Once again, from the bedside of Kassie:
We are currently waiting for the doctors to come in and do her 14 day bone marrow biopsy. They were going to do it yesterday, but decided to push it back to today because of the holidays. The doctors have gone back and forth about doing the biopsy at the bedside or sedating her and doing the biopsy. The plan is now to have the procedure at the bedside.
Kassie states that she is feeling better. Her stomach is much better, she's able to hold a very small amt of food down. Things like ginger ale and orange juice. But nothing solid yet. The ensure that worked a few days ago, now doesn't.
She is still getting fevers at night which break in the morning. But this means that she's been getting blood cultures about every other night. The fever has to be pretty high before they do the cultures. Unfortunately, blood cultures need to be drawn off her PICC line as well as getting a blood draw stick. So poor Kassie has a nice healthy bruise on her arm. The lady already bruised easily, but with chemo, she bruises much more easily. Hopefully the bruise will go away in a week or so,
Kassie also has a pretty annoying cough. They don't know what it's from, but it's pretty normal for her disease/treatment course. There really hasn't been any change in the cough, and it could be from the dry air in the hospital.
She says her Christmas wasn't anything special. She was sick and it just felt like any other day. The whole thing doesn't matter right now. She feels that next year for Christmas will be a real reason to celebrate with no one in the hospital and we will have a huge party! But it seems like she's written off this Christmas right now.
Kassie states that she can't wait for Sherman to get better and come and visit her! It's been a long 2 weeks without seeing her honey. :-) But, she also is very aware, that he can't come to see her while he is sick.
I think that is it for now! Please keep Kassie in your prayers today and the next few days as we wait for the bone marrow biopsy results!
Love,
Kassie and Paige
UPDATE!!! Kassie's Bone Marrow Biopsy went fantastically! They did it at the bedside and she was SUCH A TROOPER. Maybe she shed 3 tears, if that. I am constantly impressed with her strength through all of this! We just need to wait a few more days for the results!
-Paige
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Twas the night before the night before the night before Christmas!
So Kassie is doing better today/last night! Yeah!
Her stomach is feeling better, especially with the diarrhea! Although, she is feeling very nauseous. This is to be expected as a side effect of the chemo. Since she is having trouble keeping food down, Kassie is starting to get Ensure with her meals as a supplement. She told me that she had one yesterday and it was ok.
Her spirits are much better this morning. In regards to some of the poor care she received, some of the management staff came and spoke with her and documented her complaints. She said her care yesterday was really awesome and everyone was kind to her. She also said that the charge nurse came and talked to her. While they were talking, Kassie kinda broke down. I asked her if this was the first time she's cried since the diagnosis and she said yes. I am so impressed with her strength thru all of this ordeal! She's had such a positive attitude and sunny disposition. I reaffirmed her that it's all good to cry it out if she needs to. People say that the stages you go thru with a major medical diagnosis is similar to the grieving process. Sometimes you are ok, and sometime you can't deal, or are in denial, and it's ok and normal to jump back and forth thru all these different emotions.
They gave Kassie an Ambien ( I think) to help with sleep, and that totally knocked her out the other night. I'm not sure if they are going to try a different sleep aid at this time, but I'm thinking Ambien is off the table for her now.
I think that's about it for now. If I hear anything else today I'll update this post.
Love,
Paige
Her stomach is feeling better, especially with the diarrhea! Although, she is feeling very nauseous. This is to be expected as a side effect of the chemo. Since she is having trouble keeping food down, Kassie is starting to get Ensure with her meals as a supplement. She told me that she had one yesterday and it was ok.
Her spirits are much better this morning. In regards to some of the poor care she received, some of the management staff came and spoke with her and documented her complaints. She said her care yesterday was really awesome and everyone was kind to her. She also said that the charge nurse came and talked to her. While they were talking, Kassie kinda broke down. I asked her if this was the first time she's cried since the diagnosis and she said yes. I am so impressed with her strength thru all of this ordeal! She's had such a positive attitude and sunny disposition. I reaffirmed her that it's all good to cry it out if she needs to. People say that the stages you go thru with a major medical diagnosis is similar to the grieving process. Sometimes you are ok, and sometime you can't deal, or are in denial, and it's ok and normal to jump back and forth thru all these different emotions.
