At 7:30am, I called Dr. Adkins office, chasing Denny's records. I wanted to confirm that they had been sent to Dr. Murphy at Vanderbilt. I also wanted to let them know what Denny's status was; that he had been admitted to Vanderbilt with a blood clot and infection.
At 7:41am, Denny texted me, " Had a good night and feel much better this morning. :)" I thought, "Great! Maybe we have gotten ahead of this thing." I told him I would come to the hospital between 9 and 10am. However, with phone calls going back and forth between me and St. Louis, I was delayed. I finally got to the hospital a little before 11am.
This is what I saw: Denny's neck had swelled even more since the evening before. He was feeling "better" because they had him on Dilaudid. As soon as he started talking, I knew something was very wrong. His voice was slurred and in the wrong pitch. It was higher and nasally-sounding. He said he had eaten breakfast and was feeling good. I stepped out in the hallway and flagged down the nurse. I requested that she call the doctor. I wanted to know what was going on.
A short time later, the doctor came into the room and spoke with us. She said they had doubled up the strong antibiotics to cover all possibilities. They still have no idea what type of infection he has. The blood cultures should be back in 48 -72 hours. That should be tomorrow.
An ENT doc came in late this afternoon and ran a scope down Denny's right nostril into his throat. It appears the infection is pressing on the left side of his voice box but his airways are clear. Denny has also developed Thrush on the back of his tongue; probably due to being bombed with maximum strength antibiotics.
I left around 6pm to come home. Denny is still in the hospital. All the activity had ceased for the day so he was just resting. No more docs were going to come in tonight. I came home to take care of some bills and fix supper. It feels like some kind of crazy time warp, bouncing between two completely different environments but we are managing.
Tomorrow, Dana is taking me back to the hospital since we had 2 cars there. She is going to visit with her dad for awhile and then take the car home. That way I won't have to try to find another driver when Denny is discharged because he is convinced he will be driving himself home. I don't think the hospital will be on board with this but he remains unconvinced. Stubborn man!
Denny appreciates all the cards, emails and prayers being sent his way. These simple gifts mean the world to him. Thank you so much. As always, thanks for checking in. I'll keep posting as soon as the information becomes available.
'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be fair,
'Tis a gift to wake and breathe the morning air.
And each day we walk on the path that we choose,
'Tis a gift we pray we never shall lose."
(Lyrics to "Simple Gifts")
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Phoenix Rising
I just got in from the hospital. So much has happened since my last post. Have a seat and I'll fill you in...
I got to the hospital about 5pm. Nashville rush hour traffic was a mess. Denny had been put in a private room in the ER (thanks to the efforts of Dr. Murphy). He looked miserable; laying on the bed with the left side of his neck swollen and red. He had just come in from seeing Dr. Murphy; after a very lengthy conversation regarding his case. St. Louis had not sent down the records yet so she was basically flying blind.
They checked him in through the ER and he was waiting for the CAT scan when I got there. They had already taken a blood panel. Blood was actually taken from both arms to see where and what kind of possible infection it could be.
He was so discouraged and it showed in the misery on his face. I took his hand in mine, held it tight and said, "This is just one more battle in the war. Keep fighting. You can do this." I think that, just for a moment, fear of the unknown overwhelmed him. Just hearing me voice that fear took the elephant out of the room (so to speak) and like a phoenix rising, I saw his incredible strength return once again.
The nurse administered some morphine since his pain level was 8 out of 10. We waited about an hour for it to kick in. Finally, she gave him something stronger which helped a little better. About 10pm, the results of the CAT scan came back. It showed a clot AND an infection.
The blood panel will take another day or so before the infection is identified 100%. However, from the look of the scan, the doctors suspect it is staph and are treating it with heavy doses of antibiotic. The clot is being treated with blood thinners. Denny has been admitted to Vanderbilt Hospital. We are not sure for how long; hopefully, just for the night.
Denny, (if you are reading this) I know you are fighting this battle on 2 fronts; physical and mental. Someday, we will look back on this blog and say, "Wow! What strength you have!" Until then, we will eat this elephant one bite at a time. Stay strong!
