Saturday, July 7, 2012

Day 12 After Chemo - still in the hospital

We had a great morning today. I slept pretty good last night with only minor interruptions for vitals or IV antibiotics and my fever stayed below 100 all night. This was the first time in 4 days. I felt great. I also had faith that God was going to answer our prayers and my counts would be up. We waited around for the doctor to come by to fill me in, but I got tired of waiting and laying around. So, I asked the charge nurse if I could walk around the floor (which is really just a short hallway). She informed us that my counts were good and I was no longer Neutropenic. We were praising God. He answered so many prayers. My ANC count was zero yesterday and this morning it was 1710!! If it is under 1500 you are considered neutropenic. I'm just a little outside the zone. But, this is so much better than where I was. My WBC count is 4100 today. Normal is 4000-10,000. So, I am low normal. The nurse said if I wore a mask I could come out of my room and walk around. It felt great.

We were so optimistic about going home. When we got back to the room I asked to take a shower. She wrapped my Picc site with Saran wrap so it wouldn't get wet and then I took a shower....with the IV still attached and the pole outside the shower. It was hard to do, but I did. When I was brushing my hair out so much was falling out. Kevan told me to stop and let him do it. So, he held on to the roots and then brushed. Lol! I'm not sure it really helped. As Kevan was helping me with my gown I noticed that there was a big bubble of pink down the top of the sticky tape thing on my arm. It looked like a blister. I thought, "uh oh, this can't be good." I showed it to the nurse and she ans the charge nurse got to work removing the tape. Apparently, the cords were pulling the tape and my skin (due to chemo) couldn't stand up to it. The nurse pulled on it....I screamed and the blister broke open and drained. Ewwww! So, the charge nurse ran out to get this special stuff to remove adhesive. It smells like acetone for fingernail polish remover. It went great for the non-blister side but when they reached the blister portion I was screaming out in pain. It was about 4-5 inches long so it took them awhile to finish. I was worn out by the end. They bandaged it up. She told me she was pretty sure they wouldn't let me go home now.

When the doctor arrived he filled us in a little more regarding the underarm ultrasounds. I guess they saw a lot of swelling and fluid. I now have an abscess on both sides that hurts so bad and they won't give me anything for it. Maybe there isn't anything to help. Anyway, he thinks this is the cause of the drop in WBC's. He thinks they are infected. Now, they normally drop with chemo, but not this much I guess. He called my ontological surgeon who did my biopsies. I guess he was in Utah riding his bike. Lol! He wants them to put me on an antibiotic to see if it will help, but hey are wanting it drained before my next treatment or this may happen again. I guess a pocket of fluid has formed that does not get the antibiotics like it should. Note -this underarm swelling is not new. It has been going on for a year. I've asked several doctors about it several times and they just tell me. I probably have a virus or something. Blowing me off. The doctor I saw today said that it never goes away due to that "pocket of fluid" so that is why it keeps coming back whenever I'm sick. Why does it take so many doctors before one listens? Grrrr! Anyway, it sounds pretty gross typing it all out, but it's not really. You can't really even tell. I just know because of the pain I'm in.

He also told me that was not going home....probably not tomorrow either. Especially, since my culture results are not even back yet and I still can't be exposed to others, germs, etc. I became really sad for a few hours, but I'm better now. I also started having a horrible headache, but it has since subsided after a short nap.

I'm thankful that I had several visitors today. It did wear me out a little, but it was nice to see everyone. Also, a very sweet co-worker sent me a stuffed animal and balloons! It was so sweet and really helped my spirits. I don't think there is much else to tell. I wanted to share a few verses but I am so exhausted and I've been typing this all out on my iPad, which takes forever. So, hopefully I will do that tomorrow. Kevan is getting tired of being here....he needs prayer too. He was really angry when the doctor said I couldn't go home.

Thank you to all who prayed for me and my counts. I could tell that prayers were being prayed. God was so gracious to answer favorably. I'm signing off now. Love you all.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Jayde,
    I am back writing you…I feel God keeps nudging me to write you again. I am not normally a pushy person. Really, I am not. LOL!!! I have only met you once, and I am sure you do not remember at all. You have touched my heart with your story. I have gotten to know you through your blog, and I really like you. :o) Your sweetness, faith and humor is right up my alley.
    I wanted to follow up on my post the other day about alternatives to chemo.
    Enclosed is a website with loads of great information and support.
    There is a lot of information on the website, and I do not want you to get overwhelmed, so here are two links you might want to look at first, if you feel up to it.
    1. http://chrisbeatcancer.com/how-effective-is-chemotherapy/
    2. http://chrisbeatcancer.com/b17-laetrile-alternative-cancer-treatment-suppressed-50-years/
    I am NOT trying to get you to stop chemo but in your blog the other day you said “I'm beginning to think that it isn't the cancer that kills people but the chemo. It is so bad.”
    Your statement has stuck with me. Through studying and reading I have come to the conclusion that your statement might be true, and want you to know that there are other ways to beat cancer. I talked a bit about your situation with Ruth Weeks. She is also leaning more and more toward natural methods of healing our bodies. We both pray that you find the best method to beat cancer whether it is chemo, alternative methods or both. We are all willing to help you any way we can so feel free to contact Ruth if you ever want to contact me. She has my email.
    In Christ,
    Tina Zima

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  2. Hi Tina,

    I wanted to reply and let you know I did read your two messages. Thank you for posting them. I have not had time yet to read through the links though. I did see one of the movies and did to some research back when we were deciding on what the best treatment would be. Also, my cousin has a brain tumor and he is going through the same type of questions so I've heard some of their research as well. They even contacted one of the places. One of them was $45,000 to go and be treated for 3 weeks. Kevan and I prayed and will continue to pray about what God would want for us. We will definitely be introducing some of the cancer fighting foods and changing how we eat/exercise when I am through this. I will try to read through this in the next few days and then I'll post another reply to you.

    Thank you! I do appreciate that you care so much to research for me and to take the time to type this all out. I'm thankful that God brought you to my site.

    God Bless You,

    Jayde

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