Hello.
On Monday July 18th, Jim is scheduled to have the port installed in his shoulder. This will aid in the injection of the chemo drugs and will allow the drugs immediate access to his blood stream. I plan on taking him to this appointment, not knowing how he's going to be afterwards... Groggy, upset, etc...
Starting on July 22nd, Jim will have his first chemo treatment. It's expected to take 3hrs at the oncologists, then he will have a shoulder bag that will inject the 5-FU over a 48hr period. He's set the appointments up for Fridays that way any reactions he may have will be done when he's not at work.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Met with Oncologist
Hello.
Well, we've met with Dr Gordon (Jim's Oncologist) on Friday July 1st. Jim will need chemotherapy, much to his disappointment. Fortunately Dr Gordon has had experience with patients with PMP. He said his office gets one case per year out of th thousands his office sees.
Dr Gordon prescribed Folfox, which is a common treatment for PMP. Folfox consists of Leucovorin, Fluorouracil, and Oxaliplatin. There are no specific chemo treatments for PMP, but Folfox is one commonly prescribed.
Jim will need to have a port installed in his shoulder, which will allow for direct injection of the oxaliplatin into his blood stream. Jim has an appointment on July 11th with his Harrisburg surgeons for a consult about the port. It will be installed under the skin and should not hamper Jim's movements, but he's not allowed excessive shoulder movement.
So after the port is in place, Jim will go to the Oncologist's once every two weeks for six months for a three-hour injection of the oxaliplatin (and leucovorin), then a 48-hour injection of the fluorouracil. He will carry the fluorouracil in a carry bag during the 48 hour period. At first a nurse will come and disconnect the bag after the 48 hours, but Jim expects to be shown how to do that himself.
Side effects... The big issue... For three days after the oxaliplatin injection Jim will have extreme sensitivity to cold. He's not allowed cold drinks or drinks with ice because he could have a tense time as his throat contracts as a reaction making hard to breathe. It's a temporary condition, but could cause a panic moment or two... Also, limited exposure to A/C, needs gloves to get things out of the frig... Basically he has to be cautious when around cold conditions.
He may also have diahrea (has medicine to combat that) or nausea (also has medicine to combat that). After a few treatments, he may experience numbness or tingling in his fingers and feet (just what he wants to hear) which will fade over nine months after the last treatment.
Hair loss should be minor and no permanent sterility. There may be times where he doesn't want to eat, so I'll have to keep an eye/ear open for that...
Jim also has a CT scan appt on July 20th, the important CT scan! This will show if the PMP is still present. Dr Sardi said he removed it all, but the CT scan will confirm that. Cross our fingers.
The appt with Dr Sardi is Aug 10th at 1pm, where we will go over the CT scan, blood work, and chemo. Hopefully at this meeting we will have a good idea on whether Jim is PMP-free or what the next step will be. Then if Jim has no reoccurances within 2 years, he basically can put this part of his life to bed and move on (if he hasn't already).
That's all for now.
Well, we've met with Dr Gordon (Jim's Oncologist) on Friday July 1st. Jim will need chemotherapy, much to his disappointment. Fortunately Dr Gordon has had experience with patients with PMP. He said his office gets one case per year out of th thousands his office sees.
Dr Gordon prescribed Folfox, which is a common treatment for PMP. Folfox consists of Leucovorin, Fluorouracil, and Oxaliplatin. There are no specific chemo treatments for PMP, but Folfox is one commonly prescribed.
Jim will need to have a port installed in his shoulder, which will allow for direct injection of the oxaliplatin into his blood stream. Jim has an appointment on July 11th with his Harrisburg surgeons for a consult about the port. It will be installed under the skin and should not hamper Jim's movements, but he's not allowed excessive shoulder movement.
So after the port is in place, Jim will go to the Oncologist's once every two weeks for six months for a three-hour injection of the oxaliplatin (and leucovorin), then a 48-hour injection of the fluorouracil. He will carry the fluorouracil in a carry bag during the 48 hour period. At first a nurse will come and disconnect the bag after the 48 hours, but Jim expects to be shown how to do that himself.
Side effects... The big issue... For three days after the oxaliplatin injection Jim will have extreme sensitivity to cold. He's not allowed cold drinks or drinks with ice because he could have a tense time as his throat contracts as a reaction making hard to breathe. It's a temporary condition, but could cause a panic moment or two... Also, limited exposure to A/C, needs gloves to get things out of the frig... Basically he has to be cautious when around cold conditions.