They gave Kassie an Ambien ( I think) to help with sleep, and that totally knocked her out the other night. I'm not sure if they are going to try a different sleep aid at this time, but I'm thinking Ambien is off the table for her now.
I think that's about it for now. If I hear anything else today I'll update this post.
Love,
Paige
Thursday, December 22, 2011
12-22 update
I spoke with Kassie this morning and she is having a bit of a down morning. Last night she had some diarrhea (at least 3 times), general stomach upset, and was just not feeling well. She was given some tums and other otc meds to help with the discomfort.
At this time she is on 2 IV antibiotics and 1 antibiotic by mouth. They are working on ruling out C. Diff before they give her any medication for the diarrhea. C.Diff is a hospital acquired infection that can occur when a patient is on many antibiotics. Essentially, everyone had good bacteria in their intestinal tract. We take antibiotics to get rid of the bad bacteria in our body, but those antibiotics can also kill the good bacteria. When those good intestinal bacteria get killed off, the patient can get a very serious case of diarrhea. This is not your run of the mill runs. It can cause serious problems if not treated within an appropriate time frame. THAT BEING SAID. She's all good. They will be taking some stool samples and checking her out for C.Diff. It's easy to treat with IV or by mouth medications. Once C.Diff is ruled out, they can give her some Imodium or other medication to help with the diarrhea.
She currently has a little cough and they will be getting a chest x-ray to check it out. Normally they can come and do the chest x-ray in the room, so that limits her exposure to the hospital and possible infections. Nice.
A new development is that she has a rash on her hand(s) and around her hairline that is looking a little worse today than yesterday. This could be due to the chemo, or it could be some infection. Today Dermatology will be coming by to check it out. Kassie seems to thing that it's from the hand soap or the hand sanitizer.
Kassie also seems really down. She was upset with some of her care overnight (which I'm sure it didn't help that she was feeling unwell). I encouraged her to speak with the charge nurse if she needed to. But she made a comment about wanting to skip Christmas this year. I sympathized that it stinks to be in the hospital, especially during the holidays, but to not cut the holidays out just because she wasn't feeling well. Just to take each day in stride. We all love her and want the best for her!
So, I think that she just needs some extra love today. If you get the chance to give her a quick call or send her a card, she'd love it.
And my psa every day, if you are feeling any kinds of sick- Please do not visit her. Even if you promise to wear a mask. It's just not worth it at this point in her care. If you do visit, please wash your hands. I would recommend to wash you hands with soap and water at this point in time due to the diarrhea. If it is C.Diff, hand washing is the required hand hygiene, the Purell. I'll step off of my soap box now. :-)
Ok. Thanks for reading!
Love,
Paige and Kassie
At this time she is on 2 IV antibiotics and 1 antibiotic by mouth. They are working on ruling out C. Diff before they give her any medication for the diarrhea. C.Diff is a hospital acquired infection that can occur when a patient is on many antibiotics. Essentially, everyone had good bacteria in their intestinal tract. We take antibiotics to get rid of the bad bacteria in our body, but those antibiotics can also kill the good bacteria. When those good intestinal bacteria get killed off, the patient can get a very serious case of diarrhea. This is not your run of the mill runs. It can cause serious problems if not treated within an appropriate time frame. THAT BEING SAID. She's all good. They will be taking some stool samples and checking her out for C.Diff. It's easy to treat with IV or by mouth medications. Once C.Diff is ruled out, they can give her some Imodium or other medication to help with the diarrhea.
She currently has a little cough and they will be getting a chest x-ray to check it out. Normally they can come and do the chest x-ray in the room, so that limits her exposure to the hospital and possible infections. Nice.
