Friday, July 16, 2010

Home July 6th

Sorry for not updating this blog when we got home on July 6th.  When we are home my schedule changes and I forget about giving you an update. 

Carla's white cell count kept dropping when we got home.  It was 1.99 when we left Little rock and then dropped to 1.68 on Thursday and 1.51 on Monday.  We were concerned and kept contacting the Myeloma Institute.  They told us to wait before getting any growth hormone shot.  Thankfully it was up above 2 yesterday.

Carla has been feeling stronger and has decided she had had enough of my 10 months of attempts at cooking so she has started fixing some of our meals.  She still is tired some and attempts to work in a two-hour afternoon nap. 

We are scheduled to start Consolidation #2 on August 10.  This should be the last therapy before the three-year maintenance.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Disappointment

Dr. Barlogie approved Carla's getting the CVL line out today once her platelets were over 50 and then leaving tomorrow if her blood tests were OK.  But things have changed.  I knew they would have to draw blood, get the results, determine if she needed platelets, order platelets, administer platelets, draw another blood sample, wait for test results, see if she needed more platelets.

So, I dropped Carla off at the infusion center about 9:00 and went back to clean the apartment so it wouldn't take much to get it ready to leave tomorrow.  Carla called me once they got her blood results back and her platelets were down to 15 and her red blood cell count was critically low as was her hemoglobin.  She was questioning if she was really well enough to leave.

I took her lunch about 1:30 and eventually it was decided to spend the weekend in Little Rock with her going to the infusion center each day.  Hopefully her blood will improve enough so on Tuesday she can get her blood tested, get platelet count over 50 with platelets if needed, get the line removed from her chest and head home.

Today she got two bags of platelets and one bag of whole blood.  We got home about 5:30.  This is the second day in a row that she has missed her afternoon nap. 

We both were disappointed but would rather have the nurses with experience with  myeloma patients tweaking her blood.

We met with a nurse scheduler and it looks like we will be returning to Little Rock for Consolidation #2 on about August 15th.  This should be the last extended therapy phase.  It will be followed by 3 years of maintenance which can primarily be done in Springfield with initially quarter checkups in Little Rock which should later be at 6 month and possibly yearly intervals.

I am concerned that Carla has a runny nose and a slight cough tonight.  Hopefully she hasn't caught a cold or virus while sitting in the lab frequented by other sick myeloma patients.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Meeting with Top Doc

Carla's white blood count was up to 1.51 from 0.49 but her platelets had dropped to 19.  Her CRP which is a measure of possible infection or inflammation was much lower than the 30 yesterday.  She has had problems with low blood pressure so they gave her another liter of saline solution.  Our appointment to see Dr. Barlogie was for 1:00 and we got in to see him about 3:30.  He decided everything was on its way up.  He could have the CVL line pulled tomorrow or we would have to wait until next Tuesday because of the Fourth of July three-day weekend.  He decided for her to get her blood work done tomorrow but after they give her a bag of platelets.  They will repeat this if necessary to get her platelets up to 50.  Then she will get her line out.

We will stay in Little Rock and go back to the Myeloma Infusion Center early Saturday morning for a blood draw.  After the results are reviewed by the APN she will be free to return to Springfield IF there are no concerns.  The main concern generally is the WBC.  If it is below 2 we will have to remain in longer in Little Rock.  Of course there is still the possibility of infection which would raise her CRP and we would have to vacation longer in Little Rock.

The local news tonight said there had been 28 days this June where the temperature was above 90 degrees and the average for June is 4.  With an average high of 94.7 degrees this was the third warmest June in Little Rock's recorded history.