Well, not so fast...

Minutes after I posted yesterday, things changed. First, switched back to original antibiotic, Vancomycin. Next, after waiting for four hours, radiology tried to drain Nick's tummy, but his abdomen was filled with tiny pockets of fluid, rather than one large pocket so they couldn't drain anything - sort of like honeycomb. Then by later in afternoon, he got a slight fever. His potassium levels were low so he got an extra iv to replenish it. He was tired and uncomfortable. They suggested he take an Ambien for bedtime; combine that with pain meds and he finally slept like a baby.

Next morning, we got a visit from the infectious disease doctor. Nick has MSSA, which is better than MRSA, and is very responsive to Vancomycin. Because he had a fever yesterday, they are suspicious the pockets of fluid are protected and not being affected by the antibiotics so they did a procedure on him this afternoon (another four hour wait, which meant no food or drink after midnight last night because of sedation). They place a needle/tube into his abdomen and try to break up the little pockets, mix it up a little, and hopefully get more fluid to drain and allow the antibiotics to work. Turns out the procedure didn't drain much of anything, so he has a temporary drain and bag in for now. As Nick said, he looks like a little "chub chub." Then came in entourage of floor oncs and announced Nick will now get a ct scan done as they are concerned with the pain still in his lungs and a possible abscess. Hey, didn't we just talk about this on Wednesday, which was scheduled and then cancelled?

CT scan scheduled for tomorrow at noon. Not sure if he will be released or not... The Easter Bunny may be hopping on over to Huntsman. Nick has been walking and riding the exercise bike, getting lots of visitors and taking lots of naps. His blood counts continue to improve, he is off oxygen for longer periods of time, but his pulse is still around 120. Looks like this is going to be a slow recovery. Good news is that this isn't interfering with the clinical trial and will sign consent forms on Monday.

One funny story before closing: Lee and I went to see him tonight around 7:00 p.m. along with his friend, Kailey. He had just been given a dose of Dilaudin (sp?) and he was very, very sleepy, but was trying to finish reading a text on his phone. We were talking to him, but as hard as he tried, he could only raise his eyebrows, not his eyelids. We all bust up giggling, but he kept on trying, finally using his fingers to literally pry open his eyes. It was one of the funniest things I had seen in a long time.

Good night, all.
Love,
Lori