He may also have diahrea (has medicine to combat that) or nausea (also has medicine to combat that). After a few treatments, he may experience numbness or tingling in his fingers and feet (just what he wants to hear) which will fade over nine months after the last treatment.
Hair loss should be minor and no permanent sterility. There may be times where he doesn't want to eat, so I'll have to keep an eye/ear open for that...
Jim also has a CT scan appt on July 20th, the important CT scan! This will show if the PMP is still present. Dr Sardi said he removed it all, but the CT scan will confirm that. Cross our fingers.
The appt with Dr Sardi is Aug 10th at 1pm, where we will go over the CT scan, blood work, and chemo. Hopefully at this meeting we will have a good idea on whether Jim is PMP-free or what the next step will be. Then if Jim has no reoccurances within 2 years, he basically can put this part of his life to bed and move on (if he hasn't already).
That's all for now.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
May 19th - Quick Update
Hello.
St Agnes called Jim and told him he has the low grade PMP. Which is great news. They still want him to have the chemo, so now we are trying to find an oncologist in the Harrisburg area that is familiar with PMP. We got two recommendations from St Agnes, we just need their credentials and Jim to feel comfortable with them.
St Agnes will be sending Jim copies of the pathology final report and the list of chemo drugs that react well with his cancer. That's all we know for now. I'll update later as we learn things.
St Agnes called Jim and told him he has the low grade PMP. Which is great news. They still want him to have the chemo, so now we are trying to find an oncologist in the Harrisburg area that is familiar with PMP. We got two recommendations from St Agnes, we just need their credentials and Jim to feel comfortable with them.
St Agnes will be sending Jim copies of the pathology final report and the list of chemo drugs that react well with his cancer. That's all we know for now. I'll update later as we learn things.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
May 18th
Hello.
Just got back from the doctor's visit. Things went very well even though they don't have the final pathology report yet (should have that tomorrow).
Jim's incision is healing so well that the hole doesn't need to be packed anymore. They've placed tape pulling both sides together and it's supposed to finish closing by itself. That's a relief, no more dressing changes...
The doctor thinks that Jim has a better than 80% chance of not having the cancer come back (will have a better idea with the pathology report). However, he does want Jim to undergo a 6-month chemotherapy treatment (which kind we should also know tomorrow). The chemo will improve Jim's odds of beating the cancer by more than 10% (so with the 80% we're looking at 90% or better). The chemo won't be started for 1-2 months. Tomorrow they should also be getting us a name of a medical onocologist near where Jim lives, who will perform the chemo treatment.
His next appointment with St Agnes will be in July after he has his CT scan done. So Jim's left with 7 more blood thinner shots (that he gives himself) and 3 more Procrit shots (to be done by his local doctor's office). He will still be taking iron supplements and multivitamins... but that's do-able.
So Jim's not done yet, but the odds are favorable that this will be the one time he needs to go through all of this. : )
I'll update tomorrow with the final pathology report result and chemo treatment.
Just got back from the doctor's visit. Things went very well even though they don't have the final pathology report yet (should have that tomorrow).
Jim's incision is healing so well that the hole doesn't need to be packed anymore. They've placed tape pulling both sides together and it's supposed to finish closing by itself. That's a relief, no more dressing changes...
The doctor thinks that Jim has a better than 80% chance of not having the cancer come back (will have a better idea with the pathology report). However, he does want Jim to undergo a 6-month chemotherapy treatment (which kind we should also know tomorrow). The chemo will improve Jim's odds of beating the cancer by more than 10% (so with the 80% we're looking at 90% or better). The chemo won't be started for 1-2 months. Tomorrow they should also be getting us a name of a medical onocologist near where Jim lives, who will perform the chemo treatment.
His next appointment with St Agnes will be in July after he has his CT scan done. So Jim's left with 7 more blood thinner shots (that he gives himself) and 3 more Procrit shots (to be done by his local doctor's office). He will still be taking iron supplements and multivitamins... but that's do-able.
So Jim's not done yet, but the odds are favorable that this will be the one time he needs to go through all of this. : )
I'll update tomorrow with the final pathology report result and chemo treatment.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
May 11th
Hello.
