Sunday, April 24, 2011

Still here...

The ct scan was done without incident and the floor oncologist finally came 5 hours later (after our nurse paged him) and informed us the new temporary drain didn't appear to be working (we know) and the tumor and acsites were noted. WHAT???? He read the look on our faces, scratched his head and said, "Do you have any questions?" Yes, you idiot, what tumor? After some clarification on my part, he acknowledged there isn't an actual tumor, per se, but the abdomen and liver appear to have active cancer throughout. He scratched his head again, smiled meekly and left.

This morning, one of the doctors on rounds came in to check up on Nick. I told him about the scan results that sent us reeling but didn't have any explanation. He walked towards me and kindly explained that the doc wasn't familiar with Nick's history and probably felt uncomfortable in discussing this case. Then sweet as pie, asked "So, do you have any questions?" Idiot #2. We want Dr Gouw, wah! We patiently waited for the doctors on rounds, #2 idiot in tow. They are stumped about the drain; since it isn't working, they want to take it out tomorrow (no going home this Easter). Conversation went something like this: Dr: There isn't much fluid in his abdomen so we will take out the drain. Me: If there isn't much fluid, why is his tummy distended? Dr: Because he has fluid in his abdomen, although in pockets too small to drain from. We know that! Also, the tissue that makes up the pockets are permanent. So how do we get the fluid out? They don't know - Nick will just have to keep having the paracentisis procedure weekly for now. Me: What does it mean when the ct report says, "scalloping on the liver capsule? The doctor replied by giving me a 5 minute explanation of how the abdomen wall, liver and other internal organs are protected, blah, blah, blah. Me: What I'm asking is if there is cancer in his liver. Dr: No. But the small cells are everywhere in his abdomen. We know that! I'm getting ticked off. No indication if this is bad, good or indifferent, although we all knew it wasn't unexpected, especially being off chemo for a month.

Lee took Carly & Kelsey to church this morning, while his dad, Leigh, Jennie and I kept Nick company. After the doctors left, I went off home to gather up a picnic and Easter basket for Nick and we all came back and had a very nice lunch together. Carly made Easter sugar cookies, Kelsey decorated eggs and we all pitched in to bring the true spirit of Easter back in to room 4506. His room looks quite nice today with balloons, daffodils, cards and an awesome stuffed Buzz Lightyear.

New plan is they are changing antibiotic again and if he remain stable (fever free, etc) he can go home tomorrow. His white cells jumped back up to 25, but they are pretty sure it is because of the prednisone he had yesterday for his scans. Nick is still liking Ambien and is getting his sleep. Other than the stinking cancer attacking, Nick is doing great.

Hopefully, Nick remains stable, drain tube removed (again!) and we go home. He will be on iv antibiotics for 4 weeks. We still plan on meeting with Dr. Gouw tomorrow at 10 to sign consent forms and we can get moving on this clinical trial.


Nick & Elliott

Happy Easter to everyone!

With love,
Lori

1 comment:

Chris Ulvin said...

Hi Nick,
I read this last night and decided a good night's sleep would shed a positive spin on this latest news (the picture of the Easter dog did help). God answered my prayers and you should be home as I type this. Stan and I are home from the Kings last hockey game of the 2010 - 2011 season. We need a new team to cheer for. Go Penguins Go!
Love, aunt Chris