Category Archives: transfusion

by | February 27, 2012 · 9:54 pm

Holding pattern

So much for Lucy’s heparin staying in the therapeutic range. She has had two adjustments and boluses today and will have a re-test at 9:30 pm tonight. It sounds like she is close to where they want her. The tricky part is having her stay in the therapeutic range for a couple of days.

Her nosebleeds have stopped, but Dr. Thurmes is very reluctant to run a TPA catheter in her leg. The TPA would speed up getting rid of the thigh clot. Right now, she has to stay the course. Perhaps that could change the longer she goes without a nosebleed. She is dabbing saline gel in her nostrils every four hours and so far, that is working.

The two-unit transfusion helped a little, but Lucy’s hemoglobin was only at 7.9 today. She will probably need a transfusion tomorrow or Wednesday. We have not heard how her white count or platelet count was faring.

She has still been having fever spikes today. Her worst one was 102.8°F, which went down with Tylenol and cool washcloths on the forehead. There is still no indication of an infection. The fevers break within 30 minutes.

One nice thing was she used the shower today. The disposable washcloths are nice, but having some independence is nicer. She also received a birthday rose from one of the floral shops today. That was a nice present.

It’s still a “wait and see” situation. A lot depends on how fast her body starts wearing down that clot in the thigh. We have no idea how soon she will be going home. It’s frustrating, but it is what it is.

Thank you so much for caring! Your comments are like her getting a Get Well card without having to wait for mail delivery.

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by | February 26, 2012 · 9:42 pm

Land of transfusion

Lucy’s hemoglobin was at 6.0 and her platelets were at 50,000. Dr. Nashawaty had rounds this weekend and he mentioned the irony of keeping Lucy on heparin but also having to transfuse platelets. Her Alimta treatment probably caused the platelet count drop and to her low hemoglobin level.

On the plus side, her heparin is in therapeutic range. She will be in the hospital until at least tomorrow. One of the criteria for release is getting her off IV heparin. Our guess is they would also like to see any risk of infection in her leg eliminated and a noticeable improvement in her leg. It appears her leg is getting a little better. Like her last hospital stay, this will be a day-by-day event.

Today saw a steady stream of nurses and nurse’s assistants in and out of her room. Lucy said one of her arm blood draws was at 3:00 am this morning. Her port has heparin in it so certain blood tests must be done via her arm.

Lucy’s appetite is still good. I went to the cafeteria and picked up a grilled chicken sandwich for lunch. She asked to sample it and wound up eating the whole thing.

Steve and Liz came by this morning and brought cookies. Suzy was by this afternoon and left a stuffed snowy owl and a couple of magazines. Julie called to see how Lucy is doing. We also appreciated all the great notes from everyone. Lucy and I do read the comments left in the group or in the blog, and we thank everyone for their words of encouragement.

We’re hoping her heparin stays in therapeutic range tomorrow. That will put her one step closer to going home.

scrub top

I found this scrub top in the gift shop. Lucy wants to see it when she is more mobile. I’m sure she will get one.

snowy owl

Suzy brought along a new friend for Lucy

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by | February 22, 2012 · 10:06 pm

Blood, sweat and tears

We know that nosebleeds are a side effect of blood thinners. Lucy had one that lasted for almost 45 minutes. She had another this morning that stopped in about 10 minutes.

We arrived at Fairview Southdale IV Therapy at 7:30 am for her transfusion. The type and match took a little longer than usual, so her transfusion started at 9:00 and finished at 12:45.

She is still extremely tired. Last night she had problems sleeping and she woke up several times. Now she’s home, warm, fed, and relaxing. Her leg isn’t quite as sore as yesterday and the swelling has abated somewhat.

Lucy’s next blood test is Monday afternoon. There may be no updates until then. In the meantime, give your loved ones hugs from us, and thank you for your support!

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by | February 5, 2012 · 10:41 pm

“Sunday Sunday”

Lucy's birthday gifts

Lucy’s birthday gifts

The yellow bouquet is from Steve and Liz, the elephant is from Diane, and the pink rose bouquet is from Anh-Thu and Karen. And yes, the flash on my phone camera stinks. Motorola puts a 5-megapixel camera on the phone and uses a kid’s toy LED for the flash. Go figure.

Today’s post title is an obscure song by Blur.

