Monday, February 6, 2012

Last Week

Treatment
Last Thursday was a long one.
They had him on a steroid regimen at home for a few days to help prevent a reaction to the medication. The doctor had changed Sam's schedule around a bit and on that day he was scheduled to do a test run of the Rituximab and wait until next week (Feb 9th and 10th) to add in the Bendamustine. That morning we got to the hospital at 8am to do bloodwork and meet with the doctor, and then headed to the treatment room. Before he could start the Rituximab he had to have more steroids, antihistamines, and tylenol. So, the first few hours were pretty uneventful, Sam watched TV and played a lot of angry birds. When he fell asleep I went downstairs to meet with the social worker (who wasn't in). When I came back a few minutes later, Sam's face was red and puffy, and he was complaining of a scratchy throat and congestion (which had not previously been there). I called the nurse over to check on him and sure enough his throat was swelling and he was starting to have an allergic reaction. They stopped the medication and gave him some more benadryl. And then we waited. It didn't take very long for the reaction to subside and they started him back again (more slowly) on the meds. After that he did really well and we were able to finish and leave around 6:30pm. Next weeks infusion of Rituximab should be a little quicker as they don't expect a reaction but then he has to have the chemotherapy drug immediately after. We'll continue to keep you posted.


We are so lucky to have family close by to help us during these upcoming months and so many of you have called and sent messages of well wishes. We are so appreciative of you all.



The Kids
Cameryn got her first report card last week! She is doing extremely well and her teacher reports that she is reading and writing above the Kindergarten standard. She has been running a mile once a week in her running club and is having so much fun with her ballet lessons.







Carson just started T-Ball and absolutely loves it. He looks so cute out there running around!









The Baby
No news here. Still on bedrest. I have my next ultrasound on Feb 13th to check her growth and should know more then.


Love to you all.
Alex

4 comments:

  1. thanks again for keeping us posted what a great way to tell all who cares and who you care about, I will continue to pray for your family! May this too pass soon..........love,Gma <3

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    1. Thanks Lisa! We hope to see you soon! XOXO

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  2. Cameryn and Carson look great - you're doing a wonderful job, Alex! Good thing you arrived back at Sam's bedside and recognized his allergic reaction - they can be very scary! great that you can be with Sam during his treatments. Stay strong. Love,Aunt Marianne

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    1. I hope to be able to stay with him for the rest of his treatments... we'll have to see what the doctor says on Monday though, as it isn't really complying with my bedrest orders. Hoping for the best and will update again then!
      XOXO
      Alex

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