No "real" new news... Both Dr Sardi and Paula were out, so we saw Robin Cianos (the IHPC coordinator) who was not able to tells us much. So we have another appointment next Wednesday (May 18th).
It was a good thing that we did have the appoinment even though we didn't get the info we wanted. Jim's covered head to toe in hives... Don't know what from (there was a suggestion that it maybe due to the fact his antibiotic regime just ended, but who knows). So we were able to have a Doctor tell us he can take benadryl for the hives...
No "real" new news... Both Dr Sardi and Paula were out, so we saw Robin Cianos (the IHPC coordinator) who was not able to tells us much. So we have another appointment next Wednesday (May 18th).
It was a good thing that we did have the appoinment even though we didn't get the info we wanted. Jim's covered head to toe in hives... Don't know what from (there was a suggestion that it maybe due to the fact his antibiotic regime just ended, but who knows). So we were able to have a Doctor tell us he can take benadryl for the hives...
Monday, May 09, 2005
May 9th
Hello.
Things are sort of status quo... Jim's right hand is still bothering him (tingling and numbness). He still has a mild fever in the evenings and night sweats... Wound packing and dressing changes are still going on with no fainting spells... : )
We do have an appointment at St Agnes tomorrow at 2pm to have his last staple removed and to find out the final results from the pathology report. Dr Sardi won't be in, but if we have questions we can email/call him later. I'll let you know how tomorrow went tomorow...
Things are sort of status quo... Jim's right hand is still bothering him (tingling and numbness). He still has a mild fever in the evenings and night sweats... Wound packing and dressing changes are still going on with no fainting spells... : )
We do have an appointment at St Agnes tomorrow at 2pm to have his last staple removed and to find out the final results from the pathology report. Dr Sardi won't be in, but if we have questions we can email/call him later. I'll let you know how tomorrow went tomorow...
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
May 4th
Today started off with a suprise... During Jim's dressing change, he passed out. Didn't bump anything on the way down (got him to sit down when he was feeling faint) and I was able to lower him from where he was sitting to the floor in a slow and graceful way... But definitely gave him a shock... He was only out for a few seconds.... Turns out the doctor and nurses thought he looked a little dehydrated yesterday plus I found out he didn't eat much yesterday as well (scrambled eggs, chicken nuggets, and 2 slices of pizza - not enough for one recovering). So gave him some OJ, protein shake, klondike bar, and gatorage and stayed with him until he felt better... Left him with a house stocked with food (crackers, soup, sandwich materials, PP&J, gatorage, V8, milk, left over pizza) and with orders to drink and eat more, so he should be ok until I get home...
Back to yesterday... He got to St Agnes around 1pm and they took blood and urine for testing and took a CT scan... He also got his Procrit injection... And they removed his staples!!!! : ) This ended around 5pm and he drove back to my house and took a long nap...
He has talked with St Agnes this morning (partly about the faint and partly about the results). He's still worried about the fever (it came back last night ~101, with the sweating again...). They said that the test results were coming back normal and if he had the fever again tonight, then they would probably schedule the CT scan for tomorrow. That's all I know for now...
Back to yesterday... He got to St Agnes around 1pm and they took blood and urine for testing and took a CT scan... He also got his Procrit injection... And they removed his staples!!!! : ) This ended around 5pm and he drove back to my house and took a long nap...
He has talked with St Agnes this morning (partly about the faint and partly about the results). He's still worried about the fever (it came back last night ~101, with the sweating again...). They said that the test results were coming back normal and if he had the fever again tonight, then they would probably schedule the CT scan for tomorrow. That's all I know for now...
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
May 3rd
Hello.
We've made it past the weekend and his temperature is still elevated in the evenings (100.7 - 101.8). We called St Agnes yesterday to find out what needed to be done. Waited until 4pm for Jim to talk with Dr Sardi. He was told to see his primary care doctor about the fever and to get a CT scan done to see if he has an abscess inside. That was not a problem since he was to see his primary care doctor anyway because of the Procrit shot and hemoglobin count needed to be done today. Didn't need to hear about a possible abscess (already worried about the temp now an added worry about an abscess)...
After his appointment with his primary care doctor at 10:30 am, Jim is now driving to St Agnes (because his doctor doesn't know the case history and doesn't know what to do for Jim). Plus he didn't get his Procrit shot (which now needs to be done at St Agnes).