Thanks for checking in. I will post updates as soon as I can.
I got to the hospital about 5pm. Nashville rush hour traffic was a mess. Denny had been put in a private room in the ER (thanks to the efforts of Dr. Murphy). He looked miserable; laying on the bed with the left side of his neck swollen and red. He had just come in from seeing Dr. Murphy; after a very lengthy conversation regarding his case. St. Louis had not sent down the records yet so she was basically flying blind.
They checked him in through the ER and he was waiting for the CAT scan when I got there. They had already taken a blood panel. Blood was actually taken from both arms to see where and what kind of possible infection it could be.
He was so discouraged and it showed in the misery on his face. I took his hand in mine, held it tight and said, "This is just one more battle in the war. Keep fighting. You can do this." I think that, just for a moment, fear of the unknown overwhelmed him. Just hearing me voice that fear took the elephant out of the room (so to speak) and like a phoenix rising, I saw his incredible strength return once again.
The nurse administered some morphine since his pain level was 8 out of 10. We waited about an hour for it to kick in. Finally, she gave him something stronger which helped a little better. About 10pm, the results of the CAT scan came back. It showed a clot AND an infection.
The blood panel will take another day or so before the infection is identified 100%. However, from the look of the scan, the doctors suspect it is staph and are treating it with heavy doses of antibiotic. The clot is being treated with blood thinners. Denny has been admitted to Vanderbilt Hospital. We are not sure for how long; hopefully, just for the night.
Denny, (if you are reading this) I know you are fighting this battle on 2 fronts; physical and mental. Someday, we will look back on this blog and say, "Wow! What strength you have!" Until then, we will eat this elephant one bite at a time. Stay strong!
Thanks for checking in. I will post updates as soon as I can.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Bacteremia
Denny met with Dr. Murphy for the first time today at 2:30pm. It was timely because his neck has swelled and is very red. He was thinking "blood clot". She listened to his history and is sending him down to the ER at Vanderbilt, right now as I am typing. I am home; getting ready to head down there. She feels he has developed a massive infection and is afraid it is getting away from us. I asked her if it could be sepsis or bacteremia. She said, "Bacteremia". Please refer to the previous post for definition. I'm sorry this is so short but I need to get on the road. Denny is scheduled for a CAT scan which will tell if it is a clot or infection. If it is infection, he will be scheduled for a blood panel and be seen by an infectious disease doc. I will post as soon as I can.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Infection Rejection
We just rolled in the driveway and home never looked so good. We want to send a "shout out" to my sister for her wonderful hospitality and the chicken & dumplings. Thank you!
Here is the news. Denny's port was removed. It was infected and there was a lot of fluid in the cavity. The medical personnel were VERY disgusted with Vanderbilt. The comment was: "We treat people here for things like this; even if we didn't put the port in. You can't leave someone in this condition. He could have gotten septic. You got here just in time."
There were 2 new terms. I had to look them up but I could tell it wasn't good. The words were "Sepsis" and "Bacteremia". This is what they meant by "septic".
SEPSIS: Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection. Sepsis occurs when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection trigger inflammation throughout the body. This inflammation can trigger a cascade of changes that can damage multiple organ systems, causing them to fail. **
BACTEREMIA:"Blood poisoning" is not a medical term. But as the term is usually used, it refers to the presence of bacteria in the blood (bacteremia) — and not a poisonous substance in the blood. However, bacteremia is a serious illness and requires prompt medical attention. **
** Source: Mayo Clinic Website: www.mayoclinic.com
About an hour down the road, Denny said he was already feeling better. He has a prescription for a heavy duty antibiotic. Now, he just has to get the area completely healed. They are pretty sure it will not be healed in time for the May 20th chemo treatment. Therefore, at 8am on May 20th, he will have a PICC line inserted into one of the bigger veins in his upper arm. The chemo for the second treatment will be handled through this. By the 3rd treatment, they will probably re-install the port to use from that point onward.
