It's a Good Day to Have a Good Day

This morning I woke up feeling hopeful. I feel more relaxed and much less nervous. It's all going to be handled.

They started the Rituximab last night around 8:30. This isn't actually considered on of the "chemo drugs." They described it as a medication that helps prep the cells for the Chemo. It kills the B cells. Goodbye B cells. A lot of people have allergic reactions to it at first because it is made of both human and animal proteins. They started the drip very slow and then increased it through the night. Every 15 minutes the nurse came in to check Mike's vitals. After the first hour it was increased, and that was when Mike developed an itchy throat, a runny nose, and he said it felt like he had a lump in his throat. They stopped it for a little bit, gave him some allergy meds, and then when it resumed, he had no more problems.

I went back to the hotel around 10:00. I was so tired, but hated to leave him. I felt guilty that I was going to go sleep and he was going to be checked on every half hour, so no sleep for him.

The nurses told us that nearly all the hotels were full because Mayo issued a snow emergency, which required the out of town employees to stay at nearby hotels. Rochester ended up with about a foot of snow yesterday. I didn't think it seemed like there was that much snow though. They did a great job clearing the streets from here to my hotel. The kids would love to be playing in this. It was good snowball/snowman making snow!

I got back to the hospital a little before 7 this morning. Mike said he had a pretty good night, but he is definitely going to want a nap today. I hope he can get one, but they just gave him Prednisone, so that might make him feel a little wired. I ordered breakfast for him- he was hungry this morning-- a great sign!

Around 8:00 he finished the Rituximab drip so once he got unhooked from that line, he took a shower and said he's ready to go home. :) Nice try, Michael.

One of our doctors came in to go over the plan for the day. We will start the Chemo Concoction around 10:00. Our schedule estimates that the last dose will be administered on Sunday, Feb 7th. We can be discharged, then, but we will have to come back the next day for his Neulasta injection. That will help to increase his blood counts in his bone marrow. Mike got excited when the doctor told him we would be discharged because he thought that meant we could go home. We have to stay in Rochester through next week though to continue monitoring his blood work. His neutrophils (white blood cells) will have to be above 500 to be considered "In the clear". Since we won't have our care established at KU Med yet, we don't want to go home and be "in between" caregivers if he were to have problems. That's fine with us because we feel good up here. Everyone is so incredibly nice and helpful. Mike has joked that he doesn't know if he broke his toe that he wouldn't come back up to Mayo to have them fix it. Haha. He makes me laugh. I

By the way, brownie points to those who send us stuff that makes us laugh. It really is the best medicine. And it doesn't require an iv, picc line, or port- bonus!

So, I guess we sit and wait to start the Chemo- I think I'm going to talk him into going on a short walk before he gets hooked back up.

We're ready to get this show on the road- not in a nervous way any longer, but in a fighter's kind of way. Let's tackle this. Let's get home. We miss our babies!

Thanks for all of the shares yesterday! What an overwhelming and surprising response! Knowing that our kids are in good hands, our dog is in good hands, and we are in everyone's thoughts and hearts means so much! Thank you!

XOXO

Robin