Back From Chemo Treatment.

It's Friday morning.

We made it back yesterday afternoon at about 1:30. Lori did not do well at all.


Sunday:

We arrived Sunday evening around 10:30. I was still working at 11:00 a.m. and then we went to see Ricky & Jason on the way out of town. We left their apt around 3:30 p.m. The drive went pretty good. The hotel was nice - not the 2-room layout I thought we were getting but it was an oversized room with a desk, table & chairs, 2 queen beds, sitting chair, fridge, stove, microwave, and TV. It would be very comfortable for the next few days.


Monday:

Monday we went to breakfast around 8:00. We had a typical Holiday Inn continental breakfast. Our Dr appt was for 8:30. We left the hotel at 8:15 and made it with no problem. We had to wait about an hour to see Dr Tumlin (we usually do). It appeared that he had not seen the labs we sent last week to him. He asked for a copy and started to review them. When he got to the 24 urine results he froze for at least 5 seconds before responding. Then he said "this is not good . . . I'm surprised at this". He was referring to the proteinuria (amount of protein in the urine). Last month he told us to expect this number to go down (from 7900) and we should start seeing results right away. We really caught him off guard when he saw it was 11,400. He said "she is now in the major leagues". He repeated a number of times how surprised he was. I asked him if he was just surprised or surprised and concerned. After a lengthy pause he said, "Surprised and a little concerned". He said again that she was "in the major leagues" also stating that she had the "Mark McGuire of proteinuria". He did tell us that the most on record was 45,000. He tried to assure us by saying he has had other patients that show no sign of getting better until after the third treatment. I guess we will have to see. If you could have only seen the look on his face . . . After he left the room I heard him dictating his notes. In there he stated that he "wasn't sure if the treatment will even work at this point"

He changed the admit orders and upped the Chemo dose from 1.5 g to 2.0 g. He also had the dose infused over 30 minutes this time (last month it was 1 hour). Another difference from last month was he removed the lasix from the treatment.

We got to our 1st room in the hospital about 11:00 (Lori had 2 rooms). They started with the usual stuff in preparation for the treatment. The nurse had some trouble with hematomas forming when she tried to insert the IV. After the 3rd try she got it. We found this unusual because Lori usually has no problems producing a good vein. The nurse said it probably due to the chemo treatment. Let's hope not. After only one that would not be good.

Lori slept more this time while we were there than she did last time. My guess is because she wasn't as stressed out about what to expect. I set up the laptop and worked while Lori slept. They were supposed to move Lori to anther room prior to starting the chemo but at 6:00 there was still no other room available. They instead brought a "chemo nurse" down to where Lori was. She administered the treatment without any trouble. Just like last month Lori turned colors after about 45 minutes. She also felt a little sick. It wasn't until around 9:00 when they had a bed to move her to. She had to be moved. The area she was in was an area the hospital set up to start procedures on patients that were being admitted prior to them having an actual bed. It was a real nice room on the ground level with a nice view of the campus. We never even turned on the TV while we were there.


Tuesday:

By the time I arrived at 8:00 the next morning Lori was ready to leave. She had been sick earlier and didn't look good at all. I guess this is what we can expect for the rest of the treatments. I took her to the hotel and put her to bed. She slept for the next few hours getting up only to get sick and once for about 15 minutes when it was snowing outside. She got sick about every hour until around 2:00.

Avery and Morgan came to visit at 3:00. I met them in the lobby and told them they could come see auntie Lori for a few minutes. They stayed for about 30 minutes. Lori did pretty good. She went back to sleep after they left. Around 6:00 she said she had a taste for an oriental chicken salad from Applebee's. (Good sign - maybe the worst was over). I found one not too far away and went to get dinner. The rest of the evening Lori did pretty good . . . kinda in and out of it but not getting sick.

Wednesday:

Go home today. Maybe staying the night in Atlanta was the key . . . NOT. Lori woke up feeling pretty rotten. We packed up and headed out around 9:30. Even with lots of stops we should be home in time for dinner. She seemed to get worse as we drove. By 11:30 she was feeling pretty crappy. We stopped at a rest stop. I was also feeling tired (still don't know why) so we decided to stay at the rest stop and rest for a bit. We pulled around back and laid the seats back. After about 45 minutes we got back on the road again. We stopped in Tifton to stretch and to get gas & lunch. Lori didn't look too bad but she said she was feeling terrible. At this point we were still planning on getting home later that day. After driving for another 1/2 hour Lori decided that the only way she would make it home is if she slept the rest of the way.

This lasted for a bit but by the time we got to Valdosta she said she didn't think she could make it another 3 - 4 hours. We got off just south of Valdosta and got a room for the night. It was about 3:00 when we got settled in. She got sick a few more times and just slept. I went and found a grocery store and got some soup, crackers, Gatorade, and ginger ale. About 7:00 she ate - stayed up for another hour - then went back to sleep. I don't believe she got sick anymore after that.

Thursday:

Thursday she woke up feeling like she had taken a beating from someone. With only a few hours left we got on the road. We got home around 2:00 and Lori went right to bed. It was bad for her this time. She slept right through dinner and into the next morning.


Friday:

Lori is feeling a bit better today. She had some breakfast and lunch. Maybe it's over . . . until next month.


We really don't know what to do next month. Flying is not really an option. It would take around 4-5 hours to fly (counting rental cars, sequitur lines, etc.). At this time it just doesn't seem to be a good option.

Staying in Atlanta worked for the 1st day but left the long drive the next day which didn't work at all and ended up adding a day to the trip. We could get the treatments done here locally. The major trouble with that is there would be another doctor in charge. At this time we don't want to do that. Lori wants to wait until after next month to do that. We already know that there is no one in the Tampa area Dr Tumlin would recommend. Perhaps he knows someone in Gainesville at Shands . . . A 2-3 hour trip would be a lot better.

So, as it stands right now here is the plan for next month - We are going to get as late of a checkout on Tuesday from our hotel as possible. Holiday Inn Priority Club members can have 2:00 check out - I'll see if I can get 3:00 or later. So that way we can leave the hospital Tuesday a.m. and go to the room. Check out late afternoon and start to drive. Hopefully we will make it somewhere south of Macon. Tifton would be nice - Valdosta or farther would be great. We can then get a room for Tuesday night there (with late check out if possible - even 12:00 noon would be good). From there we would drive home on Wednesday.

Like Lori said "Just about the time we're done with the treatments we'll have it figured out"