Day 84 Two more people passed away on the wing that Ann was staying in today. The person on the other side of her and the person next to them. I know that the juxtaposition of those events to us is random, but the closeness of it is still un-nerving.
There are some other events from today to report. For the first time Ann had an accident with her central line catheter (CVC). She asked to take a shower and the patch that was constructed for her failed. This got her tegaderm bandage soaked and water actually managed to get to the hole penetrating into her chest cavity and artery. This could be extremely bad.
Up till now we have avoided any problems with her CVC and the infections that come along with it. Most patients who develop a CVC problem are sidelined for a week or more as the Doctors work on getting the infection under control. Because chemo screws up the patient's immune system, bugs that come in through the CVC line get a free ride right into the heart and can literally attack any part of the body in a few hours or minutes. Some patients die from something as simple as this.
I feel like the accident is my fault. I was talking on the phone, trying to get something done and I didn't check her shower patch made by the nurse closely enough. If I had I would have seen the problem and asked the nurse to make it again or get me some larger tape to fix it. Stupid! Just %&*#@ stupid of me!
This could be part of the reason for the new 875 mg "horse pill" antibiotic that she had to start taking.
We are still getting apologies for the state of the room we had to check into for this round for chemo. I'm happy to report that the problem has been dealt with completely and there is no hint of unpleasant smells anywhere. There has been one unintended side effect to the whole event though. Our charge nurse overheard a Doctor on rounds this morning speculate that Ann would be released Saturday and checked on it. It seems that the time we waited to move into the room delayed her getting her 1st bag of Cytoxin. So that in turn pushed her release back into Sunday night. So it looks like Ann will have to spend Easter Sunday tethered up to a IV pole.
The pathology report on Ann's last Bone Marrow Aspiration still has not come back. We are waiting on pins and needles for it. I know it showed 3% blast cells but the question is "what are those 3%"? Are they Leukemic, or normal?
Ultimately I suppose the answer to that question doesn't matter. The t(4;11)+ form of leukemia that has stricken Ann has been studied enough even though it is rare, for the Doctors to be almost 100% certain that there is a single Leukemia cell lurking somewhere in my beloved Wife silently learning how to avoid being killed by the drugs being pumped into her. Leukemia is a cancer of the human immune system and the immune system is after all adaptive. As soon as that single cell figures out how to survive the chemo drugs then the problem will simply begin all over again. But worse now the drugs will be an ineffective tool at keeping the monster at bay.
I wanted to answer a comment someone made on to a previous post. The owner of the New York Bagel Co. on Jefferson Hwy in Baton Rouge is a good friend by the name of Ann Tran. Ann Tran has kindly offered to promote our cause and run some specials in her store to help us. She is a very kind and generous woman, who runs a wonderful business. If you have time and are near Jefferson Hwy in south Baton Rouge, please stop in and visit the New York Bagel Co. you won't be sorry.
Finally we have had some interest from another TV station on a different angle on Ann's story. I'll keep everyone posted on this. Also the channel 2 story looks like it will run very soon.
Anyone know how to get in touch with Oprah?
Two more people passed away on the wing that Ann was staying in today. The person on the other side of her and the person next to them. I know that the juxtaposition of those events to us is random, but the closeness of it is still un-nerving.
Up till now we have avoided any problems with her CVC and the infections that come along with it. Most patients who develop a CVC problem are sidelined for a week or more as the Doctors work on getting the infection under control. Because chemo screws up the patient's immune system, bugs that come in through the CVC line get a free ride right into the heart and can literally attack any part of the body in a few hours or minutes. Some patients die from something as simple as this.
This could be part of the reason for the new 875 mg "horse pill" antibiotic that she had to start taking.
We are still getting apologies for the state of the room we had to check into for this round for chemo. I'm happy to report that the problem has been dealt with completely and there is no hint of unpleasant smells anywhere. There has been one unintended side effect to the whole event though. Our charge nurse overheard a Doctor on rounds this morning speculate that Ann would be released Saturday and checked on it. It seems that the time we waited to move into the room delayed her getting her 1st bag of Cytoxin. So that in turn pushed her release back into Sunday night. So it looks like Ann will have to spend Easter Sunday tethered up to a IV pole.
The pathology report on Ann's last Bone Marrow Aspiration still has not come back. We are waiting on pins and needles for it. I know it showed 3% blast cells but the question is "what are those 3%"? Are they Leukemic, or normal?
Ultimately I suppose the answer to that question doesn't matter. The t(4;11)+ form of leukemia that has stricken Ann has been studied enough even though it is rare, for the Doctors to be almost 100% certain that there is a single Leukemia cell lurking somewhere in my beloved Wife silently learning how to avoid being killed by the drugs being pumped into her. Leukemia is a cancer of the human immune system and the immune system is after all adaptive. As soon as that single cell figures out how to survive the chemo drugs then the problem will simply begin all over again. But worse now the drugs will be an ineffective tool at keeping the monster at bay.
I wanted to answer a comment someone made on to a previous post. The owner of the New York Bagel Co. on Jefferson Hwy in Baton Rouge is a good friend by the name of Ann Tran. Ann Tran has kindly offered to promote our cause and run some specials in her store to help us. She is a very kind and generous woman, who runs a wonderful business. If you have time and are near Jefferson Hwy in south Baton Rouge, please stop in and visit the New York Bagel Co. you won't be sorry.
Finally we have had some interest from another TV station on a different angle on Ann's story. I'll keep everyone posted on this. Also the channel 2 story looks like it will run very soon.Anyone know how to get in touch with Oprah?