The other good news is Denny has a new oncologist, Dr. Barbara Murphy, through The Vanderbilt Clinic who has agreed to take on his case to coordinate with St. Louis. Dr. Adkin's (the St. Louis chemo doc) clinical assistant, Toni, has personally met Dr. Murphy and says Denny is in good hands. There will be no problems coordinating treatment issues between these two docs.
Denny and I are looking forward to relaxing the rest of the evening. On the way home, we discussed how good it was that we did not take the Vanderbilt surgeon's advice of "Let nature take its course." Denny might now be fighting a life threatening infection along with cancer. One battle is enough.
That is all for now. As always, thanks for the love, prayers, and cards of encouragement. He could not fight this battle without them. Thanks for checking in...
Here is the news. Denny's port was removed. It was infected and there was a lot of fluid in the cavity. The medical personnel were VERY disgusted with Vanderbilt. The comment was: "We treat people here for things like this; even if we didn't put the port in. You can't leave someone in this condition. He could have gotten septic. You got here just in time."
There were 2 new terms. I had to look them up but I could tell it wasn't good. The words were "Sepsis" and "Bacteremia". This is what they meant by "septic".
SEPSIS: Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection. Sepsis occurs when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection trigger inflammation throughout the body. This inflammation can trigger a cascade of changes that can damage multiple organ systems, causing them to fail. **
BACTEREMIA:"Blood poisoning" is not a medical term. But as the term is usually used, it refers to the presence of bacteria in the blood (bacteremia) — and not a poisonous substance in the blood. However, bacteremia is a serious illness and requires prompt medical attention. **
** Source: Mayo Clinic Website: www.mayoclinic.com
About an hour down the road, Denny said he was already feeling better. He has a prescription for a heavy duty antibiotic. Now, he just has to get the area completely healed. They are pretty sure it will not be healed in time for the May 20th chemo treatment. Therefore, at 8am on May 20th, he will have a PICC line inserted into one of the bigger veins in his upper arm. The chemo for the second treatment will be handled through this. By the 3rd treatment, they will probably re-install the port to use from that point onward.
The other good news is Denny has a new oncologist, Dr. Barbara Murphy, through The Vanderbilt Clinic who has agreed to take on his case to coordinate with St. Louis. Dr. Adkin's (the St. Louis chemo doc) clinical assistant, Toni, has personally met Dr. Murphy and says Denny is in good hands. There will be no problems coordinating treatment issues between these two docs.
Denny and I are looking forward to relaxing the rest of the evening. On the way home, we discussed how good it was that we did not take the Vanderbilt surgeon's advice of "Let nature take its course." Denny might now be fighting a life threatening infection along with cancer. One battle is enough.
That is all for now. As always, thanks for the love, prayers, and cards of encouragement. He could not fight this battle without them. Thanks for checking in...
Monday, May 6, 2013
The Wheels On Our Car Go 'Round and 'Round
Well, the port is still giving Denny trouble. It is still leaking reddish tinted fluid; enough to soak through the bandage and stain his shirt. "Let nature take it's course" is not an option. I called back to the docs in St. Louis to give them this report. They were not happy with Vanderbilt at all. As a result, Denny and I will be headed to St. Louis tomorrow. He will be seen by an interventional radiologist at the Center for Advanced Medicine on Wednesday at 1pm. That doctor will make a determination if the port needs to come out and be re-done. If that is the case, they will have to schedule a surgery. I'm not sure if we will be able to get back home by Wednesday. So, here we go again!
We also wanted to thank our neighbors, The Stahl family, for the beautiful quilt they gave Denny that is part of the quilting ministry at Gladeville Baptist church. It will go wonderfully with the prayer shawl creatively made by the "knitwits" ministry at our church, Gladeville Methodist. It is hard to feel sad when surrounded by so much encouragement. Thank you so much!
As usual, I will post updates to this blog as soon as they come available. Thanks for checking in.
We also wanted to thank our neighbors, The Stahl family, for the beautiful quilt they gave Denny that is part of the quilting ministry at Gladeville Baptist church. It will go wonderfully with the prayer shawl creatively made by the "knitwits" ministry at our church, Gladeville Methodist. It is hard to feel sad when surrounded by so much encouragement. Thank you so much!