I called Robin to gripe about the situation. Turns out Dr Sardi thought Jim was in Enola (not Oxford) and thought it was a shorter distance than going to Baltimore. Understandable, but very worrying for Jim... Also complained about the lack of a contact person for over the weekend. Was told that we were to have called the main hospital number where we would have been connected with the person on-call... Explained that I had called the main hospital number, but had to leave a message with Patient Records (since that was where I was directed). Told Robin that it would be good to put on the release form, who to contact during weekend hours... Jim was really worried over the weekend because of the fever...
That's where we are now... Will update as soon as I know anything more....
We've made it past the weekend and his temperature is still elevated in the evenings (100.7 - 101.8). We called St Agnes yesterday to find out what needed to be done. Waited until 4pm for Jim to talk with Dr Sardi. He was told to see his primary care doctor about the fever and to get a CT scan done to see if he has an abscess inside. That was not a problem since he was to see his primary care doctor anyway because of the Procrit shot and hemoglobin count needed to be done today. Didn't need to hear about a possible abscess (already worried about the temp now an added worry about an abscess)...
After his appointment with his primary care doctor at 10:30 am, Jim is now driving to St Agnes (because his doctor doesn't know the case history and doesn't know what to do for Jim). Plus he didn't get his Procrit shot (which now needs to be done at St Agnes).
I called Robin to gripe about the situation. Turns out Dr Sardi thought Jim was in Enola (not Oxford) and thought it was a shorter distance than going to Baltimore. Understandable, but very worrying for Jim... Also complained about the lack of a contact person for over the weekend. Was told that we were to have called the main hospital number where we would have been connected with the person on-call... Explained that I had called the main hospital number, but had to leave a message with Patient Records (since that was where I was directed). Told Robin that it would be good to put on the release form, who to contact during weekend hours... Jim was really worried over the weekend because of the fever...
That's where we are now... Will update as soon as I know anything more....
Sunday, May 01, 2005
May 1st
Hello...
Things have been going well so far... Jim's sleeping right now... Wore him out by walking a bit too much today (2 miles at Fairhill State Park in MD)...
He has an appointment on Tues with his doctor for a Procrit injection and bood work (to determine his hemoglobin count, when it reaches 11 he stops getting the shots).
Only thing going on now is that his temp is close to normal first thing in the a.m. and then reaches 101 or higher in the evening... Can't tell if this is something to be concerned about or not (we don't feel this constitues an "emergency"). Wasn't given a weekend contact number by St Agnes (an oversight we plan on fixing first thing Monday). Everything else seems ok: no pain to speak of, no inflammation... So Jim will call on Monday and see what we should be doing...
Jim received flowers from his workplace on Saturday. They're very lovely... A good suprise for him... : )
Things have been going well so far... Jim's sleeping right now... Wore him out by walking a bit too much today (2 miles at Fairhill State Park in MD)...
He has an appointment on Tues with his doctor for a Procrit injection and bood work (to determine his hemoglobin count, when it reaches 11 he stops getting the shots).
Only thing going on now is that his temp is close to normal first thing in the a.m. and then reaches 101 or higher in the evening... Can't tell if this is something to be concerned about or not (we don't feel this constitues an "emergency"). Wasn't given a weekend contact number by St Agnes (an oversight we plan on fixing first thing Monday). Everything else seems ok: no pain to speak of, no inflammation... So Jim will call on Monday and see what we should be doing...
Jim received flowers from his workplace on Saturday. They're very lovely... A good suprise for him... : )
Thursday, April 28, 2005
He's Home!!!
Hello.
Picked him up around 4pm today... Temperature was down, so they released him...
Jim had chicken parmesean for dinner, ate some, refrigerated the rest... definitely did him some good to eat yummy food...
We do have to pack one hole... And it's a doosiey... About 3-4 inches long and about 2 inches deep (through the subcutaneous fat layer...) After seeing that, Jim wants to exercise a bit more when he's healed... : )
I'm happy he's out and he's tired and HAPPY he's out... Though he has an appointment next week to take out the rest of the staples.. We're hoping then to find out what "type" of PMP he has and the long term expectations...
Picked him up around 4pm today... Temperature was down, so they released him...
