Cancer Doc Visit

By the time this post appears, if things are going right, Sandi will be starting her IVIG infusion as we should have had the blood work and doc visit. Hopefully, we also know what the plan is for the biopsy for the new cancer.

Will update when we finally get home.

Home

Things went as well as they could have have for doing this deal. Sick and sleeping now.

Texas Oncology Day

By the time this appears, assuming the creek don't rise and the traffic don't stop us, we will be down at the hospital for Sandi. Today she is to have the IVIG infusion that will take all morning and maybe a piece of the afternoon. After more than thirty of these treatments just over the last couple of years, we have this routine down and pretty much know what to expect not only today, but the next few days.

Still, if you would and have the time, please keep a good thought for her. It isn't chemo, but this stuff hits her pretty hard too.

Home from Cancer Doc

Back home from the cancer doctor.  Blood work was done and things are okay. The dosage was increased on one of Sandi's meds that is used to treat the neuropathy pain as well as the pain she is having from the scar tissue caused by the radiation.

As it stands right now she will do another IVIG infusion on December 28th.

Then, come mid January she will do another doc visit with blood work.

Sandi Yesterday at Infusion

Yesterday while we were at infusion Sandi asked me to take a picture of her. This was pretty rare, but I was more than willing to do so by way of her cell phone. She wasn't in the shape to make her phone do whatever it does to get a picture to me until this morning. As you can see below the sun was starting to stream into the room as the blinds could not be fully closed. This was about two hours in when the drugs had started hitting her system hard causing her to be cold and sleepy.

IVIG Completed

We have just gotten home as Sandi had a multi hour infusion this morning of IVIG. This is the stuff that supports her immune system and keeps it from collapsing. Sandi did fairly well though there were concerns over her high blood pressure when we first got there. That seemed to resolve on its own so they went ahead with the infusion.

She does not have to be back at Texas Oncology until the 15th of December. At that time they will do blood work and she will have a visit with the doctor. At that time they will also schedule another IVIG deal for the end of the year between Christmas and New Years Day.

MRI Results

This morning Sandi was scheduled to have blood work and a doctor visit. It was a total cluster you know what today. Staff shortages coupled with equipment on the fritz meant they were running over an hour behind. Then, because her blood pressure was significantly elevated they made us stay an extra 30 minutes after we were done to see if it would come down.

MRI shows the tumor has shrunk and is losing its definition which means the edges are dissolving. It also shows significant scar tissue in the area from the radiation as well as a very large area extending outside the radiation area that is swollen and inflamed. The belief is that the severe pain she is feeling is from that as well as the nerves in the area that are regenerating. If the pain remains severe they will have her on some sort of steroid regimen to help things.

While her red blood cell count remains stable, her white blood cell count has slipped significantly again so she starts IVIG infusions again on the 30th. It would have been next Wednesday, but they decided to back it up a week and not force her in. It is not surprising that they have to do this, but it is an indication that her blood work is no longer stable.

Another IVIG Round Done

Sandi's blood work was stable and the IVIG went well so we are back home. I will feed her, if she can eat, and put her to bed for the afternoon. Chemo in two weeks.

IVIG Done

IVIG was done and we are home. Hopefully, this will help.

IVIG Infusion Completed

It is done and we are back home. This was blood work and IVIG infusion only. In two weeks she has a doctor visit. At that point they will be looking at everything and planning out the next several months.

Back Home

Back home from the hospital as Sandi had an appointment with her endocrinologist today. While better than she was, Sandi is still nowhere near where she needs to be numbers wise not just for her health but the long delayed Pet Scan.The overall trend of her blood sugar numbers lowering seems to have basically leveled out as we thought. So, the insulin dosage is being raised a little more, but Sandi is having weigh gain and other issues related to the insulin.

Under consideration is the idea of adding some new medications to the mix in the hopes of lowering her numbers. However, that is being delayed for now as Sandi has an IVIG infusion Friday and a ton of blood work as the cancer docs plan on doing the tests to see if the IVIG is working. There were concerns that adding new drugs to her cocktail could throw off those results.

So, for now, she keeps doing what she is doing and fingers crossed that the downward numbers trend will start again.

Back Home from Texas Oncology

We are back home from Texas Oncology down at Medical City Dallas Hospital. Sandi's IVIG infusion seems to have gone okay. The bloodwork that they do before they do anything came back a little wonky today so meds have been adjusted.

They plan on us being back down there Tuesday morning to do things again and make sure everything is okay. Assuming the numbers are better the plan is to just watch her and have another IVIG infusion on September 19.

Health Updates

Sandi is doing okay. Tomorrow is an IVIG infusion Friday for her so we shall be spending most of the day down at Medical City Dallas Hospital.

My foot is not any better at all after a week of the shoe and lots of ice. Swelling has gone down and the bruising looks better, but the foot itself is still just as painful as it was the first day.

Tomorrow is not going to be any fun for us at all and I am not looking forward to trying to move around there in the shape I am in right now.

FFB is set up for tomorrow courtesy of a piece by Patrick Ohl.

Back Home

Did the IVIG infusion for Sandi and we are back home. She is not feeling well and has gone to bed where she is already back asleep after sleeping the entire car ride home.

Next up is an endocrinologist on Monday afternoon.

Home

Just got here as after a rough start things got going quicker than normal. Sandi is going to bed after her IVIG infusion. She is doing okay.

Cancer Doc Friday--We Try Again

Assuming the disaster caused by switching Sandi to COBRA at $900 bucks a month to maintain her coverage has been fixed this week and her insurance coverage has been fully restored in all the computer systems, we have a very long day planned tomorrow at the hospital. She will have blood work and an evaluation by the cancer doctor. Assuming permission is granted, they then will move her to the infusion room for the multi-hour IVIG infusion.

Apparently my long standing idea to cut the top of the bag and have Sandi drink it straight is not an approved medical technique. It would save considerable time though.

Since moving her over to infusion and starting her anti nausea meds and saline drip through the port may not happen until around noon tomorrow it means that what normally gets started around 10 most likely will be starting at least two if not three hours later. One hopes it goes well and there are no complications.

Hopefully, if all goes well, by sunset we can go back to UTD and pick up Scott who will have been out since noon from his classes. Once we have picked him up we can finally come home.

Back Home Early

Back home early thanks to massive AETNA and WAL-MART screwup. They did not fix Sandi's insurance record as they assured her multiple times yesterday they would and had. Their failure means Sandi could not see the cancer doctor or have the IVIG infusion as scheduled. Just was able to do blood work after we payed $100 to do it.

Needless to say the patient is NOT pleased. 

Back Home

Everything went okay and a little faster than expected.  That is a good thing.

Sandi Update

So far so good as there seems to have been no allergic reaction to the IVIG that she got last Friday. It took until Sunday afternoon before the other drugs they gave her before the deal seemed to clear her system. Up to that point she had been very sleepy and rather out of it. By late Sunday afternoon she suddenly seemed better and more like her normal self.

Or, what is normal these days. Far cry from the old normal, but we take what we can get now as long as we can.