Monday, September 28, 2009

Sunday, September 27, 2009

When I spoke to Bob today, Sharon was watching the Food Network. She was hoping to see something that would entice her to eat. Her mouth sores are pretty much gone. The main problem with her eating is the nausea. She has been unable to keep anything down until today.

Before Sharon and Bob left for Rochester, they had to watch a video on the transplant process. Mary, one of the ladies that appeared in the video, happens to be a Chaplin at the hospital. She has been by visiting Sharon and sharing her experiences through the transplant process. She explained to Sharon that peaches were the first food that she was able to eat. After Mary's visit today, Sharon looked at the menu and decided that pears sounded good to her. She was able to eat two of the four that were delivered. At the time I spoke to Bob, Sharon had managed to keep them down. Despite her not being able to physically eat much, Sharon is gaining weight which is a good thing.

When Sharon's hair starting thinning, they decided to go ahead and cut all of it. Bob had the honors of giving Sharon her buzz cut. He said she is about two inches shorter now. Bob went to Erickson's to get Sharon a scarf. When he explained Sharon's situation, they provided a scarf made by a volunteer at no charge to Bob. Mousy and Sharon's mom also ordered her a couple of scarves.

Bob's sister, Barb, arrived on Saturday. She brought a couple of scarves for Sharon which happened to belong to Bob and Barb's mother.

Another doctor or nurse mentioned to Bob that the neutrophils are also important to track. The neutrophils are baby white blood cells. This number indicates engraphment is occurring.

At the end of our conversation, Bob and Sharon were taking a trip down to the third floor which houses the maternity ward. They were hoping to find a grandchild they could adopt.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Bob said things are slowly getting better. This was the best day she's had since the last report. Sharon was able to take a shower first thing this morning.

The pulmonary doctor was in about 9:30 a.m. to check on her breathing. Fluids had been building in Sharon's lungs since she was admitted into the hospital on September 8. They believe this build up occurred due to the number of IV fluids she has been receiving. Subsequently, she had to have a thoracentesis, an aspiration of fluids, performed on her left lung on Wednesday and her right lung on Thursday. They were able to remove .9 liters from her left lung and .5 liters from her right lung. Sharon began taking more of her medications in pill form vs. IV which helps reduce the fluid build up.

Sharon's team of doctors arrived around 11:00 a.m. and their consensus is that the fluid build up was caused by Sharon's rapid heart rate and atrial flutter - a condition she's had for years. Therefore, the heart muscle could not keep up with all of the liquid intake and had somewhat weakened. Normal is 50% and Sharon is now back to the 40% range after a change in her medications.

The cardiologist came in around 11:30 a.m. to check on the new medications he had prescribed the day before to counteract her rapid heart rate. All appears to be much better.

Sharon had to receive platelets and red blood today. Thursday her numbers were - Hgb: 9.6, WBC: .9, Plts: 10, and Nutrafils: .410. Today her numbers were - Hgb: 8.3, WBC: 1.0, Plts: 4, Nutrafils: .400.

Next goals are to transition from IV medications to pill form and to begin eating to eliminate the need from the liquid CPN's plus lipids. Then, back to the Gift of Life House when successful.

Monday, September 21, 2009

I was unable to reach Bob and Sharon by phone this weekend. The following information is based on a couple of e-mails received from Bob.

The first e-mail said that all is going as well as expected during these low days. The doctors and nurses are continuing to monitor Sharon's progress. She was able to take a shower on Friday. Her hair has begun to thin. She is still having trouble with the mouth sores, a rapid heart rate and having shortness of breath. They are hoping for the engraphment to occur soon.

In the second e-mail, Bob says that he believes Sharon is beginning to turn that first corner which is bigger than Bark Inn Curve. There are still a lot of bumps in the road ahead where numerous infections or complications can occur.

Sharon had to receive one unit of blood on Friday. When her hemoglobin drops below 8.0, she requires a transfusion. The hemoglobin is currently 9.3 with a target of 13.0. Her white blood count has been around .1 or .2 for the last two weeks. As of this e-mail, her white blood count was .4 with a target of 5.0. When they begin seeing the white blood count rise, the engraphment is occurring and Pat's immune system will begin to take over. Her platelets are currently 16 with a target of 150. When they drop less than 20, a transfusion is needed.

Her hair loss is very evident now. Sharon has asked Bob to buy her a scarf. He said there is a nice place on the subway level where he can purchase one for her.

The goals established for Sharon at this point are to keep active, try to eat, walk, keep active, exercise the lungs, and keep active.

Bob's sister, Barb, is going to be visiting for a week beginning Saturday. Keith, Sharon and Bob's son, will be visiting at the end of October.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Water Tower

As promised........here are the pictures of the water tower. If you look closely, you might be able to see the worms Bob was talking about.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

As of 7:45 p.m. EST, Sharon was still in the hospital. Bob assures everyone that she is receiving the best of care and monitoring. He said Sharon did not sleep much the two previous nights. They have her on a diuretic which means she is spending a lot of time in the bathroom. She is receiving all of her medications and now, what they call food (CPN-Protein and Lipids or fat), through her Hickman catheter or other ports that were recently implanted. Her main discomforts at this time are the mouth sores and shortness of breath.

