting reading. My fiancee and I have been doing a lot of research on his stuff lately and it seems right up my line of thinking. You may want to read some of it. It is dealing with the topic of the usefulness of the methods currently used. Just might give you some ideas as direction to go with this stuff.
Anyway, good luck and we hope to see you and your significant back in action soon!
Take care,
Jason
I never new how deep Cancer reaches in to everones life. With my Wife Pat I sure learn a lot. I never new that everyone knows someone who has cancer or will before there 30. I walk each year now to raise money for reserch. Due to my wifes illness I join forces with what they call the relay for life. We have it each summer. We walk with other team members for 24 hours. Of course we go and ask for donations for the miles walked. There is great competition between the teams and helps make it fun.
Before this I walked and helped with the heart fund. I still do that to. But it's not ran as well and is not as much fun. I was very proud of the folks I worked with. I held a meeting asking for teams to be formed to represent our company for the cancer walk. We had 15 walkers the first year. The second year after more folks understood what we were doing it grew to 3 teams of 15 each. Now 5 years later we have over 80 folks on 6 teams. Last year Our teams alone rasied more then 11.000. Last year in our town 94 teams walked and rasied over $110.000. Compared to our first year of just over 25.000. As they say we come a long way baby. We expect over 100 teams this summer. Our goal is 125.000. Now that im retired Im going to have even more time to make this bigger and better. I hope it ends up helping someone. AZ your Kathy is a fighter. I wish her all the best. Hang in there and take care of yourself. You need your strengh to be able to help her. To you young and old alike here. Check with your local hospitals about the cancer walk for life. Get a team together have some fun and rasie some money to help with this dam cruel illness.
Before this I walked and helped with the heart fund. I still do that to. But it's not ran as well and is not as much fun. I was very proud of the folks I worked with. I held a meeting asking for teams to be formed to represent our company for the cancer walk. We had 15 walkers the first year. The second year after more folks understood what we were doing it grew to 3 teams of 15 each. Now 5 years later we have over 80 folks on 6 teams. Last year Our teams alone rasied more then 11.000. Last year in our town 94 teams walked and rasied over $110.000. Compared to our first year of just over 25.000. As they say we come a long way baby. We expect over 100 teams this summer. Our goal is 125.000. Now that im retired Im going to have even more time to make this bigger and better. I hope it ends up helping someone. AZ your Kathy is a fighter. I wish her all the best. Hang in there and take care of yourself. You need your strengh to be able to help her. To you young and old alike here. Check with your local hospitals about the cancer walk for life. Get a team together have some fun and rasie some money to help with this dam cruel illness.
Last edited:
DJV
DJV
Tough week for us djv.
The chemo from last week made Kathy sick as hell. No real nausea but bloody, uncontrollable diarrhea.....YUCK.
Now as I said above she has some sort of infection around the entrance for her catheter. Found out yesterday it is strep plus something else, I think Clostridium. Antibiotics are controlling it.
Today she had a bone marrow biopsy. I called the doctor doing it yesterday and made some not so subtle suggestions that I don't think were appreciated very much. A doctor a year ago performed three bone marrow biopsies over several months with versed and demerol and got to working before the damned drugs had a chance to work. Kathy was wide awake and in severe pain.
I just told the doctor. I hope that you will have plenty of time for the procedure and that you won't HURT her. Dead silence on the other end. I am sure that the doctor's transplation was.... I sure hope you know what the hell you are doing! Not my intent at all. Just wanted to make sure Kathy was OUT for the procedure. haven't heard a thing about how the procedure went but I was up there just before lunch to wish her good luck.
Tomorrow is my day off from the office. Thinking about taking a quick road trip. I dunno where.. but anywhere but here. I need to get away from the office, the house, the hospital and the cell phone. Some peace and quiet. And yeah.. I 'll be checking in with Kathy in the evening but I need a break.
This has been one of those finger in the light socket couple of weeks.... just constant pure stress.
The bone marrow biopsy will tell the doctors whether the chemo has gotten Kathy into remission.
Best of luck to everyone
Thanks
AzRusty
Randy
DJV
Tough week for us djv.
The chemo from last week made Kathy sick as hell. No real nausea but bloody, uncontrollable diarrhea.....YUCK.
Now as I said above she has some sort of infection around the entrance for her catheter. Found out yesterday it is strep plus something else, I think Clostridium. Antibiotics are controlling it.
Today she had a bone marrow biopsy. I called the doctor doing it yesterday and made some not so subtle suggestions that I don't think were appreciated very much. A doctor a year ago performed three bone marrow biopsies over several months with versed and demerol and got to working before the damned drugs had a chance to work. Kathy was wide awake and in severe pain.
I just told the doctor. I hope that you will have plenty of time for the procedure and that you won't HURT her. Dead silence on the other end. I am sure that the doctor's transplation was.... I sure hope you know what the hell you are doing! Not my intent at all. Just wanted to make sure Kathy was OUT for the procedure. haven't heard a thing about how the procedure went but I was up there just before lunch to wish her good luck.
Tomorrow is my day off from the office. Thinking about taking a quick road trip. I dunno where.. but anywhere but here. I need to get away from the office, the house, the hospital and the cell phone. Some peace and quiet. And yeah.. I 'll be checking in with Kathy in the evening but I need a break.
This has been one of those finger in the light socket couple of weeks.... just constant pure stress.
The bone marrow biopsy will tell the doctors whether the chemo has gotten Kathy into remission.
Best of luck to everyone
Thanks
AzRusty
Randy
I hope and pray that report is a good one. Yes take that day you need it. Your no good to her sick yourself.
