Posted by Becky
Leif's pain is under better control today, though he has a ways to go before it is back down into an acceptable range. The anesthesia/acute pain doctor came by this morning to see how things are going. The goal is to see how much Dilaudid (hydromorphone) painkiller Leif needs from his PCA, then convert that into an oral medication.
There are plans to put in a new PICC line today. Currently, because Leif only has his port, they can only run compatible drugs together; so, for for example, he can get antibiotic and IV pain medicine together. But nothing is compatible with blood products, so every time Leif needs a transfusion (like this morning), they have to unhook him from the PCA and stop the blood every so often to give him an extra dose of Dilaudid. The PICC line will fix that.
They added ciprofloxacin to his antibiotic regimen last night.
Taking a step back from the day-to-day, where is Leif in the overall plan? He's received his second dose of "hard" chemo now, the last one they will give of this regimen. The immediate goal is to get Leif through these infections. Once his infections are controlled, they will assess the status of the lymphoma via a PET scan. They need a window during which Leif has "minimal residual disease" and infections under control, in order to do the transplant. So we're in a wait-and-see period.
Leif's pain is under better control today, though he has a ways to go before it is back down into an acceptable range. The anesthesia/acute pain doctor came by this morning to see how things are going. The goal is to see how much Dilaudid (hydromorphone) painkiller Leif needs from his PCA, then convert that into an oral medication.
There are plans to put in a new PICC line today. Currently, because Leif only has his port, they can only run compatible drugs together; so, for for example, he can get antibiotic and IV pain medicine together. But nothing is compatible with blood products, so every time Leif needs a transfusion (like this morning), they have to unhook him from the PCA and stop the blood every so often to give him an extra dose of Dilaudid. The PICC line will fix that.
They added ciprofloxacin to his antibiotic regimen last night.
Taking a step back from the day-to-day, where is Leif in the overall plan? He's received his second dose of "hard" chemo now, the last one they will give of this regimen. The immediate goal is to get Leif through these infections. Once his infections are controlled, they will assess the status of the lymphoma via a PET scan. They need a window during which Leif has "minimal residual disease" and infections under control, in order to do the transplant. So we're in a wait-and-see period.
Hope to hear update news soon. This has been a rough patch for you and Leif. Sending all warm wishes to you both.
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