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Difficult day all around – Monday, January 4, 2016

On January 5, 2016 by Michelle Love

Monday, January 4, 2016…46 days in the hospital.

Today was another tough day. BJ was nauseated from early this morning until this evening. He’s also spiking fevers again. This afternoon it was 102.6. His breathing also became more labored and shallow. His breath sounds in his right lung became more diminished throughout the day. His doctors ordered a CT scan with contrast from his head to his pelvis. Throughout being nauseated and dry-heaving, he had to drink the contrast for the abdominal portion of the scan. He’s such a trooper. The nurse mixed the contrast in ginger ale. He and I made a deal that he would drink as much as he could and when the timer went off 10 minutes later, he’d do it again. It was tough, but he did it for the next hour. It was also during this time that he spiked the high temp. His liver levels are normal now so he can have Tylenol again. (Doctors didn’t expect that with his gallbladder in the shape it is, his liver levels would have came down to normal ranges!) BJ also received IV contrast for the rest of the CT scan, and was feeling a little better by the time they were finished, because his fever finally broke. His nausea was better by the time he was back in his room. He is obviously exhausted.

Today’s labs showed his white blood cell count up to 0.3. When it gets past 0.4, they will begin to add the differential, and we’ll know if there are any leukemia cells showing up in his peripheral blood. When his white count rises to around 0.5, he will have a bone marrow aspiration to see how much leukemia is still in his bone marrow. BJ’s platelet count today was 7k, so he received a platelet transfusion today.

It was a difficult day on another front as well. Today was the scheduled end of treatment date for BJ’s initial diagnosis. We had been looking forward to today for a very long time. 1208 days to be exact. (The picture is of the front and back of a ceramic bank that he painted after his initial diagnosis.)

His temp is going back up now, and he was just given another dose of Tylenol….Praying for a good night’s sleep.

“You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and the manner in which you live.” – Stuart Scott