Jim had chicken parmesean for dinner, ate some, refrigerated the rest... definitely did him some good to eat yummy food...
We do have to pack one hole... And it's a doosiey... About 3-4 inches long and about 2 inches deep (through the subcutaneous fat layer...) After seeing that, Jim wants to exercise a bit more when he's healed... : )
I'm happy he's out and he's tired and HAPPY he's out... Though he has an appointment next week to take out the rest of the staples.. We're hoping then to find out what "type" of PMP he has and the long term expectations...
Minor Set-back
Jim had a temperature of 101.4ºF yesterday which kept him from coming home. He was very disappointed.
Also Dr Sardi had to remove a few staples just below his bellybutton to allow the incision to drain (it was getting infected). I'm hoping it's not something we need to keep packing once he's released. Been there done that... Oh well, it's not a big deal if we have to do that again... Atleast this time it would be one hole and not five...
But Jim was able to give himself the blood thinner shot in this thigh yesterday. He thinks he will be able to do this once he's released too... That's good news...
So we'll see what happens today. Hopefully he can be released... I'll let you know.
Also Dr Sardi had to remove a few staples just below his bellybutton to allow the incision to drain (it was getting infected). I'm hoping it's not something we need to keep packing once he's released. Been there done that... Oh well, it's not a big deal if we have to do that again... Atleast this time it would be one hole and not five...
But Jim was able to give himself the blood thinner shot in this thigh yesterday. He thinks he will be able to do this once he's released too... That's good news...
So we'll see what happens today. Hopefully he can be released... I'll let you know.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Even Better News
Hello.
Guess who had a normal dinner yesterday (spagetti even)... : )
Also, he's been told by the resident that he may be released today... : )
We're just waiting until he sees Dr Sardi today (mostly for the pathology report and future prognosis) to confirm that he can be release today...
Then its just rest, relax, and recovery at my house... Josephine (my cat) has specifically been instructed not to walk on Jim's stomach...
Guess who had a normal dinner yesterday (spagetti even)... : )
Also, he's been told by the resident that he may be released today... : )
We're just waiting until he sees Dr Sardi today (mostly for the pathology report and future prognosis) to confirm that he can be release today...
Then its just rest, relax, and recovery at my house... Josephine (my cat) has specifically been instructed not to walk on Jim's stomach...
Monday, April 25, 2005
More Good News
Hello.
Both the NG tube and the catheter are out! The bowels are working! And he had the liquid dinner tonight... What progress!!!!! : )
Just waiting for the pathology report now.. He's still on the morphine for pain, but there was talk today of changing to a different pain drug (don't know what).
The upsetting thing for Jim today is that he needs to inject himself once a day for two weeks with a blood thinner once he's released... I'm hoping that on Wed that they can show me how to inject Jim, since Jim is worried about doing it right... Also he's on [Prilosec-wrong] Procrit (to increase his red blood cells). Since he didn't "qualify" for a transfusion, his body needs to create the blood it lossed. I think this needs to be administered by an Oncologist. So Jim needs to find an Oncologist since we sort of skipped that step...
But we're on the home stretch (at least I think so)... Yeah!!!!!
Both the NG tube and the catheter are out! The bowels are working! And he had the liquid dinner tonight... What progress!!!!! : )
Just waiting for the pathology report now.. He's still on the morphine for pain, but there was talk today of changing to a different pain drug (don't know what).
The upsetting thing for Jim today is that he needs to inject himself once a day for two weeks with a blood thinner once he's released... I'm hoping that on Wed that they can show me how to inject Jim, since Jim is worried about doing it right... Also he's on [Prilosec-wrong] Procrit (to increase his red blood cells). Since he didn't "qualify" for a transfusion, his body needs to create the blood it lossed. I think this needs to be administered by an Oncologist. So Jim needs to find an Oncologist since we sort of skipped that step...
But we're on the home stretch (at least I think so)... Yeah!!!!!
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Sunday 4/24
Hello.
Not much to update. Jim did three more walks of five laps each.. : ) His JP drain is gone (he only had one, which is amazing in and of itself) and the tubes providing anesthesia are gone too... (He did the three walks without the extra anesthesia!!!!)... Koodos to Jim
Mostly he slept today... Which is fine, aids in healing... Though at one point he thought he might have a BM, but the feeling went away... Maybe tomorrow...
