Gene’s update: Day +27 May 21, 2010
We are in a challenging place and I just wanted to ask you to renew your positive energy, thoughts and prayers in Gene’s direction. As I’ve mentioned, it feels like it has been 2-3 weeks of lurching from crisis to crisis. At the moment, Gene is fighting on a couple of fronts. His kidney numbers are improving slowly, and that is most encouraging. He still however has a significant amount of water weight (size large pj bottoms purchased yesterday) and that has many associated problems including discomfort/pain and high blood pressure. His liver numbers are now high as well and I’ve not been able to discuss that with the docs yet but expect to today. For about 4 days now he has had extreme gastric distress, abdominal pain that comes in waves. They are not sure what it is, could be related to going off the morphine and he was not feeling that pain previously. His confusion level is much improved but between the kidney problems and the confusion they are reluctant to give him any more narcotic. He is extremely weak, needing help to sit up. Obviously not walking, a bit in the room after a lot of cajoling, and most worrisome, he is hardly eating. After pulling his central catheter for fear of that causing his 104 temp (which has resolved, now normal), he had an IV for a week. The other night they tried five painful times to replace it when it blew and finally gave up, they successfully placed a new picc line in his arm yesterday. They’ve discovered that the spots on his lung most likely are a fungal infection, aspergillis, the one they feared back in January, but say the good news is that between his new white blood cells and the anti-fungal medication they can target, he has a really good shot of knocking that out.
It is just a huge list of things not good……the good news is that his transplant seems to be successful he is making neutrophils and white blood cells and those numbers are all in the normal range.
He might be getting discouraged. He sleeps most of the time and getting him to eat 4 ounces of food takes about an hour. We are working our brains to come up with solutions. Patty and Esther are cooking up things to tempt him, and Esther’s Rice Pudding from the Cancer Cookbook was a success. Today I’m going to see if we can take him outside for air and sun.
Last night / this morning when I left at 1:00 AM I thought we were turning a corner, but have not yet arrived at hospital to see if that is the case. He did not sleep well and is getting platelet transfusion now and Jim is with him. We have him covered 18 hours a day and the hospital has some one sitting with him from midnight to 7 when we are not there, so that he doesn’t fall….without platelets that could be very dangerous. I’m on my way in and seem to be successful in badgering him to eat and walk, we bargain, bites, nap, bites, nap.
It is not that he doesn’t know how many people love him and are rooting for him, but if you could just let him know on an energy level, send him encouraging thoughts, redouble your prayers if possible. “Time to call in the troops and get that boy rockin’ and rollin’ again” says Patty. Thank you for your web of love and caring and prayer.
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