1/31/08

Yesterday, I mentioned that BJ did not get the Hickman Catheter put in. That turned out to be a good thing. This is a device that has to be surgically placed into his chest. It allows the doctors to give him fluids and medicines, much like an IV, but they can also draw blood from it. That can cut down on a lot of the "poking" that comes from drawing blood the conventional way. I said that was a good thing because even if they installed the device yesterday, they were not going to start the chemo until today. So, BJ was able to get a good, comfortable night's sleep instead of having that device there without serving it's function. He had the catheter put in this morning. Before they started his chemo, he was given some medicine to reduce the nausea and sickness that can occur. Then, they started his chemo. He has one chemo medicine that is on a 24 hour a day drip through his catheter. He will be taking that for 7 days. There is also another one, I'll call it the "Red One" because it is red, that they will give him three times in that 7 day period. When I visited, he was trying to get used to having the catheter, which is obviously uncomfortable. The nurse mentioned that it was very common to be sore for 5-7 days. But, he had not had any ill affects from the chemo. BJ was in great spirits considering he went through, what I'm sure had to be a pretty traumatic day. He mentioned that this was the start to getting better, so I think he was glad to get the ball rolling. Hopefully, he will be able to get a decent night's sleep tonight.

1/30/08

Unfortunately, there is not much to report today. BJ was expecting to have the Hickman Catheter put in place today, which is the next step before starting the chemo. It was not done today, so he is waiting to have that done before they can move forward. I will post another message as soon as I can.

Unf

1/29/08

Just wanted to give everyone a brief update. I plan on adding some backgroung information to the homepage that will explain the events that led up to today shortly. The results of BJ's bone marrow test performed last Tuesday required the doctors to take a different approach than the original plan. BJ was admitted to UAB today. Because some of his cells have become acute, they are going to have to initiate chemotherapy before moving forward with the transplant. When I talked to BJ, he said he was ready to go forward because this was a step towards doing something, rather than sitting and waiting. The first round of chemotherapy takes 7 days to administer, so he was prepared to spend about a week in the hospital. However, after meeting with doctors today, he found out that because his immune system will be so weak after chemo he will have to stay at the hospital approximately 4 weeks. Wednesday he is scheduled to have a Hickman Catheter put in his chest. Once that is in place, they will start chemo either Wednesday or Thursday. I will update tomorrow. We should know a lot more then.