When the doctors made their rounds this morning, they explained that these are the lowest days in her journey. Everything will improve once her blood counts begin to recover. Bob is calling this the "hurry up Pat" days. As with many procedures, each patient is different. Having said that, they expect to see positive signs in two to four days which is wonderful news!!

Sharon had to receive two units of blood and one unit of platelets this morning.

When I spoke to Bob this evening, they were unsure how much longer she will remain in the hospital. Again, this is something that varies from one patient to the next. Among other factors, when she can swallow and eat normally to maintain her minimum caloric intake, she will be closer to being able to return to the Gift of Life House. While Sharon did not feel like talking due to the mouth sores, I could hear her in the background correcting Bob on some of the information he was giving me.

In between taking care of Sharon and working, Bob has been perfecting his house-husband skills. He is messing up all of the laundry and doing most of the cooking.

The newest picture added is of Sister Colleen. She works at the Gift of Life House. Bob wants her to move to Georgia when they are ready to come home.

Pat is supposed to be sending me a picture of the water tower in Rochester that Steve took while they were there for the harvesting procedure. Bob insists that this picture needs to be on the blog. He said the city is planning on tearing it down because it has WORMS! Bob said that it is classic like the Walleye falling from the sky on New Year's Eve in Port Clinton, Ohio and the tractor parades in Oak Harbor, Ohio. Iowa would be proud. I will post the picture as soon as I receive it.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Sharon was admitted to the hospital on September 8 to receive medication and treatment to control nausea, pain, etc.

She received her last round of chemo yesterday afternoon for graft vs. host disease prevention.

The side effects of the chemo have started subsiding. There has not been any hair loss yet. However, she does have mouth sores which makes eating difficult. She may have to be fed through a tube until these have healed.

Her doctors have told them that she needs to endure the next seven unpleasant days.

Chemo side effects can be expected three to seven days after the first treatment. Sharon started her treatments on August 29. The side effects began on September 6.

Signs of engraftment should be seen seventeen to twenty one days after the infusion.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Infusion is Complete

There was a slight delay in Sharon's procedure due to her shallow and rapid breathing which was monitored and controlled.

Pat's stem cells were thawed, placed into syringes, and infused through Sharon's catheter one by one.....all 5,200,000 of them. The actual transplant was from 1:53 p.m. to 2:22 p.m.

Sharon had to receive plenty of hydration to make sure her kidneys were flushed. She also had to receive two units of platelets.

All in all, everything went well.

Bob ordered Sharon some cream of mushroom soup and a vanilla milkshake. He said that if she didn't finish it that he planned to do a Eugene. This is some humor for the family.

Other info for Sharon's family:
  • Sharon spilled Blueberry Parfait on her blouse trying to imitate her mother.
  • They did not need to send Mousy to any town hall meetings. The Mayo is just too organized and no one needs to complain.
  • Barb.....well, that was the name of the nurse that injected Pat's stem cells.

Bob sent a few pictures that I have added A couple are of Sharon and Pat during the harvesting process. Another is of Sharon and Pat with statues of the Mayo brothers. One is of the transplant/infusion process; one is a birthday greeting; one is of wind generators....apparently, there's a place that has over four hundred of these; and the last one is an interesting speed limit sign they came across.

In the days and weeks to come, Sharon will continue to have her blood tested. If necessary, she will receive blood and platelet transfusions.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Countdown to Infusion

A business associate of Bob's stopped by to see them last night. They went to dinner with him. Sharon said she didn't have much of an appetite.

So much for today being a rest day for Sharon. She had to report to the hospital for blood work and a test this morning. She had taken a medication that she was not supposed to take before she went. They were unable to do the test as planned. Her platelets were still low. Therefore, she received a unit of platelets. She was to go back to the hospital at 7:30 p.m. to have the test done that they were unable to do this morning.

Sharon and Bob have to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. This is when they will begin the infusion process. Sharon indicated that this could be an all day procedure. She is anticipating that she will not feel real well which is to be expected. Another transplant recipient, at the Gift of Life House, has been feeling pretty run down. She received her transplant two days ago.

Tomorrow (September 4) is a big day. It is Sharon's new birthday. Please keep Sharon, Bob and family in your thoughts and prayers.

If you would like to learn more about the procedure, below is a link to some information provided by the Mayo Clinic.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stem-cell-transplant/MY00089

E-mail from Bob

Chemo must be doing its thing. Sharon had 2 units of blood and 1 unit of platelets today (September 1). Sharon's nurse said people who have transplants consider that day their new birth date. Sharon's new birthday is 9/4. How ironic......Her old birth date was 4/9.