Appointments and Transfusions

Sean had an appointment with his oncologist Monday. She was positive about how Sean has been doing with his treatments and told him she wanted him to get his blood drawn at cottage (the smaller hospital closer to our home) Once at cottage they went ahead and drew a few vials of blood and told Sean they would call him Tuesday morning if his count/hemoglobin looked good enough to not need a transfusion. Tuesday morning we arrived at cottage at eight a.m. His hemoglobin was up so they called his oncologist to see if she still wanted Sean to recieve the blood transfusion,she did. They began the transfusion around quarter to 9 and it was the longest trasfusion ever. They did not use the pump(claiming it damages red blood cells which we have NEVER been told before)which made the transfusion take ridiculously longer, over three hours for Sean to recieve one unit of blood and he was scheduled for two. They started the second bag around noon and he did not finish until close to 3:30 p.m. Sean was upset with the length of time that the transfusion took. Afterwards we took the elevator down to the first floor and Sean was able to have his radiation treatment while we were there which he was happy to be back on schedule. His last radiation treatment should be next Thursday which is great. He had his radiation treatment today and we have Chemotherapy scheduled for tommorow. After tommorow Sean has three more actual days of Chemo to our knowledge. I will update as I know more.:)He weigh is around 170 at the moment and he is still eating fairly well.

Update on Sean and White Blood Count

Sean had a blood transfusion Friday which went fine. He had a home health nurse come to see him Saturday and Sunday and she administered a shot that helps with his white blood count and said that his vitals were good. Monday he had an appointment with his oncologist and she said that everything was going as planned and then discussed with Sean the ideal of having a pickline placed in him. She said that his counts were now good and that a pickline would help to keep from anything unpredicted to happen during Seans Chemotherapy. Once home I adminstered the white blood count shot to Sean myself (the nurse showed me how in detail) and then he recieved a phone call from someone trying to schedule an appointment for a port a cath. (A huge mess) Tuesday Sean resumed his radiation treatment and today he recieved a phone call before his radiation appointment from someone wanting him to come to Henry ford for the placement of a pickline. (No one had informed us of this until this morning) We went to Seans radiation then to the hospital downtown to have his pickline inserted. Once there we went and had lunch in the cafeteria as we were early. Around 12:30 am we were in the waiting room then were moved to the recovery portion of the ward where the doctor explained to us more about the pickline. It was a procedure that took around ten minutes and left two little tubes hanging from under Seans arm. He says he cannot feel them much which is a good thing. We were told to keep them clean and dry and to notify someone of any complications. Sean has chemotherapy tommorow following his normal radiation treatment. At the moment his temp is pretty good as is his blood pressure and heart rate. Note: Doctor said his heart rate could be up due to the medication, possibly the radiation.

Seans first chemotherapy treatment

Sean went for his first treatment yesterday morning. We were to be at the hospital at 8:00 am which surprisingly we arrived on time after allot of morning traffic on the freeway. When we arrived they took us to a different part of the cancer treatment floor that we had never been to and took Sean into a room. They checked his port and inserted the necessary tube for his treatment. The nurses were very nice and offered us several things from crackers to drinks while we were there. They then took us to where they would administer the chemo and set up a television in front of us. We watched a video that gave information on the treatment and what to expect as far as side effects. While we watched the video they gave Sean Benadryl in his port and a few other medications to control any nausea he might expirence. They then started the chemotherapy in his port and he fell asleep almost immediately. It wasn't from the chemotherapy but more from how comfortable the room and chairs were. I had a hard time myself staying awake. After the first bag of medication was finished about an hour and a half had passed. They then began the second bag and Sean watched a movie while the treatment was finishing. After the second bag was finished we were able to leave. Sean decided he felt fine and wanted to drive home. He never complained of any nausea and seemed in a very good mood once we arrived home. I expected some sickness or something after a few hours but by the time we laid down for bed he still felt normal he said. This morning was the same and all day he has been in a good mood. This evening he was a little tired and thankfully has not had any vomiting or noticeable side effects. He has some blood work scheduled for next week but besides the blood work and checking his white cell count he is free from the treatment for a few weeks.

The Port a Cath

We arrived at a new hospital pretty early this morning. The reason for the difference in hospitals is there are only two that do this type of outpatient surgery around us. Also this particular surgery was booked up close to three weeks and they needed Seans in place by Monday. Once there they took him back for prep and handed us an American Pager which looked like a table coaster with lights. They told us they would let us see him before the procedure and would alert us when we could. About an hour or so later we were allowed to go back and see Sean. They had him in a gown, with an IV and he seemed a little drowsy. They took him back for surgery around 11:30 a.m. and told us that when the Pager went off for us to come back and check with the receptionist on how he was doing. I had forgot to mention that yesterday they molded a piece much like the mask they made for Seans head for his chest. It had seemed to bother him a little last night(possibly the heated needed to create it) and he was coughing more then normal so he didn't sleep as well. Once he was on the bed for surgery today he had pretty much passed out for that reason alone if nothing else. When the pager went off we were allowed to go back and see Sean. He was eating lunch and seemed in a very alert and positive mood. I asked him how the surgery went and he told me he could not even feel the port. The nurses around him were suprised he was as active as he was and that he was literally ready to go home. They explained a little more into what the port is and how it is used. The port a cath is connected to a catheter that is connected to a vein. The purpose is to deliver drugs quickly and efficiently through the entire body by way of the circulatory system. The reason this is a good ideal for chemotherapy patients is that the treatment can be toxic and should not be delivered through skin or muscle tissue as it can damage them. I have not been able to see the port as they have dressed it well to keep it clean and dry. He doesn't seem to be too affected by it being there besides a little tenderness. He is in a great mood and is acting as normal as can be. He is coming off the steroids which hopefully he will be able to sleep a little better once off them. I do hope they leave him be fore the rest of the week before Monday so he can rest. They mentioned the possibilty of hospitalization during the first chemo treatment and Sean won't hear of it. We will see what happens Monday but at the moment he is doing very well.

The Chemo, The Lung, The Marking

Monday we had an appointment with the chemotherapy and lung doctors. They discussed the results of Seans Petscan with us which were good. We were told that the nodes in Seans lung were not affected and that after looking at the Petscan there were no other spots that they had found. They spoke to us about the scheduling of treatments and decided that they were going to do radiation for six weeks as well as twelve doses of chemotherapy. They also told us that we would have to come back and have a port placed in Seans chest for the chemo treatments and he would first have to have his lungs marked. After speaking with the doctors Sean had to have some blood drawn. The one nurse or whatever she was and I say that with sarcasm was a complete moron. She blew out two of Seans veins and after four attempts to draw blood handed it over to the senior nurse in the room. This girl was obviously training or something as I have never seen anyone so clumsy taking blood. Once we arrived home we already had a message waiting that we were to be back in radiology the next day for Sean to have his lung marked. Today we arrived at around two p.m. and they scooted Sean off into the back area of radiology. I sat in the lobby for close to two hours as they marked his lung for treatment. They had to inject him with a dye and literally came close of tattooing him with three dots on his chest. The medicines so far have seemed to not affected him too much. Besides his skin being dry and him sleeping on and off through the day he appears fairly well. After we left the hospital today we had another message waiting for us when we arrived home. Early tommorow morning we are to go and have a port placed in Seans chest for the chemotherapy.