Day Zero Plus Thirty-five – A Full Day’s Adventure

Jeff did really well at the Perelman Center today.  Silly us; we thought we would have hours to kill between his 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. appointments.  Not at all!  Jeff was kept pretty busy.  

A physical therapist evaluated him at Dr. Porter’s office and gave him many exercises and suggestions for minimizing the pain in his shoulders, arms and hands.  (I hope he cooperates and follows her instructions.)  She ordered outpatient PT in Yardley.  Then Jackie, the transplant coordinator/nurse practitioner, checked him and his latest labs.  He is doing pretty well, with some of his counts in the normal range.  Because his treatment can harm organs, some of the many things they monitor have to do with organ function.  Jackie ordered IV fluids because his counts indicated the kidneys needed help.  He was sent to the chemotherapy side of the office for a bag of fluids plus a bag of Zofran to combat the nausea he has been having.  He will continue to get Zofran with his IV fluids.  Jackie said she was doing Jeff a favor by not adding another pill to his regimen.   

Jackie ordered two weeks’ worth of IV fluids and I wondered what we would do about getting a nurse next weekend in Harrisburg.  Jackie looked at me and smiled.  I said, “Oh, that would be me.”  Yes.  Add “administer IV fluids” to my skill set!  Tonight a pick-up truck pulled into the driveway with an IV pole and two cartons of supplies.  A nurse will come tomorrow to instruct me.

Jackie also solved the mystery of the 3 p.m. appointment for “Chemotherapy” in “chemo chair #1.”  Often BMT patients need blood or fluids so when a patient makes an appointment with Jackie, an appointment in the chemotherapy (infusion) area is automatically made.  Sometimes the slot is needed, sometimes it isn’t.  Jeff spent his hour during infusion under a blanket, taking a nap.  I met Kim and we went to the café for lunch.  We tested some of the furniture in the atrium and then we went back to the infusion area to check on Jeff.  Still sleeping.  Jeff woke up when his infusion pump beeped to indicate completion. 

Then off to radiology for an MRI.  Ever since Jeff’s metal-in-the-eye incident, we wondered whether there would be a problem with Jeff getting an MRI.  He had to disclose that he’d had metal removed from his eyes but there was no hesitation about doing the job.  Jeff told the technician that he wished he hadn’t already had a nap.  She said, “Oh, yes.  Too bad.”  However, when the machine turned on Jeff realized that a nap would not have been possible anyway.  Bum, bum, bum, bum, chirp, chirp, chirp, whirrrrrr, and many more sounds provided a soundtrack for Jeff's adventure.

We left the city around 4:30 p.m., dreading rush hour traffic.  It wasn’t too bad at all.  On the way home, Jeff seemed pleased that he lasted the day.  Maybe it was a sort of dress rehearsal for next week’s wedding festivities.