So, it's been a month since the last blog, and I know many of you are curious as to Patrick's progress. Let me begin by saying the day-to-day details of Leukemia are really mundane and not worth a blog entry, hence the long delay. But, there has been progress this month and that, of course, IS worth it.
Patrick was readmitted into the James for his second treatment on November 18th, a week before Thanksgiving. He spent five uneventful days receiving a few hours of chemo, twice daily. His response was nausea and fatigue, but nothing out of the ordinary. He was released on the Monday before Thanksgiving, and went to stay with his sister Sarah in Cincinnati because he needed daily injections of Neupogen (a drug to help boost his white blood cell counts), and wasn't too thrilled about the idea of giving them to himself (not that Sarah was excited about it either...). He slept right up until Thanksgiving, but was able to enjoy his time with family and being out of his apartment. However, like anybody else who is sick and away from home, he got pretty tired of not being in his own place, and decided to start giving himself the injections and get back to Columbus. He's really quite good at it, and has a video on his facebook page of his first time if you'd like to see it!
This week has been trying for Patrick, concerning his levels, to say the least. On Monday, during his normal twice-weekly checkup, he received an infusion of platelets because his levels were all the way down to three (even lower than when he was diagnosed. Normal is 150-450). On Tuesday, however, his nose started bleeding, and continued into Wednesday morning. He called his team at the James and they told him to head to the ER (he was still in Cincinnati) and let them know he needed platelets. So, he spent seven hours in the ER getting a second infusion for the week. On Thursday, he had his second check-up for the week at the James, and his platelets were still down at 22. His hemoglobin was also much too low, so they scheduled him for a third platelet infusion and blood infusion on Friday to keep him safe over the weekend. So, he's spent four out of five days this week at the hospital, and has received four infusions. Not the best way to spend a week, but hopefully now he'll be healthy and able to enjoy his weekend back home.
Looking forward, Patrick will continue with the injections and check-ups until his levels are all back up where they need to be, and then he'll be readmitted to the James to start the whole process again for the third time. Not only does it get mundane, but it can also be a little disheartening that just as he starts to improve, the chemo undoes everything Patrick's body has been fighting for. So, how does Patrick stay positive and keep fighting? This month the oncology team told him they were confident he will not only be in remission at the end of his final treatment, but that he'll be totally cured of leukemia. That is what makes the hours, days and weeks spent in hospitals all worth it!!
Patrick was readmitted into the James for his second treatment on November 18th, a week before Thanksgiving. He spent five uneventful days receiving a few hours of chemo, twice daily. His response was nausea and fatigue, but nothing out of the ordinary. He was released on the Monday before Thanksgiving, and went to stay with his sister Sarah in Cincinnati because he needed daily injections of Neupogen (a drug to help boost his white blood cell counts), and wasn't too thrilled about the idea of giving them to himself (not that Sarah was excited about it either...). He slept right up until Thanksgiving, but was able to enjoy his time with family and being out of his apartment. However, like anybody else who is sick and away from home, he got pretty tired of not being in his own place, and decided to start giving himself the injections and get back to Columbus. He's really quite good at it, and has a video on his facebook page of his first time if you'd like to see it!
This week has been trying for Patrick, concerning his levels, to say the least. On Monday, during his normal twice-weekly checkup, he received an infusion of platelets because his levels were all the way down to three (even lower than when he was diagnosed. Normal is 150-450). On Tuesday, however, his nose started bleeding, and continued into Wednesday morning. He called his team at the James and they told him to head to the ER (he was still in Cincinnati) and let them know he needed platelets. So, he spent seven hours in the ER getting a second infusion for the week. On Thursday, he had his second check-up for the week at the James, and his platelets were still down at 22. His hemoglobin was also much too low, so they scheduled him for a third platelet infusion and blood infusion on Friday to keep him safe over the weekend. So, he's spent four out of five days this week at the hospital, and has received four infusions. Not the best way to spend a week, but hopefully now he'll be healthy and able to enjoy his weekend back home.
Looking forward, Patrick will continue with the injections and check-ups until his levels are all back up where they need to be, and then he'll be readmitted to the James to start the whole process again for the third time. Not only does it get mundane, but it can also be a little disheartening that just as he starts to improve, the chemo undoes everything Patrick's body has been fighting for. So, how does Patrick stay positive and keep fighting? This month the oncology team told him they were confident he will not only be in remission at the end of his final treatment, but that he'll be totally cured of leukemia. That is what makes the hours, days and weeks spent in hospitals all worth it!!
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