WHAT a Day!

For the record:  I do try to be brief.  What I blog is about 25% of what happens in a "typical day."  There are many story lines, personalities, and....most of all, change in plans minute by minute.  Sometimes things make sense after I write, because I don't have all the facts and tidbits.  I love the tidbits.  And if you don't like change, don't get cancer.

Today I was more an advocate than caregiver, to the point of being juuuuut a bit outside the line I shouldn't cross.  And then I said, "what the &*+$."  Steve is a complex medical case, and I am like his mom, medic, and mynah bird.  He went from Prentice to Feinburg and back again.


Nurses confer, doctors do their own thing, hopefully attendings are overseeing.  For example, talk is made of platelets.  WASHED platelets, says the wife.  We must order platelets for him in IR recovery.  Respectfully, Prentice put in the order earlier.  He takes .25 Tylenol.  Excuse me, that's .25 Benedryl.  We are going to embolize another 25% of his spleen.  Dr. Mehta and Dr. Altman want 100%  You need to confer with them.  The hospital and staff cannot make everything run like a top without patients being involved, asking questions, and most of all, being compliant.  Get educated, ask for opinions, and let them know your needs. 

Steve went for a tri-phasic CT scan.  Here's that definition from Answers.com:  

A tri-phasic CT scan is a scan which will show three different stages of dye uptake in the body. The first phase will be before the injection of the dye, the second stage will be for when the dye is in the arteries (roughly 20 seconds after injection) and the third phase will be when the dye has reached the veins (a few minutes later). Sometimes a fourth scan is also done to show the dye uptake in the kidneys and bladder. A tri-phasic scan clearly delineates lesions in the liver and will show problems and irregularities in the arterial and lymphatic system. 

The CT was used to determine how much of the spleen was embolized LAST week, so the Radiologists could determine their plans for today.  Luckily for all of us, a procedure room opened up in IR sooner than expected, and Steve was transported by Paul, a former painter for 20 years (haha), via the patient tunnel, to Feinberg.  His brother Rich met me at Feinberg, and stayed with me during the long wait.   Steve came through the procedure much as he did last week.  I did not receive a wrap-up from the doc like I did last week, although Steve said "they embolized a LOT more and used a LOT more stuff."  CT results showed 25-30% embolization results when they were shooting for 40-50% last Tuesday.

As the spleen dies, or infarcts, there is supposed to be acute pain.  Last week he had none, this time we hope it will be the same or very little.  The PCA is running tonight with Dilaudid, continuous drip, plus a 15 minute hit if he needs it.  Hoping for some great labs tomorrow with nothing but upward movement and engraftment in a week of his reinfusion.

While we were in IR, Steve missed a visitor.  This made my day.  Goodnight all.