29th
Dealing with side effects
Hi, everyone.
We’re dealing with new medicines and side effects. There are many reactions possible to the stem cell transplant, as well as separate side effects from the various antibiotics and antiviral medications. All of this wonderful science yields an uncomfortable Justin… for right now. His skin is reacting to something by turning lobster red and burning like fire. His mouth has developed sores that make talking uncomfortable and eating unappetizing. His stomach is all out of wack. He is retaining water and looks a little puffy sometimes. All unpleasant. However, take heart! The doctors say that these are all common reactions, and they know just what to do to help him to feel more comfortable while we ride them out/treat them with medication. For example, he has a morphine drip to help ease the pain of the mouth sores (and anything else that may hurt), but he is also receiving a four-part mouth care routine four times a day to prevent more sores from forming. He is receiving medicine to help the burning, itchy skin. He has endless creams to help cool/numb the burning sensation (though he hates the way they feel). He continues to get antibiotics to keep anything from developing. His constant drip of nutrition gives him the calories, vitamins, and minerals that he needs. He has not had any fever and his blood pressure is stable. His cell counts have bottomed out, for all intensive purposes, and now we must just ride out this time, treating and preventing, until his cell counts start building back up.
We are watching an HBO cops/bad guys drama on dvd that our friends Dan and Stephanie lent to us called The Wire. I’ve been playing solitaire with our 3-D cat card deck and losing miserably every time. I beat Patty, Justin’s mom, in a round of gin rummy. (Sorry, Patty, but it’s true!) I give Justin foot massages and ramble stories off the top of my head about past experiences. We watch garbage tv shows and March Madness basketball games.
This message was approved by Justin.
Love,
Holly