Unfortunately I have to start back at work tomorrow, so Jim is left to fend for himself. I did leave knowing that he could unconnect himself for a walk when he wants one and reconnect himself when done. All but the leg cuffs (my name for them, they inflat and deflat on his legs to reduce blood clots, don't know the "real" name for them). I'll be able to check up on him (physically) on Wednesday. Until then, you and I will be getting updates from him over the phone (if he remembers the conversation)... ; )
That's all for now...
Jennifer
PS Liz (my sister) meet Anna (Jim's sister in-law)... : )
Not much to update. Jim did three more walks of five laps each.. : ) His JP drain is gone (he only had one, which is amazing in and of itself) and the tubes providing anesthesia are gone too... (He did the three walks without the extra anesthesia!!!!)... Koodos to Jim
Mostly he slept today... Which is fine, aids in healing... Though at one point he thought he might have a BM, but the feeling went away... Maybe tomorrow...
Unfortunately I have to start back at work tomorrow, so Jim is left to fend for himself. I did leave knowing that he could unconnect himself for a walk when he wants one and reconnect himself when done. All but the leg cuffs (my name for them, they inflat and deflat on his legs to reduce blood clots, don't know the "real" name for them). I'll be able to check up on him (physically) on Wednesday. Until then, you and I will be getting updates from him over the phone (if he remembers the conversation)... ; )
That's all for now...
Jennifer
PS Liz (my sister) meet Anna (Jim's sister in-law)... : )
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Fourth Day After Surgery
Hello.
Both Jim's Mom and Aunt have been picked up by Jim's brother Will and family and should be in the Wilkes-Barre area by now...
Jim's doing better... He's up to five laps each time he goes for a walk. And that was three times today! : ) Mostly he spent today sleeping... Which is fine, just means the body is healing...
I do think that his bowels are starting to wake up... Smelt the noxious fumes of flatuluence today though Jim says that he didn't feel anything.. A good sign, but not another hurtle cleared until Jim actual feels the event... I think I was very PC about this event ; )
Right now I'm just exhausted. First surgery, Aunt episode, and playing hostess have worn me out. Tomorrow I'm sleeping as late as I want (Josephine the Cat not withstanding... normally wants to be let outside at 5am)... Good dreams to everyone!
PS Liz, your comment(s) worked. Thanks for checking in... : )
Both Jim's Mom and Aunt have been picked up by Jim's brother Will and family and should be in the Wilkes-Barre area by now...
Jim's doing better... He's up to five laps each time he goes for a walk. And that was three times today! : ) Mostly he spent today sleeping... Which is fine, just means the body is healing...
I do think that his bowels are starting to wake up... Smelt the noxious fumes of flatuluence today though Jim says that he didn't feel anything.. A good sign, but not another hurtle cleared until Jim actual feels the event... I think I was very PC about this event ; )
Right now I'm just exhausted. First surgery, Aunt episode, and playing hostess have worn me out. Tomorrow I'm sleeping as late as I want (Josephine the Cat not withstanding... normally wants to be let outside at 5am)... Good dreams to everyone!
PS Liz, your comment(s) worked. Thanks for checking in... : )
Friday, April 22, 2005
More Good News
Hello.
Jim's Aunt was released from the hospital today. Her sugar levels have stabilized. So now, both she and Jim's Mom are staying at my house. Tomorrow Jim's brother Will and family will be coming down to the hospital to pick them up.
Jim is also making progress... Over three walks today he's done 12 laps around the 7th floor. And he's up to sips of water and ice chips... He's making better progress now than when he was recovering from his appendectomy.
They are going to remove the tubes that deliver a local anesthesia around the incision on Sunday (it's a new 5-day treatment they are trying and Jim's the 5th patient with it, they think it works wonderfully - so do I). Then when his bowels start to work, they'll remove the NG tube. And once he starts eating, then the catheter goes... So he's making real nice progress..
All that's left is waiting for the pathology report from the biopsies Dr Sardi made and those are due early next week...
Thanks for reading...
Jim's Aunt was released from the hospital today. Her sugar levels have stabilized. So now, both she and Jim's Mom are staying at my house. Tomorrow Jim's brother Will and family will be coming down to the hospital to pick them up.
