Here's the Lied Transplant Center where we are most of the time. This is where the harvesting and transplant will be and also where we will be staying once Dad starts chemo (probably the end of next week). I think we will be staying on the 5th floor.Dad got through his dose of chemo just fine this morning. All the nurses there are really nice and everything went well. Several of the nurses were amazed that Dad didn't have a reaction to the Rituxin...but he got along fine. He got a smaller dose of Benedryl, but it still knocked him out for about an hour while the rituxin was going. Unfortunately, the lady that shared the room with Dad was a non-stop loud talker who had 2 friends in tow....all while Dad was trying to sleep. Nurse Ratchet was not happy with this, but not much could be done. I thought it was all solved when her 2 friends left, but alas...she continued to talk to herself non-stop...just not as loud.
Dad also got his first Neupogen shot...2 shots actually...that will start the process of the stem cells leaving the bone marrow, going to the bloodstream. He got along fine with the shots, too.
We had a break for lunch and then went to a catheter care class. I must have been on a different wave length than the instructor during the class, but when I looked over the booklet that we got afterwards, it makes more sense. I'll be flushing his catheter lines with a saline solution once a day and changing the dressing that goes over the catheter line once a week. I can ask for help in doing these any time...and I'm sure I'll have a nurse watch me the first time. The instructions for doing this are 12 pages of text on 8 1/2 X 11" paper....lots of detailed info.
Tomorrow morning he has the Hickman catheter line surgically put in. Specifically it's called a tunneled central venous catheter. Dad's catheter will have 2 lumens...or tubes...for harvesting purposes...one for the blood to go out and one for the blood to return. It will be placed on his left upper chest area. The tubing goes into a main vein to the area just above the right atrium of the heart. I think the procedure takes around 1/2 hour.
After that, he gets 2 more Neupogen shots . We should be done by early afternoon and I'll post when we get back.
do well tomorrow, dad! we'll be thinking of you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work, Leo! sounds like things are going well and you are in good hands with "Nurse Ratchet" on your side.
ReplyDeleteNurse Ratchet sounds like she knows what she is doing !! Also it's funny to hear that your are still Mr. Vanilla...(vanilla shake)I remember going into an ice cream place with dozens of flavors and Leo picks vanilla. Some things never change : )
ReplyDeleteHang in there...Love ya...Lou Ann
hey dad- this is not related to anything but i saw it in the news and thought i'd pass along when you get a chance to read it. the USS Connie is going to be recycled and repurposed instead of sunk: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42474098/ns/us_news-environment/ . anyways, i thought this might be a good time for you to share some Navy stories with us all.
ReplyDeleteUh, Matt, you're approaching dangerous territory...or maybe the term is...you're treading on thin ice!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Nurse Ratchet scuttled that idea, Matt. Thanks for the info on the Connie. I'll be checking that out.
ReplyDelete