Merry Christmas!
Sorry it has taken me so long to write this post but I had a lot to process. Thank you for your continued prayers.
Chemotherapy #6 left me very tired and a little nausous for about two weeks. During that time I developed a sore near my buttock/rectum. On November 14th I was scheduled for my next CT scan to check on the cancerous lymph nodes. That CT scan showed that the lymph nodes were stable and that I had developed an abscess near my rectum. My oncology team called me the next morning and told me to come in to be checked and to pack a bag for the hospital incase I needed to be admitted. Well, that checkup turned into a 14 day hospital stay resulting in 2 surgeries.
Once I got checked into the hospital I met with the general surgery team and they decided that they were going to do a debridement surgery the next day. Meaning they were going to scrape out any dead tissue so new healthy tissue would grow. The surgery went well but over the next couple of days my white blood cells keep climbing higher despite being on lots of IV antibiotics. Meaning the infection wasn't getting better but worse. Three days later the general surgery team decided to do a 2nd surgery while consulting the colorectal team. Together they decided to try a fairly new procedure. They inserted two Penrose drains to help the infection drain from my body. The plan was to leave those in for 3-4 weeks and then get them removed. As you can imagine it was very painful to sit on these. The day after that surgery my white blood cell count started to come down. Which meant that the drains were working and the infection was leaving my body. They kept me in the hospital for another 10 days because of my compromised immune system and the difficulty in keeping the drains clean. I was released to go home the day after Thanksgiving with my drains still intact.
I had a followup with the general surgery team on December 4th. At that time they decided to remove one of the drains. This made it a little better to sit. The last drain was removed at my last checkup last week. Now we wait for the holes to heal and close up.
So, what caused all this to happen? One of my chemo drugs, Avastin. Needless to say my oncologist has decided that I will be permanently taken off of Avastin. We will wait for this to heal 100% before resuming any more of my chemo treatments.
Prayers:
- For my body to heal 100% from this so I can get back to my treatments
- For NO more side effects
- For me to gain my strength back
So, the day after I wrote my last post I ended up getting c-diff again. I contacted my care team right away and they got me on another antibiotic that day. I was fortunate enough that within two days the antibiotic was already working.
My oncology care team decided to go ahead with my fifth infusion that Thursday October 10th with the exception of withholding Avastin. I still received my other two chemotherapy's and my immunotherapy. The infusion went well but left me exhausted for about a week and a half. I slept a lot.
On Thursday I had routine bloodwork drawn for my rheumatologist appointment the next week. The next day I woke up to 3 phone calls and 5 text messages from her nurse that my white blood cell count was dangerously low and that I needed to go to the ER immediately. I contacted my oncology care team to have them look at it. I received a call back and they said, "you are nine days out from your treatment and that is when the white blood cells are at their lowest. We will recheck them next week before your infusion." I was super thankful I didn't need to go to the hospital.
On Tuesday October 22nd I dropped my computer on my left foot/ big toe. I still have lots of swelling and really dark bruising. It has made walking very difficult.
Yesterday, I had my 6th infusion. All blood work looked really good, even my white blood cell count was back up. We. did all three chemotherapies and immunotherapy.
So far I am doing good. Keeping on top of my anti nausea meds has helped.
Prayers:
- For healing of my foot
- For no side effects from my current infusion
Pic:One of my infusion bags from yesterday
So, my last infusion was on September 4th and went really well. I had enough energy that I was able to help with some yard work that weekend. However, I woke up on Tuesday morning feeling so tired. I slept off and on that whole day. In the middle of the night I woke up with diarrhea. This continued for the next three days, with trips to the bathroom and then to bed to sleep.
On Friday Devin had an RN come to the house to give me an IV with vitamins. On Saturday afternoon I finally had some energy and was awake for a few hours.
Sunday Devin decided that we needed to find out what was going on with me as I was still having diarrhea. So off to the hospital we went. My blood work was all good and they gave my an IV because I was dehydrated. They also sent out a stool sample and sent me home. I was so glad they didn't admit me.
On Monday morning I got a call from the lab that I had C-Diff. So they ordered me 10 days of antibiotics. Finally on day nine I started to feel better. Devin did have the RN come back on Friday to give me another IV with vitamins. For three weeks all I did was sleep, watch a little tv and then sleep some more.
I am grateful that I was well enough to go with Kylie and Devin to UNC Charlotte for their open house on September 28th. It is one of five schools Kylie is looking into for college. I can't believe we are already thinking about college!!!
I am scheduled for my next infusion on Thursday this week. My last one was canceled because of the C-Diff.
Praise:
- That I was able to get over C-Diff with only 1 round of antibiotics
Prayers:
- That my infusion will go well with minimum side effects
- That I can start to regain the strength that I lost while being in bed for 3 weeks
Pic: Devin, Kylie & I at UNC Charlotte
