FRIDAY JUNE 28th, 2019 Today was the best day yet! Chris has been having a headache ever since he finished chemo. Today, his headache finally got resolved! Today, Chris had an appointment with Dr. Shah, his oncologist. After going over his recent labs, everything looks good; while Chris is severely neutropenic, his liver enzymes are all decreased which is the desired effect of the chemo. Chris's labs are all trending in the right direction. Chris will have three lab draws next week to make sure everything is still good. Chris's next chemo regimen will be starting July 10th. Fortunately, Chris can do it as an outpatient. It will still take a number hours to get everything situated, but at least he can be at home for the most part while receiving treatment. I will keep updating the blog as things change, but as long as things are good, I will probably not be updating as often. Please, text or call with any additional question...
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WEDNESDAY JUNE 26th, 2019 CHRIS CAME HOME TODAY!!!!! And my heart is so full to be at home with BOTH Stellan and Chris together! Chris's headache eventually became manageable while at the hospital today, and he did not experience any nausea whatsoever. The ride home from the hospital wasn't the most comfortable, but Chris made it. Stellan came home around 5:30 and was so happy to be back at home with Mom, Dad, and the "kkkkkitties". Chris's appetite seems to have improved a bit since being home. Hopefully, that will continue. Chris will be getting an infusion of Neulasta tomorrow as an outpatient. Neulasta is a bone marrow stimulant used to help the body make white blood cells after receiving the chemo. We will meet with Chris's oncologist on Friday to get labs drawn and for a follow up. Chris will need to get labs drawn twice a week in between his chemo cycles in order to make sure his labs are normal. That's all I have for today! Th...
TUESDAY JUNE, 25th, 2019 Unfortunately, Chris will not be able to go home today. He has been having a pretty severe headache since he woke up this morning as well as more of the neck pain he experienced yesterday. Both have lasted most of the day. As a result, the oncologist ordered another lumbar puncture to make sure the lymphoma is not in his cerebral spinal fluid. Chris also received another dose of Methotrexate (a chemo drug) into the CSF prophylactically. So far, the results of the lumbar puncture still look good. In addition, he has also had continued nausea and hasn't been able to keep much down throughout the day. The combination of the continued headache and nausea have led the oncologist to decide to keep Chris overnight in order to try and find out what the cause might be. On a positive note, Chris's liver enzymes continue to drop, which is good. We're hoping tomorrow will bring even better news. V P.S. Check out the pic...
MONDAY JUNE 24th, 2019 Despite having very little complications with his first dose of chemo, Chris was not feeling the best. During the night he woke up several times, and when he stood up was feeling light headed and "off". These feelings carried on into the morning and were eventually accompanied by a head and back ache, severe nausea, and chills. In addition, his double vision seemed just as bad as the day before. Overall, just not a great day for Chris. Although Chris wasn't feeling the best, he was moving forward towards eventual discharge. He was completely dc'd from the Dilaudid pump; both continuous infusion and on demand boluses. He was transitioned onto oral pain meds, in the hope that if his pain is managed, he might be able to come home tomorrow. He still needs to stop his IV fluids, but our fingers are certainly crossed. In preparation for Chris hopefully coming home in the next day or so, my mom, Caitlin, Pat, and I ...
SUNDAY JUNE 23rd, 2019 CYCLE 1 OF CHEMO IS OFFICIALLY COMPLETE!!!! 😁 Chris received the final two drugs of his 5 day chemo cycle today. The Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide) only took about an hour to infuse. Apparently it can be rough on your bladder, but Chris didn't have any side effects. After the Cytoxan, Chris was pre-medicated for the Rituxan (rituximab) with Benedryl, Tylenol, and Hydrocortizone. The Rituxan is started at 50 mg/hr and is increased by 50 mg/hr every half hour or so depending on how it is tolerated. Chris did not experience any side effects until the infusion was at 300 mg/hr; and even then it was only a headache. Unfortunately, the headache worsened the longer the infusion went, but it was completed within about 20 minutes of getting to 300 mg/hr. Chris's body tolerated the chemo phenomenally. The staff was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly it went. We are all hopeful that this will continue throughout th...
SATURDAY JUNE 22nd, 2019 Today was another good day for Chris overall. He had some neck pain upon waking up this morning and a bit of nausea at the end of his 3rd liter bag of chemo, but otherwise had no issues. Unfortunately, the double vision is still present, but his liver enzymes decreased more today which is promising. So far, his kidneys seem to be tolerating the chemo well. Tomorrow, Chris will be receiving the last two drugs in the R-EPOCH regimen and will, therefore, have completed his first cycle of chemo. Yay! Unfortunately, the two drugs he will be getting tomorrow (cyclophosphamide / Cytoxan and rituximab / Rituxan) are the ones that patient's tend to have a reaction too. We are keeping our fingers crossed that tomorrow will go just as smoothly as the last three and a half days. Lastly, our thoughts were with our friends in Illinois tonight at the marriage of two amazing people. Although we were tremendously sad that w...
FRIDAY JUNE 21st, 2019 Today seems so boring after all the ups and downs of the last week and a half. Chris didn't sleep super well because of all the fluid he's receiving as a result of the chemo. Despite all of the bathroom breaks, he was given Lasix to help with fluid retention and swelling from all of the fluid. Both the nurse practitioner and the attending oncologist stopped in today and said that his body is tolerating the chemo well and his liver enzymes are decreasing, but not dropping dramatically. So far so good. Chris did receive a unit of blood today. His blood levels are good for being an oncology patient, but they feel that raising his Hemoglobin level a bit could potentially help his double vision. Speaking of double vision..., we picked up a sweet pair of new glasses to help with the situation until it resolves on it's own. Check out the pictures. Lastly, Stellan was able to come and visit Dad today. He had a blast look...