As usual, I will post updates to this blog as soon as they come available. Thanks for checking in.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Running Ragged
Since we hit the door Saturday morning, we have been running ragged. Denny went back to work on Monday as usual. We spent the next couple of days waiting to see the doctor. If you saw my last post, you will see that the Doctor wouldn't help him. Which brings us to Friday.
Denny was at Vanderbilt bright and early getting an ultrasound. We thought there was a possibility of a blood clot. The area around the port was red, swollen, and sensitive to the touch. An ultrasound was done and it was clear. The surgeon said that unless a clot or infection developed, they were going to let nature take its course. I guess Denny is supposed to let this port keep him in pain and weeping fluid. Needless to say, I searching for another oncologist to interface with St. Louis. This situation is completely unacceptable. I've found a candidate that I am going to contact Monday.
While all of that was going on, I had to leave the house at 5:30am; drive to Alabama to pack up Dana and bring her home from college. Her boyfriend, Justin, went with me and was a tremendous help. Between the 2 of us, we had her packed up and ready to go in 2.5 hours. She had one more final to get through before we could leave. By 6pm, we were on the road for home.
Denny was already in bed asleep when we got in the door. I was so exhausted, I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow. Things should slow down a little now that we are all in the same place. We are looking forward to summer.....together!
(I took this picture of Denny when he started his first chemo treatment at the Center for Advanced Medicine on April 26th.)
Denny was at Vanderbilt bright and early getting an ultrasound. We thought there was a possibility of a blood clot. The area around the port was red, swollen, and sensitive to the touch. An ultrasound was done and it was clear. The surgeon said that unless a clot or infection developed, they were going to let nature take its course. I guess Denny is supposed to let this port keep him in pain and weeping fluid. Needless to say, I searching for another oncologist to interface with St. Louis. This situation is completely unacceptable. I've found a candidate that I am going to contact Monday.
While all of that was going on, I had to leave the house at 5:30am; drive to Alabama to pack up Dana and bring her home from college. Her boyfriend, Justin, went with me and was a tremendous help. Between the 2 of us, we had her packed up and ready to go in 2.5 hours. She had one more final to get through before we could leave. By 6pm, we were on the road for home.
Denny was already in bed asleep when we got in the door. I was so exhausted, I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow. Things should slow down a little now that we are all in the same place. We are looking forward to summer.....together!
(I took this picture of Denny when he started his first chemo treatment at the Center for Advanced Medicine on April 26th.)
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
There is Always a Way...
Denny is still having problems with that port. It is weeping a clear fluid. He put a new dressing on when he left for work this morning. Then later in the day had to go to the nurse at work and have it re-dressed.
I called Dr. Smith (the Vanderbilt Oncologist that is on-board here in Tennessee) to see if I could get Denny in today to have it looked at. The appointment was set for 3pm. Denny went to the office and Dr. Smith wouldn't touch it; didn't even take the bandage off to look at the incision He didn't want the liability as he wasn't the one who put it in. This is really getting frustrating. Dr. Smith has seen Denny several times since 2010 so this scenario is not new. What does he expect us to do? Drive back to St. Louis to get treatment?
Since Denny is prone to staph infections, we are trying to get this thing under control to avoid further complications. The St. Louis docs are saying "get in and get it looked at down there, now! We are pushing the issue so the doctor finally made arrangements for Denny to see a surgeon at Vanderbilt. Now, he has to wait until Friday. I think we are going to look for a different Oncologist. Denny needs someone who will help when he needs it.
The side effects of the chemo are starting to evolve. Denny is feeling tired and has been having a bit of a dizzy spell every now and then; nothing major. The worst effect to surface is aching in his bones. He couldn't take ibuprofen since the port is still bleeding and it would thin his blood. I called back to St. Louis to see if there was anything he could take for pain. St. Louis docs called in Vicodin. That seems to help immensely. At least now he can get a little sleep!
Therefore, our short-term plans are: 1). keep re-dressing the bandage until he can get into the surgeon on Friday; 2)start looking for a different Oncologist that specializes in head & neck cancers through Vanderbilt.
I will post updates as they occur. Thanks for checking in.
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