A new development is that she has a rash on her hand(s) and around her hairline that is looking a little worse today than yesterday. This could be due to the chemo, or it could be some infection. Today Dermatology will be coming by to check it out. Kassie seems to thing that it's from the hand soap or the hand sanitizer.
Kassie also seems really down. She was upset with some of her care overnight (which I'm sure it didn't help that she was feeling unwell). I encouraged her to speak with the charge nurse if she needed to. But she made a comment about wanting to skip Christmas this year. I sympathized that it stinks to be in the hospital, especially during the holidays, but to not cut the holidays out just because she wasn't feeling well. Just to take each day in stride. We all love her and want the best for her!
So, I think that she just needs some extra love today. If you get the chance to give her a quick call or send her a card, she'd love it.
And my psa every day, if you are feeling any kinds of sick- Please do not visit her. Even if you promise to wear a mask. It's just not worth it at this point in her care. If you do visit, please wash your hands. I would recommend to wash you hands with soap and water at this point in time due to the diarrhea. If it is C.Diff, hand washing is the required hand hygiene, the Purell. I'll step off of my soap box now. :-)
Ok. Thanks for reading!
Love,
Paige and Kassie
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
12-21 update
Hello everyone. This is Paige. Just some updates with Kassie for today!
Kassie is currently done with chemo!! She is currently on day 9 of the 14 day treatment. On day 14 she will have another bone marrow biopsy to determine if the chemo worked.
I spoke with one of her nurse practitioners this morning and she gave me some updates.
As per the course of this chemo, Kassie's body has essentially no natural defense at this time. Her white blood cell count this morning is 0.3 and she has no neutrophils. Many patients have fevers at this point in time. And Kassie has had fevers for the past 2 nights (but not in the days). Since she has no white count, it's difficult to even see the infection that is causing the fevers. Any little bug can cause a fever. Last night's fever was 38.4 C/101.4 F. With a fever this high, the doctor will order a urine culture, blood culture and a chest x-ray. The cultures take a few days to come back and one of the blood cultures came back positive for an infection. This is somewhat normal.
Kassie was also telling the nurses and doctors that she was having some abdominal pain and diarrhea. They did a CT scan of her abdomen and found that there was inflammation of her colon. The NP told me this was also normal. So with the fevers and the colon inflammation, she is currently on 3 IV antibiotics to help her body fight infection. Since she is on so many antibiotics, they will need to be diligent in noticing if she has continuing diarrhea from the antibiotics.
So in a little bit of a wrap up: Fever is normal at this point. So is the colon inflammation. IV antibiotics are being given to help her. She is on day 9 of a 14 day treatment plan. On day 14 she'll have another bone marrow biopsy. If there is no more cancer, she'll be in the hospital until her body build back up her immune system (about 25 days. Her neutrophils need to be 0.5 before she can go home. )
If this course didn't work, she'll have another course of different chemo. But hopefully that wont have to be.
Once she goes home she'll start maintenance chemo treatment. This will include 6 days stays in the hospital over the course of 4 months. During those 6 days she'll be given IV chemo and then should be able to go home within the week.
Ok, that's about it for now! Let me know if there are questions or if any of this is too confusing!
Paige
Kassie is currently done with chemo!! She is currently on day 9 of the 14 day treatment. On day 14 she will have another bone marrow biopsy to determine if the chemo worked.
I spoke with one of her nurse practitioners this morning and she gave me some updates.
As per the course of this chemo, Kassie's body has essentially no natural defense at this time. Her white blood cell count this morning is 0.3 and she has no neutrophils. Many patients have fevers at this point in time. And Kassie has had fevers for the past 2 nights (but not in the days). Since she has no white count, it's difficult to even see the infection that is causing the fevers. Any little bug can cause a fever. Last night's fever was 38.4 C/101.4 F. With a fever this high, the doctor will order a urine culture, blood culture and a chest x-ray. The cultures take a few days to come back and one of the blood cultures came back positive for an infection. This is somewhat normal.
