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Today Mom started treatment with cyclophosphamide, some mesna (to prevent damage from the chemo on her bladder), and lots of fluids.
She felt pretty tired after the chemo treatment, but otherwise she was relatively well. She had a minor fever, but that is common during HSCT treatment. They check her temperature often and make sure she is taking in, as well as outputting, a lot of fluid.
She didn't have much of an appetite and she received some hot milk with her lunch, which was the final tipping point. After that she made sure the dietician was well aware that she did not want her milk served to her hot. It hasn't been served hot since. When you're in a bed 24/7 and you don't get much of a food choice, hot milk is enough to send you over the edge.
We headed to bed early around 8 PM, and it's a good thing we did because every 20 minutes a nurse had to come in and reset the IV machine she's using. Mom didn't get much sleep because of the interruptions and the light needing to be on, but hopefully tomorrow will be a better night.
Mom has noted how well the nurses here are able to insert an IV. When she was undergoing her MRI testing she noticed how painless the IV was, and again today when she needed one for fluids and chemo. She's had many IV's in her life because of her health problems, so she knows her fair share of those experiences. I should mention that she also has colitis (without a flare-up in 4 years), rheumatoid arthritis, and she has been investigated for lupus several times throughout her life. HSCT has been studied in treating these health conditions as well, so maybe this procedure will also help with those.
I read an article from a medical journal today that discussed the psychological impact of HSCT. I'm aiming to try and better understand how I can be there for my Mom, and what I might expect from her in terms of change in mindset during and after treatment. The article focused on "the psychological impact of the transplant on quality of life including: physical, psychological, social, and spiritual for the patient and caregiver, and to discuss the nurse’s emotional labor of caring and compassion fatigue for such an intense vulnerable population." Mom's first day of treatment proved to be an example of how it effects both her and I. I have to admit, it is tough watching her in her weak moments. She is doing very well right now, but today when she was too exhausted to wash her hair on her own, I could tell she felt slightly disheartened at the reminder that she has lost some of her independence. After everything she has done for me, I'm honored to be there for her. Some of my blog posts may sound a little depressing, but I'm trying to be as honest and truthful about what the patient as well as the attendant go through during treatment. There are no blogs written from the attendant's perspective that I know of, so I hope this will be useful to both groups of people.
This afternoon Lis stopped in for a visit. She brightens the day with her funny jokes.
Tomorrow we are supposed to be moved to the new BMT ward. Overall, things are pretty decent and tomorrow Mom will receive the CGSF (cell-growth stimulating factor) to help her stem cells grow and move into her blood stream for harvesting. She's eating lots of bananas for potassium!
She felt pretty tired after the chemo treatment, but otherwise she was relatively well. She had a minor fever, but that is common during HSCT treatment. They check her temperature often and make sure she is taking in, as well as outputting, a lot of fluid.
She didn't have much of an appetite and she received some hot milk with her lunch, which was the final tipping point. After that she made sure the dietician was well aware that she did not want her milk served to her hot. It hasn't been served hot since. When you're in a bed 24/7 and you don't get much of a food choice, hot milk is enough to send you over the edge.
We headed to bed early around 8 PM, and it's a good thing we did because every 20 minutes a nurse had to come in and reset the IV machine she's using. Mom didn't get much sleep because of the interruptions and the light needing to be on, but hopefully tomorrow will be a better night.
Mom has noted how well the nurses here are able to insert an IV. When she was undergoing her MRI testing she noticed how painless the IV was, and again today when she needed one for fluids and chemo. She's had many IV's in her life because of her health problems, so she knows her fair share of those experiences. I should mention that she also has colitis (without a flare-up in 4 years), rheumatoid arthritis, and she has been investigated for lupus several times throughout her life. HSCT has been studied in treating these health conditions as well, so maybe this procedure will also help with those.
I read an article from a medical journal today that discussed the psychological impact of HSCT. I'm aiming to try and better understand how I can be there for my Mom, and what I might expect from her in terms of change in mindset during and after treatment. The article focused on "the psychological impact of the transplant on quality of life including: physical, psychological, social, and spiritual for the patient and caregiver, and to discuss the nurse’s emotional labor of caring and compassion fatigue for such an intense vulnerable population." Mom's first day of treatment proved to be an example of how it effects both her and I. I have to admit, it is tough watching her in her weak moments. She is doing very well right now, but today when she was too exhausted to wash her hair on her own, I could tell she felt slightly disheartened at the reminder that she has lost some of her independence. After everything she has done for me, I'm honored to be there for her. Some of my blog posts may sound a little depressing, but I'm trying to be as honest and truthful about what the patient as well as the attendant go through during treatment. There are no blogs written from the attendant's perspective that I know of, so I hope this will be useful to both groups of people.
This afternoon Lis stopped in for a visit. She brightens the day with her funny jokes.
Tomorrow we are supposed to be moved to the new BMT ward. Overall, things are pretty decent and tomorrow Mom will receive the CGSF (cell-growth stimulating factor) to help her stem cells grow and move into her blood stream for harvesting. She's eating lots of bananas for potassium!
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