CHEMO DAY

Hanging out with Dad On Mom's Birthday 5-3-11




Recovering from Spinal Tap #1......The first of several that will come
5-7-11

A very difficult night last night. Neither of us have gotten sleep in quite a long time. Nurses are in and out of here constantly because she is hooked up to 8 different fluids and they are on a schedule so the beeps on the IV pole are always ringing and someone is always in here changing her fluids and checking blood pressure and taking blood and checking her temp. We are exhausted!!

She has had tremendous pain in her back for the last few days. No matter what we do, she just can't get comfortable. Doctors are constantly tweaking and changing her pain medications to try to find some way to make her comfortable. It's an uphill battle. Her surgeon says the tumor in her abdomen is enlarged and pressing against her spine......thus the pain in her back. She has a few more lymph nodes that are also starting to grow.

Labs came back from Stanford University today and confirm that she is fighting Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma with the positive ALK protein. It's a fast growing cancer, but it responds well to treatment. In a nutshell, we can now order up her cocktail of chemo right away.

Doctors did a spinal tap on Jessica first to see if the spinal fluid had any cancer cells hiding out there. They also infused a type of chemo drug into her spine. Chemotherapy started today at about 2:00pm and finished around 6:00pm. I have honestly never seen so many lines and tubes coming out of one person before in my life.

It was a big day. Blood draws, a spinal tap, chemotherapy, Antibiotics, Tons of Pain meds, an ultrasound, an EKG test, visitors, manditory walks, and bathroom breaks, and tiny little bites of her first food in a week. We are exhausted and can't wait to try for some much needed sleep. Cross your fingers.