Transplant Countdown: Day 1
The extraction process is over, so I wasn’t sure what to use as my title today. Since the next step is the transplant I settled on Transplant Countdown. We don’t know how long the wait will be. We were told anywhere from 3 weeks to six months, depending on a number of factors, one of which was Karl’s health. We have no idea how the hiccups so far will affect the wait...it’s wait and see. And hope that Old Murphy will stop shitting on us.
So today we have pluses and minuses. I’ll go through the negatives first to get them out of the way. If you are like me and not trained in biology, chemistry or medicine, it will involve another health lesson. Creatinine. Dr. Google tells me it is a chemical waste molecule that is transported through the bloodstream to the kidneys, where it is filtered out and then disposed of through the pee. Dr. Jones told us that Karl’s normal level is 100, and today his was 200.
I’ve touched on the problems with Dr. Google before. While I’m sure he got the function of creatinine correct, he then went on to tell me all the reasons why Karl’s levels could have gone up. They aren’t pretty and I wish I hadn’t read them. Dr. Jones said that the most likely cause was the high dose of the antibiotic Vancomycin that he has been on since early Saturday morning. His treatment for the problem has been to stop all antibiotics (he was also taking Peptase) and start lots of iv liquids that will flush out the kidneys. He said he will do this for a couple of days, so be prepared for some more boring time at the hospital. We’ve learned that if you are in hospital, being bored is better than the alternative, so we will sit and watch the iv drip. And ignore Dr. Google.
Now onto the other side of the scale for the positives. The line is out! It was in for a week, and we are grateful that Karl was able to tolerate it for a week since it was a necessary component of the stem cell extraction, but we are just as grateful that it is gone. It caused the infection, which necessitated the antibiotics, which now have caused the kidney problems. Good riddance I say! The extraction was easier than putting it in. Dr. Collingwood, RN Alex #1, and a student nurse from the unit we visited last Tuesday came up to his room, did a little prep, and then Dr. Collingwood yanked it out. I didn’t watch, but Karl said it was so quick that he didn’t feel anything until after the tube was out. Alex #1 put the tube in a specimen bottle, and they are going to culture it to be sure they don’t find anything nasty. The site itself looks very good today, so no one is expecting anything more from these few steps of the journey. After the rest of the team left, Dr. Su came in. He was the resident who put in the line. He said it was the first one that he has put in that has become infected, and he felt bad about it. We told him that an infection was bound to happen to someone at some point because of any number of factors. Of course Old Murphy picked on Karl. Is there a hex or a spell we can use to keep him away from now on?!
That’s not the end of the good news. Remember RN Yvonne, the nurse manager from the transplant team that we met on our first Transplant Clinic appointment? She checked in frequently while Karl was on the apheresis machine, and it was her who told us the counts both afternoons, and relayed that Dr. Jones was happy with stopping with the 8.55 million cells that we had after yesterday’s extraction. When she was in Karl’s room to give us that good news she said she would set up some more of the tests that Karl would need to have before the actual transplant, since he was here anyway. So today he had a breathing function test and a Muga scan, which takes pictures of the heart while it is pumping. So that’s two more items to move to the completed side of the list.
While Karl was watching the iv drip and getting his tests done today I slipped out for a while. I took the dog out for a walk in the 18C weather. Quite unseasonably warm for this late in October, but definitely another positive to note today. Then I went and had my second ever flu shot. The shot was not for me, but rather so that I don’t get anything and bring it home to Karl. One of the Public Health Nurses we saw last week when Karl was getting Neupogen recommended it. Just another example to show that when Cancer comes into your home, everything revolves around the Big C.
So today we have pluses and minuses. I’ll go through the negatives first to get them out of the way. If you are like me and not trained in biology, chemistry or medicine, it will involve another health lesson. Creatinine. Dr. Google tells me it is a chemical waste molecule that is transported through the bloodstream to the kidneys, where it is filtered out and then disposed of through the pee. Dr. Jones told us that Karl’s normal level is 100, and today his was 200.
I’ve touched on the problems with Dr. Google before. While I’m sure he got the function of creatinine correct, he then went on to tell me all the reasons why Karl’s levels could have gone up. They aren’t pretty and I wish I hadn’t read them. Dr. Jones said that the most likely cause was the high dose of the antibiotic Vancomycin that he has been on since early Saturday morning. His treatment for the problem has been to stop all antibiotics (he was also taking Peptase) and start lots of iv liquids that will flush out the kidneys. He said he will do this for a couple of days, so be prepared for some more boring time at the hospital. We’ve learned that if you are in hospital, being bored is better than the alternative, so we will sit and watch the iv drip. And ignore Dr. Google.
Now onto the other side of the scale for the positives. The line is out! It was in for a week, and we are grateful that Karl was able to tolerate it for a week since it was a necessary component of the stem cell extraction, but we are just as grateful that it is gone. It caused the infection, which necessitated the antibiotics, which now have caused the kidney problems. Good riddance I say! The extraction was easier than putting it in. Dr. Collingwood, RN Alex #1, and a student nurse from the unit we visited last Tuesday came up to his room, did a little prep, and then Dr. Collingwood yanked it out. I didn’t watch, but Karl said it was so quick that he didn’t feel anything until after the tube was out. Alex #1 put the tube in a specimen bottle, and they are going to culture it to be sure they don’t find anything nasty. The site itself looks very good today, so no one is expecting anything more from these few steps of the journey. After the rest of the team left, Dr. Su came in. He was the resident who put in the line. He said it was the first one that he has put in that has become infected, and he felt bad about it. We told him that an infection was bound to happen to someone at some point because of any number of factors. Of course Old Murphy picked on Karl. Is there a hex or a spell we can use to keep him away from now on?!
That’s not the end of the good news. Remember RN Yvonne, the nurse manager from the transplant team that we met on our first Transplant Clinic appointment? She checked in frequently while Karl was on the apheresis machine, and it was her who told us the counts both afternoons, and relayed that Dr. Jones was happy with stopping with the 8.55 million cells that we had after yesterday’s extraction. When she was in Karl’s room to give us that good news she said she would set up some more of the tests that Karl would need to have before the actual transplant, since he was here anyway. So today he had a breathing function test and a Muga scan, which takes pictures of the heart while it is pumping. So that’s two more items to move to the completed side of the list.
While Karl was watching the iv drip and getting his tests done today I slipped out for a while. I took the dog out for a walk in the 18C weather. Quite unseasonably warm for this late in October, but definitely another positive to note today. Then I went and had my second ever flu shot. The shot was not for me, but rather so that I don’t get anything and bring it home to Karl. One of the Public Health Nurses we saw last week when Karl was getting Neupogen recommended it. Just another example to show that when Cancer comes into your home, everything revolves around the Big C.
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