Things changed rapidly this afternoon. Giving this day it's own share of drama. I have never seen someone's body have so many reactions in a short period of time. Everything was going smoothly. Mary Jo's nurse for the day, Mary, told me that I needed to get out of there for awhile. I must have looked hungry. So, I was going to walk over to the apartment for lunch, and hit the exercise room for awhile. Suddenly, Mary Jo said that I better stay for awhile. Her complexion had changed from normal to pale and pasty. She had broking out in a cold sweat.
Mary, the nurse, came back in and quickly took Mary Jo's vitals. Her blood pressure had dropped to a dangerous level, 64/38. After a couple of minutes, Her blood pressure started going back up and was back to normal almost as fast as it went down. Thank goodness she has not been taking her blood pressure since we have been back down here because her readings have been in the 105/75 range
.
About an hour after the blood pressure drop, her she started having severe stomach cramps and an episode of vomiting. Luckily, a trash can was close. Things settled down for awhile then and Nurse Mary took the stitch out of the incision where they installed the catheter and changed the dressing. They always take Mary Jo's vitals when we come in the morning and when we leave in the afternoon.
By this time, her blood pressure had risen to 144/87, and she was feeling nauseous again. The nurse said that she would rather deal with the slightly high blood pressure than the likes of 68/34. They gave her a low dose of ativan intraveneously. Since it works so fast when given that way, they advised us to walk quickly back to the apartment. She has mostly slept since we got back here.
Hopefully, the last round of Etoposide and Cytoxan will go smoother thsn the last couple of days. But, the nurses have all said that the reactions that Mary Jo has been having are normal, and not nearly as bad as some people have. You just hate to see someone who you love have to go through it.
I'm not sure if I talked about this in an earlier post, or not. When we were in the University Hospital Operating Room on April 12th to have her catheter put in. The nurse there said that they had just put in a catheter for a woman who was here for a stem cell transplant and she was from Louisville. Of course, because of HIPPA laws they could not give us the woman's name or any information about her. Well, today we ran into her at the stem cell center. Her name is Brenda and she had her transplant this past Monday, April 29th. Brenda looked great, and she said that she was feeling great.
After we talked for awhile, we found out that Brenda plays in a Pickleball League at Sawyer Park with a friend of ours. We are praying for a quiet Friday where we can kick back and watch streaming video online from Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day. To all of my friend who contribute to the ponies' oat fund, good luck this weekend. I'm betting on a Goldenscents/Orb Exacta box. I'm betting Rick Pitino's run of luck will continue. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.
In my never ending search for inspiring material for the blog, Kim, one of Mary Jo's nurses, put me on to this inspirational video. The name of the young lady in the video is Megan, and the gentleman dancing with her is Jeff. Megan is 24 years old and has Refractory Hodgkins Lymphoma. They were being treated at the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Enjoy. If you have watched a friend or family member fight a battle with some kind of cancer, you are permitted to cry.
Last, but not least, some friends of ours put this picture of the Champs in the Derby Parade tonight on Facebook. Thanks, Melinda and Russ.
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