Wednesday Sept. 1st - New Meds. Day

Thursday, September 2, 2010

The patient speaks:

Today is the big day. I get back the frozen stem cells that were removed a few weeks before. This is a process called reinfusion. Three bags (of the six that were originally harvested) are driven from the New York Blood Center in New York City by a courier. Once here at Albany Med, they are placed in a bath to partially defrost them, and then hung from a tree like any other IV and drip into my port. The process takes about four hours, and it goes smoothly.

All the forces for my recovery are now in place. But the most challenging part lies ahead. As I noted before, the chemo’s negative effects begin to be felt early next week. No doubt, it will be most difficult to maintain an upbeat, positive attitude when in the midst of those days.

That will be the time that I find out what I’m truly made of.




Wednesday, September 1, 2010

DAY 3 with the GREEN BAG

Ed speaks:

How to bathe?

Today I try something new. The bag will hang from a bungee cord strung from the shower curtain rod outside the shower. The tubing is just long enough to allow me to enter the back of the shower and cleanse myself.

This appears to be a much more workable solution to bathing. Another crisis solved!

A visit to the hospital this morning of only several hours, as I sit through an IV infusion of fluids. Feels almost like a vacation.





Day three of Immune System destruction is going well. Ed is still walking around with his hunter green LLBean sack (his new best friend) with two pumps hooked up to his meds. The Ambulatory Infusion Pump (AIP) pump dispenses IV saline solution fluids to hydrate and flush out his dead cells, keep his electrolytes in balance, and protect his kidneys and liver. The second "BAD" pump has the Benedryl, Adivan, and Decatron which prevents nausea. Ed has been doing well and his main symptoms include tiredness and having to use the rest room frequently.

Today a new regimen of drugs have been added that will help prevent infection due to the eventual lack of any white blood cells. These pills will include Acyclovir to prevent Herpes Zoster (shingles), Diflucan to prevent yeast infections, Prilosec for GI upsets, and the antibiotics PenVeek and Levaquin to prevent a myriad of infections. In my mind I can hear my friend Linda again reassuring me it's OK that he is on all these drugs, and his medication regiment will soon be pared down. Sister-in-law Pharmacist Katie will also be contacted to reassure me that the meds. are OK. Most of his problems have been due to drug interactions, which makes me skeptical. Today an issue includes a very high blood sugar level - and meds. have been adjusted. Also his aphresis cathater insertion site needs to be monitored for a possible cellulitis infection. He also has to frequently use a breathing apparatus called an Incentive Spirometer to maximize the oxygenation of his blood and prevent pnuemonia.

Tomorrow at 11:00 am. the start of the stem cell re infusion will start. His very own frozen, processed, stored stem cells will be shipped up from NYcity by courier in the morning. When they arrive they will be thawed in a warming bath and the reinfusion and hydration process will take about 3 hours.

Ed's attached pump makes a whirring noise every 7 seconds around the clock. Makes me think of the Edgar Allan Poe's "Tell Tale Heart."