01/08/2011 DEJA VU

Thursday, Joe was admitted back into Emory University Hospital for Round 3A of the HyperCVAD-R chemotherapy. Our check in time was 10:30 AM in Admissions and there we waited and waited. At 12:30 I asked what was going on. They were waiting for a bed to open up on wing E on the 8th floor. At 1PM I went to the 8th Floor to see if I could get the straight scoop. I told the two nurses at the front desk that I was snooping and trying to find out what the hold up was. They were waiting for the patient in room 805 to leave then they would have to have the room cleaned. I went back down to Admissions to tell Joe. At 1:30 I called the Patient Advocate and stated that there is a bottleneck in the Admissions process and it needed to be fixed. I suggested that they give out pagers so the patients and caregivers are not imprisoned in the small Admissions waiting area. She thought that was a good suggestion that way people could have lunch, go to the chapel, lounges. Finally at 2PM after being there since 10:30AM Joe's room was ready.

Room E805 is a bigger room than what Joe had last time plus the bathroom is better situated and larger so the chemo tree can fit into the room. We have a better view instead of a wall. The nurses are more thorough and friendlier and have a sense of humor which is necessary when one is fighting a life threatening disease. They did a blood draw and other tests. One was a new one that Joe never had done before where they tested for VRE.

Joe started with the Rituxan 800 mg, the monoclonal antibody, at 7:00 PM and finished that at 10PM with no issues at all. What a contrast to the first time he had the Rituxan. The human body is amazing what it can put up with. At 11PM he started the 3 hour IV of Cyclophosamide which would happen every 12 hours for three days. Joe was given two pints of red blood cells on Friday since his hemoglobin was at 8 and his hematocrit was also low. The platelets are decent which is great news. The first four days he also takes orally 40 mg of Dexamethasone. Today is Saturday so he will have the Cyclophosamide at 11PM for three hours then 11AM tomorrow another three hours which will be the last of that one.

Everything is going very smoothly. Joe has been doing laps with his tree around the floor which is filled with patients and caregivers. Most people on this floor are patients who had a bone marrow transplant who are very susceptible to infections which could kill them. Everyone wears masks in the halls. Joe and I will need to start wearing gloves and a gown as well as a mask when he does his laps. Joe is so afraid of hurting someone that I am betting that he will not leave the room till we leave.

I am planning to leave the hospital at 1AM tonight after we enjoy Saturday Night Live together. Hopefully there will be a bunch of funny skits so Joe and I can share our laughter. All day today we enjoyed watching the NFL play off games. I can not believe that the Seahawks beat New Orleans. Great game! Now we are watching the amazing Peyton Manning Colts play the JETS. It is a very close game. In fact the game is now tied at 7-7. Great entertainment!

Tomorrow I hope to make it to church at 11PM before heading back over to Emory. I will be spending Sunday night at the hospital since there is a manic alert for a snow storm in Atlanta where we may have up to 7 inches. I do not want to be stuck at home with Joe in the hospital so that will solve that.

Good news for me! The steroid shot that I had into my shoulder joint on Tuesday decreased my pain by 75%. I also have more movement. God has answered a bunch of prayers for me on it. I wonder why the steroid shot did not do a thing last September. I will do the MRI on Tuesday with a follow up doctor's appointment on Friday. I can not tell you how wonderful it is without being in pain 100% of the time. Thank you God!

Ciao!