Jim is also making progress... Over three walks today he's done 12 laps around the 7th floor. And he's up to sips of water and ice chips... He's making better progress now than when he was recovering from his appendectomy.
They are going to remove the tubes that deliver a local anesthesia around the incision on Sunday (it's a new 5-day treatment they are trying and Jim's the 5th patient with it, they think it works wonderfully - so do I). Then when his bowels start to work, they'll remove the NG tube. And once he starts eating, then the catheter goes... So he's making real nice progress..
All that's left is waiting for the pathology report from the biopsies Dr Sardi made and those are due early next week...
Thanks for reading...
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Two days later
Hello.
Jim is now on the recovery floor (725-1, meaning room 725 bed 1). He was moved there yesterday around 5pm. He's only on oxygen when he sleeps, he has gone for two walks today (each one was a full lap around the wing), and they are talking about removing the NG tube tomorrow... Definite progress... Part of what is helping is that they are using a new pain-reduction technique. They've implanted two thin tubes, one on each side of the incision opening that provide a local anestisia (sp?) to the incision. This has allowed Jim to feel less pain than he usually would, which is could account for two walks today... He's the 5th patient at St Agnes to have this performed. The 4th patient was also a PMP sufferer and ~5 weeks later she's almost walking a mile...
Good news, Jim kept his bellybutton... Was able to see it today. : )
His Aunt is now in a room too, move at midnight last night (rm 685). They had put her on medicine to try to reduce the sugar highs and lows... They are trying to not have to place her on insulin shots... They are still trying to figure out her low oxygen levels... But she may be released tomorrow...
More news tomorrow.
Jim is now on the recovery floor (725-1, meaning room 725 bed 1). He was moved there yesterday around 5pm. He's only on oxygen when he sleeps, he has gone for two walks today (each one was a full lap around the wing), and they are talking about removing the NG tube tomorrow... Definite progress... Part of what is helping is that they are using a new pain-reduction technique. They've implanted two thin tubes, one on each side of the incision opening that provide a local anestisia (sp?) to the incision. This has allowed Jim to feel less pain than he usually would, which is could account for two walks today... He's the 5th patient at St Agnes to have this performed. The 4th patient was also a PMP sufferer and ~5 weeks later she's almost walking a mile...
Good news, Jim kept his bellybutton... Was able to see it today. : )
His Aunt is now in a room too, move at midnight last night (rm 685). They had put her on medicine to try to reduce the sugar highs and lows... They are trying to not have to place her on insulin shots... They are still trying to figure out her low oxygen levels... But she may be released tomorrow...
More news tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Post Op
Hello.
Jim started surgery at 9:40am yesterday and was done by 5:40pm. It was a nine hour surgery. Dr Sardi removed his gall bladder, spleen, and part of his colon near where the appendix was. He removed all tumors and mucus. He also took biopsies from Jim's liver and abdominal wall (we should have results back by early next week). So far things look good. No longer-term prognosis yet.
After surgery Jim was taken to ICU and by 10pm the breathing tube had been removed and Jim was breathing on his own. This morning they are just waiting for a bed to open upstairs, then he's out of ICU. Woohoo... Making fast progress...
However, while we were waiting for Jim to come out of surgery. His Aunt was taken to Emergency at St Agnes. We think something about her diabetes went haywire. Her blood sugars were elevated (almost to the point where she was ~1hr away from dying). So she was admitted and sent to ICU. So we had both Jim and his Aunt in ICU last night. She's having a lung scan this morning before we know any more...
I'm heading back to the hospital. Had to wash up and tidy they house incase Jim's Mom needs to stay over (Aunt and Mom are sisters).
Wil update later,
Jennifer
Jim started surgery at 9:40am yesterday and was done by 5:40pm. It was a nine hour surgery. Dr Sardi removed his gall bladder, spleen, and part of his colon near where the appendix was. He removed all tumors and mucus. He also took biopsies from Jim's liver and abdominal wall (we should have results back by early next week). So far things look good. No longer-term prognosis yet.
After surgery Jim was taken to ICU and by 10pm the breathing tube had been removed and Jim was breathing on his own. This morning they are just waiting for a bed to open upstairs, then he's out of ICU. Woohoo... Making fast progress...