Kassie was also telling the nurses and doctors that she was having some abdominal pain and diarrhea. They did a CT scan of her abdomen and found that there was inflammation of her colon. The NP told me this was also normal. So with the fevers and the colon inflammation, she is currently on 3 IV antibiotics to help her body fight infection. Since she is on so many antibiotics, they will need to be diligent in noticing if she has continuing diarrhea from the antibiotics.
So in a little bit of a wrap up: Fever is normal at this point. So is the colon inflammation. IV antibiotics are being given to help her. She is on day 9 of a 14 day treatment plan. On day 14 she'll have another bone marrow biopsy. If there is no more cancer, she'll be in the hospital until her body build back up her immune system (about 25 days. Her neutrophils need to be 0.5 before she can go home. )
If this course didn't work, she'll have another course of different chemo. But hopefully that wont have to be.
Once she goes home she'll start maintenance chemo treatment. This will include 6 days stays in the hospital over the course of 4 months. During those 6 days she'll be given IV chemo and then should be able to go home within the week.
Ok, that's about it for now! Let me know if there are questions or if any of this is too confusing!
Paige
Monday, December 19, 2011
12-19 update
From the weekend visit that Scott had with Kassie:
KASSIE WAS GOOD BUT LOOKED very BLOATED…PROBABLY THE FLUIDS THEY ARE GIVING HER CONSTANTLY. (Dehydration is a side effect of Chemo. And from what I was researching, chemo dehydration is bad news. I noticed that she was getting IV fluids, around 150ml an hour. At the same time they are giving her lasix, which is a diuretic, so that she voids the fluid out. Sometime, when a patient is getting IV fluids, the fluid goes into the patients tissues. The lasix helps to bring the fluid out of the tissues and back into the bloodstream to be eventually voided out.)
SHE WAS IN GOOD SPIRITS.
HAD 2 MORE DAYS OF Chemo, then 3 “push” days. Then I guess they will check everything again and see if they are going to do this series again. (From my conversation with the resident last Monday, they will do another bone marrow biopsy to determine if she'll need another round of chemo or something else.)
Good thing is she has no signs of the sickness that can accompany Chemo treatments. (One of the nurses stated that her young age is probably helping her in not having the traditional side effects.)
She did say that everything seems to have a metallic taste…common with chemo, I guess. Hope she doesn’t get the mouth sores,difficult to eat or drink anything. She said they are making her do a salt rinse which could help with this symptom.
Was glad that Joyce was there as she understood more of it then I did.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Direct from the Bedside
Hello! This is Kassie aka Kathy (for all you non family). I'm typing this with the help of my niece, Paige.
So, today is my 5th day of continuous IV Chemo. I've felt really good other than today. Today I feel crappy. Paige said that I look a little wiped out. I really don't want to throw up, and I haven't yet felt nauseous.
I don't want anyone to worry about me. I am doing fine. Really. I know that a lot of you have had experience with loved ones passing away from cancer. At this point my outcome looks good. We'll know better about how my body is responding to the treatment in a couple of weeks. But they can't make any prognosis at this point so early on in treatment.
I have excellent nurses! I haven't had a bad one yet. Lets hope it stays that way. I have had some difficulty understanding my doctors. Not just them using doctor-speak, but also some of their accents. But they are they are taking great care of me.
Christine Worst is someone who works here and that I met in the first few days. Maybe a social worker? She pushed for me to be able to have a computer on loan from the hospital library in my room! It's awesome. But, I left all of my password at home. Hopefully I'll get those soon.
The chemo is doing it's job. My white blood cell count is very, very low. I am currently on neutropenic precautions. (If you want more infor on that, I think there is a hyperlink on a previous post.) This means, if I leave the room, I have to wear a mask. NO ONE WHO IS SICK MAY VISIT ME. Regardless of if they wear a mask or not. I am highly susceptible to any illness at this time. If I get sick while my blood count is so low, my body has no defence against the illness. NONE. I feel that it's almost like having my spleen out again. This is very serious. If I get sick it will hurt my recovery.
