Oh, my...where do I begin? Woody was actually feeling pretty well just before his 11th IL-2 infusion. And he got through the infusion without a problem. After I pushed the call button to tell the nurse that the infusion was finished, both of us decided that we would try to rest. I know that I dozed off because I suddenly heard Woody call my name. He felt a chill which is often the start of "the shakes." So I "jumped" off my "bed" quickly and hit the call button for the nurse. The quicker you get the meds the less the shakes (quakes) are. The nurse finally got here--and it was a new nurse and new care partner. By the time she got here the shakes hadn't started so Woody thought that it was a false alarm. BUT he had started getting nauseated so the nurse started treating that and suggested a different med than he had had before for the shakes...something to take before they started that worked well to stop them quickly. Well, by the time all the meds got here, he had started shaking (quaking is a better word), which meant that perhaps the other med would be better. Well, the nurse tried to take his blood pressure--and it was waaaaaaaaaaaaay low. Well, this other med shouldn't be taken when the blood pressure was low--so we went with the new med--that was pill form--works better if you let it dissolve under the tongue--well, Woody's mouth was so dry that it wouldn't dissolve so he just had to swallow it. All the while he is shaking very hard. Of course the nurse is trying to get information to various people about Woody's low blood pressure, etc. And he was still shaking--at times very violently. He was trying to breathe to help control the shakes--but getting to the point of hyper-ventilating. So much ended up going on that I'm not sure how long his quakes went on--but way too long!
And, then, along comes the "team" of doctors--much to the relief of all. The head doctor said to give him the one med in his IV and it wasn't long till the shakes were lessening. But of course they still had to figure about his blood pressure. The head doctor said that he was way too warm and had too good coloring to have such low blood pressure. They were trying to find a blood pressure cuff to do his blood pressure manually rather than with the computerized blood pressure machine. They finally found a cuff, but it was in bad shape and couldn't be used!
As an aside I need to explain that Woody has to have his blood pressure taken on his leg since he has the broken/surgery arm and then the other arm has the pic line in it. So they were having quite the time trying to get the cuff in just the right place on his leg, etc., etc.
They finally got it adjusted and got a good read and his blood pressure was fine. They decided that due to his shaking they hadn't been able to get the cuff on correctly.
But for a while I did feel like I was in the midst of a hospital TV show! I just sat quietly in the corner and watched all the action--TV medical drama at its best!
Shortly after all that, Woody's temperature went up quite high again. So we have been trying to get him cooled down. As I type this, they have just taken his temperature and it has come way down--not normal but close. Now they are doing his lab to get him ready for his next IL-2. He and I both have rested a bit after the shaking episode and starring in our own "doctor TV episode!" My prayer is that he isn't too weakened to endure this next treatment that is to start in just a few hours. At the moment he is resting peacefully.
So...just three to go! Pray for his strength and doctors' wisdom. I was told today that often it is one episode of the "quakes" that makes IL-2 patients give up and go home. Woody has endured his share of these episodes, but hasn't thrown in the towel yet. Those young medical students may get their hope yet--to see someone go through 14 on the first round! And they will...that is, if it is God's will!
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