Despite how badly he feels, the night nurse told us that he is the most stable IL-2 patient she has ever had! So, that was encouraging! Tim said he sure hoped that all of this was worth it. Even if it doesn't, how can you not at least try? I didn't say that to him.
At least his urine output has increased and the diarrhea has decreased/disappeared for now. Since he is struggling to breathe and is on the oxygen, he is drinking more because his mouth is so dry. He is back to breathing with his mouth open again.
He needs to eat more, I agree. But with his appetite being so diminished and his taste buds so messed up, I can understand how he doesn't want to eat. He has gained 20 lbs and finally yesterday I could see his feet were swollen. I really can't see it a lot anywhere else, but you know it is there.
So, all in all, the nurses comment of him being the most stable of all her IL-2 patients, I am glad that he has not been told the doses need to stop. His BP right now is 104/50 at 5:14 a.m.
5:40 a.m. - He has a chance to receive 3 more doses. However, the nurse said they are not going to administer the 8 a.m. dose because of the problems he is having breathing. They are starting 40mg lasix to get some of the water off so he can breathe better. The doctor feels confident he will get the afternoon dose, or at least one more dose! So, I still figure it will be Monday before he gets to go home.
6:40 a.m. - The lasix is working. Running a bit of a fever, so the nurse is going to give him some Tylenol. His magnesium is still a little low, so he will get some more of that, too.
Already his breathing is much better!
1:40 p.m. - All liquids they were "feeding" Tim have been removed for now to concentrate on getting more fluids off of him. The Dr. said he would give him some more lasix but the nurse has not received the order yet. He did eat a few bites for lunch and is resting right now. They have given him some antibiotics and something else that I don't remember which they injected right directly into the port. He also had a chest x-ray today. They weighed him a little while ago and he has lost about 3 lbs of fluid weight today. Praying he will be able to take the 4 p.m. dose and then the midnight one! That will be the last of the doses for this round. Then they will begin to work on getting the rest of the fluids off to within 5 lbs of his original weight when he entered the hospital. When he is released, he will be home for a week before being admitted to the hospital for another week just like this one. Then home for a month and PET scan and MRI to check the tumors to see if they have shrunk.
3:45 p.m. - WOOHOO!!! We are on for dose #10 at 4 p.m.! Dr. Stewart said, I'd sure like to see you get 12 doses, even if it takes us into Saturday! Not sure if he was serious about that or not! We shall see! Let's all pray to that end!
6:00 p.m. - He is wrapped up like a cocoon in his heated blankets so those nasty chills have no chance of making an appearance! He will stay wrapped like this for 45 min to an hour. We've already warned the nurse on duty that I will smack her hands if she touches the blankets!
Tim ate some dinner tonight. 1 slice of skinny sandwich bread with Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad and 2 saltine crackers loaded with chili. He ordered some gatorade and coffee from room service (cafeteria). We are just kinda hanging out and waiting to see if he will be getting the midnight dose. I took my pms at 7:10 as I have a tired headache. So, when I close this post, I believe I will drag my chair bed out into a bed and lay down while it is relatively quiet! We are coming to the end of the first week. Please pray that God is already working a miracle on Tim's body and healing him.
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