Day 4 - Stem cell transplant
We are home! Yayyyyyyyeeeeeeee.....my bum is rather sore from sitting on that hard chair ;)
Jimmy is doing really great. No major changes apart from a little nausea again after his chemo. He has also eaten better today than he did yesterday. He had his PICC line removed and I was allowed to stay and watch. Quite amazing to see, apart from the fact that they pulled at least 20cm of pipe out of his leg/groin. I had a good laugh because sister Masi removed the line but when he moved Jimmy's gown over so that he could get to it he exclaimed "oh....it's quite small". He was referring to the size of the tube which had been used and I started to giggle. He took one look at Jimmy's face and burst out laughing, trying very hard to explain that he was talking about the tube!! Once the tube was out he had to apply pressure to the area for 30 minutes so that a decent clot could form.
Jimmy has been issued with a bag full of medication ranging from antibiotics to nausea etc which must be taken for the next 2 weeks. On Monday I will be on a mission to get hold of 20 Neupogen injections. We have already been told that this exceeds our medical aid allowance of 10 per script.
We are going to have a very quiet weekend watching sport and movies as no going out or visitors but maybe this is just what Jimmy needs while his body deals with all the chemo.
2014/12/05
2014/12/04
Thursday, 4th December
Day 3 - Stem cell transplant
Whew, what a long day....
Jimmy is doing well. I spent most the day with him and then came home at 7pm to a mound of paperwork but I am not ungrateful. Although still very busy we are in the winding down stages of work now and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. October, November and December are always our hectic months - note to self to advertise in June next year for customers to book year end jobs by September. A big thank you to my brother Stan...next year I will definitely be a daily part of the team again. It truly is a privilege knowing that I have been able to rely on Stan and our awesome team of guys who have outdone themselves this year, yet again.
The chemo is 2 huge bags of Etoposide which take an age to run through. Jimmy is also getting allot of IV fluids before and after the chemo to stop the chemo from burning his veins as well as anti-nausea medication and mouth rinse to try and prevent any mouth sores. Within 30 minutes of finishing the chemo he was very pale and feeling nauseous and did not eat his supper. He is experiencing a little discomfort from the PICC line and they also had him on oxygen this evening. He will be discharged tomorrow but I am sure this will only be in the afternoon as he needs to get another 2 bags of chemo in and they also need to remove the PICC line under local anaesthetic.
Jimmy's body is going to 'bottom out' over the next 5 days and his bloods are going to drop to below 1 (normal for white blood cells is 4-11). This is going to be a crucial 5 days until Wednesday when we start with 2 Neupogen injections a day and he will be highly susceptible to infection. We have to take his temperature every hour and if there is any spike in temp he needs to be taken through to high care immediately. For this reason I ask that we not have any visitors until next Thursday. It unfortunately is not worth the chance. Dr Fine explained today that they will not harvest his stem cells if he has any bugs or even if his temp is above 37. And on this thought....what impeccable timing as school breaks up on Wednesday when the children come to us.
Special thoughts go out to my brother Guy who had a knee operation today. We hope you are not in too much pain and have a good recovery. Rest this weekend!!
Whew, what a long day....
Jimmy is doing well. I spent most the day with him and then came home at 7pm to a mound of paperwork but I am not ungrateful. Although still very busy we are in the winding down stages of work now and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. October, November and December are always our hectic months - note to self to advertise in June next year for customers to book year end jobs by September. A big thank you to my brother Stan...next year I will definitely be a daily part of the team again. It truly is a privilege knowing that I have been able to rely on Stan and our awesome team of guys who have outdone themselves this year, yet again.
The chemo is 2 huge bags of Etoposide which take an age to run through. Jimmy is also getting allot of IV fluids before and after the chemo to stop the chemo from burning his veins as well as anti-nausea medication and mouth rinse to try and prevent any mouth sores. Within 30 minutes of finishing the chemo he was very pale and feeling nauseous and did not eat his supper. He is experiencing a little discomfort from the PICC line and they also had him on oxygen this evening. He will be discharged tomorrow but I am sure this will only be in the afternoon as he needs to get another 2 bags of chemo in and they also need to remove the PICC line under local anaesthetic.
 |
| Etoposide |
Jimmy's body is going to 'bottom out' over the next 5 days and his bloods are going to drop to below 1 (normal for white blood cells is 4-11). This is going to be a crucial 5 days until Wednesday when we start with 2 Neupogen injections a day and he will be highly susceptible to infection. We have to take his temperature every hour and if there is any spike in temp he needs to be taken through to high care immediately. For this reason I ask that we not have any visitors until next Thursday. It unfortunately is not worth the chance. Dr Fine explained today that they will not harvest his stem cells if he has any bugs or even if his temp is above 37. And on this thought....what impeccable timing as school breaks up on Wednesday when the children come to us.
Special thoughts go out to my brother Guy who had a knee operation today. We hope you are not in too much pain and have a good recovery. Rest this weekend!!