Lucy had a chorus of nurses and nurse’s assistants come in and sing “Happy Birthday” to her this morning. That was really nice! Steve and Liz brought a strawberry tart cake. Julie and Suzy came by for a few hours, so Lucy had all her siblings here. Everyone got to see Lucy go for a walk with the Occupational Therapy person. Lucy also had someone from Physical Therapy come by. They worked on some exercises and Lucy has some new ones to add to the mix. Lucy’s dad called to wish her happy birthday and see how she was doing. Lucy didn’t wear a hat or scarf today so everyone got to see how much hair she has. I think that is the first time she went “topless” since she lost her hair in the first cycle of chemo.

Suzy and Julie did get to see Lucy’s leg uncovered and it may have been a bit unpleasant for them. Lucy assured them it was a lot worse and much more painful eleven days ago. Her leg looks like it had sunburn with a little peeling in a couple of areas. There are areas on her lower leg where the color is getting towards normal. Her leg is slightly warm to the touch rather than hot. She has full sensation in her leg and it is not painful to touch it.

Dr. Singh came by to check on Lucy’s progress. Lucy’s Chromogenic Factor X reading today was in therapeutic range. She will have the heparin drop through the night and will have blood drawn for another test tomorrow. The results will be back in the early afternoon. If the Chromogenic Factor X test is in the therapeutic range again, Lucy could get discharged. The transfusion last night took her hemoglobin up to 10.7. It’s been awhile since it was close to normal.

We will have some questions for the discharge meeting. There will need to be some appointments set up to test her blood. The hospital will lend her a walker for a week or two. We will also need a list of symptoms that would necessitate calling the doctor or a making a trip to the hospital. It is very possible Lucy will need to extend her disability leave another week.

There is a minor issue with pain management that still needs a resolution. Lucy knows that she will not be totally pain-free tomorrow. It will take a week or two for her leg to get back to normal. Her pain increases when she puts weight on her ankle. After she sits down, the pain starts subsiding. It sounds like the pain increase is not much. She describes it as annoying when she walks. It does not keep her awake at night and it does not distract her when she is sitting with her leg propped up. Lucy has been fortunate to have never required hospitalization until her surgery in April 2010. She has never broken a bone or needed stitches. All the stuff she is going through is uncharted waters to her. It’s hard for her to describe what type of pain, or how much pain she feels. Now that she has told them when she feels an increase in pain and when it starts to diminish, some of the concerns have abated.

We’re cautiously optimistic about her going home tomorrow. It really depends on the blood test. Please keep your fingers crossed for her!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes today for Lucy! Lucy is lucky to have such an amazing group of supporters!

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by | February 4, 2012 · 8:38 pm

“A Room with a View”

Stained glass panel at Fairview Southdale

This stained glass panel is next to the admissions desk at Fairview Southdale hospital.

During Lucy’s hospital stay, I have parked in the Skyway Ramp and I walk past this stained glass panel every day. The flash on my phone’s camera causes a lot of flare. The gnome is not lighting flatulence (though he looks guilty) and the owl is not looking for the culprit.

I believe Lucy saw the movie referenced in the post title. The book it was based on was an optional choice for my World Literature II class at Augustana College. I didn’t read it because it was optional.

Lucy took a short walk this morning. It helps clear the fog of the pain pills. Her leg color has gotten noticeably better in the past day. Her right calf circumference is within 3 cm. (about 1.2″) of her left calf. She says that her ankle is stiff but is getting a bit more range of motion. Lucy has worked on her physical therapy exercises. Her Braden risk bracelet got removed because she is more active and her skin can air out.

Dr. Singh from Minnesota Oncology came by. Lucy moved back to 8th floor this afternoon. Her hemoglobin dropped after yesterday’s increase so she will get a two-unit transfusion. This means the four transfusions she has had since admission have required eight units of blood. She will be here until Monday at the earliest. The rest of the blood work sounded OK. Her Coumadin dosage got dropped to 2.5 mg and they did not have to administer a quick “blast” of heparin (called a bolus). We hope this means she is getting close to removal of the IV heparin and her Coumadin dose is getting set.

I did get to take Lucy to the Meditation Sanctuary before she moved to 8th floor. We used a wheelchair because it was a quick trip. She liked the fireplace and water feature. Changing her scenery also helped.

The view from her room is great. For those of you in the Twin Cities area, she overlooks Crosstown Highway and France Ave. The fog lifted and the sun came out and we can see all the way to Highway 100.

Lucy’s birthday is tomorrow and she will be spending it in the hospital. I’m grateful for getting to celebrate another birthday with her! I do wish she were released today. Comments are working, so please feel free to send her birthday greetings tomorrow. Thank you so much for your support!

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