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!
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