Now, on to happier things. Here is my contact info:
My room phone number is 412-623-5556. This is the best way to call me. Please be aware that the phones turn off at 10pm for incoming calls. I may not be able to talk long because I'm not feeling well. Please don't be offended.
Next is my address:
UPMC Shadyside Hospital
J. Kathleen Shoemaker
Room 717, Floor 7 Main
5230 Centre Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pa 15232
I think that's about it for now. I have access to this blog all the time, so please leave comments! And be patient. I'm still trying to figure out how to use this darm computer!
Love,
Kassie
So, today is my 5th day of continuous IV Chemo. I've felt really good other than today. Today I feel crappy. Paige said that I look a little wiped out. I really don't want to throw up, and I haven't yet felt nauseous.
I don't want anyone to worry about me. I am doing fine. Really. I know that a lot of you have had experience with loved ones passing away from cancer. At this point my outcome looks good. We'll know better about how my body is responding to the treatment in a couple of weeks. But they can't make any prognosis at this point so early on in treatment.
I have excellent nurses! I haven't had a bad one yet. Lets hope it stays that way. I have had some difficulty understanding my doctors. Not just them using doctor-speak, but also some of their accents. But they are they are taking great care of me.
Christine Worst is someone who works here and that I met in the first few days. Maybe a social worker? She pushed for me to be able to have a computer on loan from the hospital library in my room! It's awesome. But, I left all of my password at home. Hopefully I'll get those soon.
The chemo is doing it's job. My white blood cell count is very, very low. I am currently on neutropenic precautions. (If you want more infor on that, I think there is a hyperlink on a previous post.) This means, if I leave the room, I have to wear a mask. NO ONE WHO IS SICK MAY VISIT ME. Regardless of if they wear a mask or not. I am highly susceptible to any illness at this time. If I get sick while my blood count is so low, my body has no defence against the illness. NONE. I feel that it's almost like having my spleen out again. This is very serious. If I get sick it will hurt my recovery.
Now, on to happier things. Here is my contact info:
My room phone number is 412-623-5556. This is the best way to call me. Please be aware that the phones turn off at 10pm for incoming calls. I may not be able to talk long because I'm not feeling well. Please don't be offended.
Next is my address:
UPMC Shadyside Hospital
J. Kathleen Shoemaker
Room 717, Floor 7 Main
5230 Centre Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pa 15232
I think that's about it for now. I have access to this blog all the time, so please leave comments! And be patient. I'm still trying to figure out how to use this darm computer!
Love,
Kassie
Monday, December 12, 2011
FYI
Kassie will have a laptop by the weekend, so she'll be able to be in better contact with this page and other social networking.
If you do go to visit her, make sure you check in with the nurse or front desk. She will most likely be on neutropenic precautions, which means her body will have no defense against infection. She will not be allowed fresh flowers, uncooked veggies or fruits because they are grown in dirt, and contain bacteria which could make her sick.
Especially during the winter, please wash your hands/use the Purell hand sanitizers. And wash them often. Especially if you are at the hospital with her.
The hospital rule of thumb, is if your hands don't look dirty, use the Purell. If they are visibly soiled, wash them.
If you do go to visit her, make sure you check in with the nurse or front desk. She will most likely be on neutropenic precautions, which means her body will have no defense against infection. She will not be allowed fresh flowers, uncooked veggies or fruits because they are grown in dirt, and contain bacteria which could make her sick.
Especially during the winter, please wash your hands/use the Purell hand sanitizers. And wash them often. Especially if you are at the hospital with her.
The hospital rule of thumb, is if your hands don't look dirty, use the Purell. If they are visibly soiled, wash them.
