I was Chris' wife/caregiver & this is the medical blog I wrote during his treatment. Short history: dx in July 2010, no initial bone marrow involvement, did 5 rounds hyper-cvad protocol. Found out he is in relapse/refractory status with involvement in his chest, spleen, inguinal & throat lymph nodes, bone marrow, spine & brain in January 2011 when we went to MD Anderson for treatment. The two different rounds of chemo Chris got at MDA could not put him in remission; he died of leukemia/lymphoma on March 18th, 2011, an astonishing and horrific 8 months after his diagnosis.
There is a donation page for organizations here: http://chriscranecancer.blogspot.com

Friday, March 4, 2011

rough day

His medications and chemo are interacting today so he's been near comatose the whole day.  Chemo causing diarrhea bouts and weakness, needs help sitting up and more.
Possible infection in his chest - none of the test results have come up with what it might be.  He's receiving various antifungals & antibiotics to treat.  Breathing issues so using oxygen off & on.
Bed alarm set to on whenever I leave to room, I'm bunking here tonight.  Chemo doses end Monday I think.  He's a fall risk with his balance issues and with his low platelets any small fall could cause serious internal bleeding.  Blood & platelet transfusions earlier today.
State budget cuts leave no room for sitters to watch just him, MDACC is a University of Texas institute.
Blood pressure up so they doubled his blood pressure med dosage.  Stopped some of his other meds to attempt to get him a bit more lucid.  He started talking a bit more and had some better mobility an hour or two ago, he is asleep for the night now.
Lots of fluid retention in his limbs, they are quite swollen.  So he was given a double dose of a med that makes him urinate lots and frequently, a challenge with his semi-comatose state and balance issues.  There's probably more to list but my brain & body are exhausted.
I used to take the time to text over 20 people when I updated this blog, since most don't respond to my texts and request for acknowledgement I'm not doing that anymore.
Note: http://chriscranecancer.blogspot.com/2011/03/art-glass.html

Posted by at

4 comments:

  1. Carmen MitchellMarch 4, 2011 at 10:16 PM

    Fingers, toes, legs, and everything else crossed that this will help put him into remission! Good luck, and I hope that you are holding up OK. My thoughts are with you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JenBirdMarch 5, 2011 at 3:36 PM

    Make sure are also staying hydrated and eating as best you can...hard to do when you are so consumed with caring for Chris. We can't have you getting sick or wearing down....take care of yourself too Dandy.

    Love for ya....

    ReplyDelete
  3. AmandaMarch 5, 2011 at 5:19 PM

    Even tho I'm not hungry much of the time I'm making sure I eat regular, healthy meals. I just pretend I'm a robot and the food is full of yummy science to keep me going.

    ReplyDelete
  4. StephButlerMarch 6, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    Thanks for the update Amanda. I know you must be exhausted. You are a loving wife and a great mom. Stay strong. We continue to pray for you and your family!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)