This is our home away from home. We have everything we need plus some (except perhaps a comfy lounge for me!). Shane spends nearly all of his time in bed so there's plenty of room for the rest of us (no more than two at a time of course:). He also has his own min-bar fridge, cupboard and bathroom.
We are on the western side of the ward where we can watch the sun set over the nearby mountains. The room is individually climate controlled, but it doesn't get very cool unfortunately. This is the most comfortable you could get in the public health system.
The nurses in this ward are second to none. They are predominately young and there is a nice balance between males and females. They always have time to have a chat, or to explain something to you. They respond positively to nearly every strange request, and they treat you like a "mate". They all act very casually most of the time, but when the going gets tough, they don't miss a beat. The nurses looking after Shane the night he went into ICU were amazing. They knew exactly what needed to be done, and ensured the after hours Doctor knew too.
I can not fault any of the nursing staff here. They all do their jobs properly even when they're not supported by government policy, or when their pays have been stuffed for ages. They still give 100%.
Its not only the nursing staff who are amazing. The support staff are incredible too. When spending so much time in this place, you learn that kindness is the best currency. The food services people sometimes sneak in an extra chocolate bar, or the TV person will make sure your TV works well, and sometimes accidentally puts on Foxtel. The cleaners are always grateful for a little chat and a laugh. All of these people can really make your day by putting a smile on your face when you are feeling down. These people make the whole experience less heavy.
Today has been boring, but don't get me wrong. I like boring. It is good! Shane has been a little low in energy today, and his throat is hurting more now. He tried to eat some potato gems soaked in gravy, but couldn't swallow them without lots of pain (so guess who had to eat them).
The only treatments for today were some more cyclosporin and the start of methotrexate. Methotrexate is a chemotherapy drug. Shane was on it for his first round of chemo, as well as his maintenance chemo (so on it for a long time overall). The methotrexate is used in this instance to keep both Shane's original immune system and his new immune system from having a war. The dose is not so strong, but strong enough to contribute further to the "mucousitis" that is effecting Shane's throat. Mucousitis is a sloughing away of the soft lining of the gastro-intestinal system - which starts in the mouth, and finishes at the other end.
The immediate plan for Shane's treatment now is to continue with methotrexate on Days 3, 6 and 11. Twenty-four hours after the methotrexate is given, Shane will be given a Folinic acid "rescue" to flush out the methotrexate preventing toxicity.
We will expect that Shane's blood counts will "bottom out" (at least neuts and WBCs) in the next few days. His neuts are sitting on 0.8 at the moment (normal ranges 2.0-8.0). It will take approximately 14 days for his stem cells to engraft in his bone marrow and to start doing their thing. It will be a long wait!
Happy Friday xx
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