The Past Few Weeks up to 12/12/11
As we all know, Kassie had blood clots over the summer. She was hospitalized and put on Coumadin to help thin her blood and prevent further clots. I'm unsure as to the diagnosis why she initially got the blood clots.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, her leg swelled up. Being the biggest hunting day of the year, she had the Monday after Thanksgiving off, and was able to go to the doctors.
This past Friday, December 9th, Kassie had 3 doctors appts. She first went to the eye doctor and found that she had slight bleeding in her eyes from being on Coumadin. She was told not to worry about this, since it is a side effect of the drug. She went and had a Mammogram. And finally went to the Oncology center. Perhaps from the previous Monday, she may have had blood drawn and was instructed to go to an Oncologist due to the findings.
From the oncologist, she was told to go directly to the hospital. She instead went home to shave her legs and shower. With 90 minutes she was at Meadeville Medical Center. She was then taken by ambulance to Shadyside Hospital and was admitted to the 7th floor Posner wing, room 717.
Today, Monday December 12th, Kassie had a PICC line placed. This a long term IV that is often placed in a patients upper arm. The tip of the catheter ends directly at the opening of the patients heart. This particular IV is good because it will possibly be used to administer chemo without damaging her veins and tissue. Nurses can also draw blood from this line instead of sticking her for blood daily. Kassie also had a IVC filter placed. This filter is to protect her lungs, heart and brain from the 3 clots that are currently in her legs. It acts as a security net to catch the clot if it would break off. Finally, she had a Bone Marrow Biopsy at the bedside. She was very grateful for Suzie being there to hold her hand.
I spoke with a Dr. Ross, who is a resident for the team, and she stated that the biopsy results should be in by the weekend. At this time, they think she had Acute Myeloid Lukemia or AML. Tuesday December 13th, they are most likely going to start chemo therapy. They refer to it as "7+3" due to it being 7 days of IV infusion, followed by 3 days of an IV push medication.
Kassie will have another bone marrow biopsy 14 days after the chemo to assess the progress.
That is about all I have until now. I'll let you guys know as things come up. Please let me know if you want administrator access. And make comments on the page!
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, her leg swelled up. Being the biggest hunting day of the year, she had the Monday after Thanksgiving off, and was able to go to the doctors.
This past Friday, December 9th, Kassie had 3 doctors appts. She first went to the eye doctor and found that she had slight bleeding in her eyes from being on Coumadin. She was told not to worry about this, since it is a side effect of the drug. She went and had a Mammogram. And finally went to the Oncology center. Perhaps from the previous Monday, she may have had blood drawn and was instructed to go to an Oncologist due to the findings.
From the oncologist, she was told to go directly to the hospital. She instead went home to shave her legs and shower. With 90 minutes she was at Meadeville Medical Center. She was then taken by ambulance to Shadyside Hospital and was admitted to the 7th floor Posner wing, room 717.
Today, Monday December 12th, Kassie had a PICC line placed. This a long term IV that is often placed in a patients upper arm. The tip of the catheter ends directly at the opening of the patients heart. This particular IV is good because it will possibly be used to administer chemo without damaging her veins and tissue. Nurses can also draw blood from this line instead of sticking her for blood daily. Kassie also had a IVC filter placed. This filter is to protect her lungs, heart and brain from the 3 clots that are currently in her legs. It acts as a security net to catch the clot if it would break off. Finally, she had a Bone Marrow Biopsy at the bedside. She was very grateful for Suzie being there to hold her hand.
I spoke with a Dr. Ross, who is a resident for the team, and she stated that the biopsy results should be in by the weekend. At this time, they think she had Acute Myeloid Lukemia or AML. Tuesday December 13th, they are most likely going to start chemo therapy. They refer to it as "7+3" due to it being 7 days of IV infusion, followed by 3 days of an IV push medication.
Kassie will have another bone marrow biopsy 14 days after the chemo to assess the progress.
That is about all I have until now. I'll let you guys know as things come up. Please let me know if you want administrator access. And make comments on the page!
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