It has been 1 month since we first arrived in the hospital and what a whirlwind it has been! Kevin's cancer is really good at doing it's job and working round the clock to bring us down but we aren't going to let that get us down. Kevin is getting LOTS of fluids to keep him hydrated and has finally got some rest. They are giving him Aredia to help his calcium levels but it only brings it down from around 17 to 15 which is still high because his cancer is a calcium making machine. We need to work on treating the myeloma so Dr. Bonis is going to try to get him started on some different forms of chemo. He hadn't complained about pain in days, most likely because of the delirium but with his consciousness coming back so is the pain. We will see some improvements over time but this is going to take a while to get under control. We are set up at TCCH which is our new home away from home and may or may not be going back to UCSF for the plasma exchange throughout his treatments.
For our amusement Kevin's delirium:
~"Well hello Milo" Many times he thought that our cat milo had jumped up on his bed (we won't tell the other cats it would hurt there feelings)
~"Thank you, that's a nice gift" as he grabbed hold of Dale's arm and carefully inspected his "gift"
~I may have already mentioned but he thought he had a baby
~Regularly he would burst into song, sometimes with an accent (it never lasted long enough to tape)
~Before we came back to the hospital he thought we were in Hungary again
~He must have a spider phobia because he was constantly collecting them from the air, in his blankets and even got out of bed (which is not allowed) to check under his bed. My mom found him sitting on our stairs in the middle of the night because there were black widow spiders "everywhere" and he wasn't about to go back in that room.
Luckily he is receiving care at the hospital and his doctor has seen him and will be checking in regularly. Last night we were able to go home earlier than normal and my mom got to sleep all night long for the firsts time in a while. Today she is doing better as well and is so grateful for the many prayers on her behalf because she really needs all the extra help she can get.
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Well, God Bless you all up there. Dale, please know that we are praying as hard for you as for our boy. And, I'm assuming it was Darrell's post: thank you for continuing in the family tradition of "humor is the best medicine." What you've shared above makes me wince and double over in laughter simultaneously. Sheesh! Kevin will be proud of you when he gets to read that entry.
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ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, for the updates. Helps to know where ti focus prayer requests and all. Keep on!
Love to you all, Judy
Hi Nurse Valerie here. It is important to note that Kevin's behavior is directly related to his high calcium levels. Normal is between 8-10 and as the level rise the situation becomes more critical and challenging (especially for the family). Our prayers are with all of you to have the strenght needed to continue to assist Kevin on this most difficult journey. Please let us know if we can be of assistance.
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