However, while we were waiting for Jim to come out of surgery. His Aunt was taken to Emergency at St Agnes. We think something about her diabetes went haywire. Her blood sugars were elevated (almost to the point where she was ~1hr away from dying). So she was admitted and sent to ICU. So we had both Jim and his Aunt in ICU last night. She's having a lung scan this morning before we know any more...
I'm heading back to the hospital. Had to wash up and tidy they house incase Jim's Mom needs to stay over (Aunt and Mom are sisters).
Wil update later,
Jennifer
Monday, April 18, 2005
Pre-Op
Hello.
We arrived at St. Agnes around 9:30am and proceeded through registration. Jim was shown to a room around 10:30am, then the "fun" began. They had to run tests, blood tests (~7 vials worth), EKG, chest x-ray, 50+ questions... He's also participating in a clinical study about bacteria and PMP, they need to collect urine and tumor samples (done during surgery) to test for microbial presence (they suspect a bacteria plays a part in a person getting PMP). Mostly today was spent waiting for the next person to enter and reading through the pauses..
His mom, brother, sister-in-law, and aunt came to be with him through the next two days. He is scheduled for surgery at 7:45 am and will start the process at 6:45am.. So the plan is to get there before he starts the process (me specifically since I have his most recent CT scans) and wait... It's expected that the surgery/chemotherapy will take 6-10hrs.
Two out of three cancer markers came back non-detect (the last marker hadn't been reported yet), which is a good sign. So if everything goes well, he should be in ICU early tomorrow afternoon and then assigned a recover room on the 7th floor a day or so afterwards...
I'll update tomorrow on how the surgery went.
We arrived at St. Agnes around 9:30am and proceeded through registration. Jim was shown to a room around 10:30am, then the "fun" began. They had to run tests, blood tests (~7 vials worth), EKG, chest x-ray, 50+ questions... He's also participating in a clinical study about bacteria and PMP, they need to collect urine and tumor samples (done during surgery) to test for microbial presence (they suspect a bacteria plays a part in a person getting PMP). Mostly today was spent waiting for the next person to enter and reading through the pauses..
His mom, brother, sister-in-law, and aunt came to be with him through the next two days. He is scheduled for surgery at 7:45 am and will start the process at 6:45am.. So the plan is to get there before he starts the process (me specifically since I have his most recent CT scans) and wait... It's expected that the surgery/chemotherapy will take 6-10hrs.
Two out of three cancer markers came back non-detect (the last marker hadn't been reported yet), which is a good sign. So if everything goes well, he should be in ICU early tomorrow afternoon and then assigned a recover room on the 7th floor a day or so afterwards...
I'll update tomorrow on how the surgery went.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Colonoscopy
Hello.
Jim had his colonoscopy done this morning. He had two biopsies performed. We hope to get results back before Tuesday, but the doctor wasn't sure if that would happen.
They found two suspect polyp areas. Both were near the terminal ileum, which is located near the appendix (if Jim still had one). We were hoping they wouldn't find anything, but considering the PMP (appendix cancer) diagnosis, to have two suspect areas near where the appendix was is not too unexpected. So besides the greater and lesser omentums and gall bladder, it looks like he may have some of his colon removed. That was always a possibility, but I think with two suspect polyps, Dr Sardi will remove that part of the colon as a precaution.
Jim is home resting. And the doctor is supposed to fax the report to Baltimore. So as far as I know right now, we are still on for the MOAS on Tuesday. Jim's coming down to my house on Saturday since he has to be at St Agnes by 10am on Monday. And there is no way I'm letting him drive. : )
Jim had his colonoscopy done this morning. He had two biopsies performed. We hope to get results back before Tuesday, but the doctor wasn't sure if that would happen.
They found two suspect polyp areas. Both were near the terminal ileum, which is located near the appendix (if Jim still had one). We were hoping they wouldn't find anything, but considering the PMP (appendix cancer) diagnosis, to have two suspect areas near where the appendix was is not too unexpected. So besides the greater and lesser omentums and gall bladder, it looks like he may have some of his colon removed. That was always a possibility, but I think with two suspect polyps, Dr Sardi will remove that part of the colon as a precaution.
Jim is home resting. And the doctor is supposed to fax the report to Baltimore. So as far as I know right now, we are still on for the MOAS on Tuesday. Jim's coming down to my house on Saturday since he has to be at St Agnes by 10am on Monday. And there is no way I'm letting him drive. : )
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