Chemo, chemo, and more chemo...

Brian is 2 days into his second round of chemo and we have yet to have more than 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep since we have been here. His first chemo drug was started at midnight Wednesday night and lasted through the night with the nurses having to come in every 15 minutes to check his vital signs. I don't know why they couldn't have waited until during the day to do this one, but they wanted to get it started right away when we got here. It is typically the strongest chemo drug, so they have to keep a constant watch on you to make sure your body doesn't have any adverse reactions. Thankfully, Brian's body did well and he hasn't had any bad reactions to any of the drugs. On Thursday, he was able to have a CVC line inserted in his chest so he won't have to be poked with IVs as much. The procedure was a long and painful one for Brian, the sedation he was given before the procedure wasn't strong enough, so he was able to feel everything as it was happening. They also had problems getting the line to his heart and it had gone up into his neck when they were trying to insert it, so they had to "power flush" it with fluid to hope that it would redirect itself. He had an x-ray to make sure it was in the right place and started getting chemo through the CVC last night. He also had to have another lumbar puncture today. He was really anxious about this procedure since he had so many problems with the first one, but as with everything we lifted him up to God and continually prayed that he would be in God's hands and everything would go well. Thankfully our prayers were answered and this one went a lot better. We insisted on him getting the strongest medications he could to make sure he was calm and sedated for the procedure and they also had the head dr of the department to do the procedure since he had so many complications before. Luckily, they didn't hit any nerves, and although it was still painful, Brian was a lot happier with the outcome. Also, we will be able to request the same dr for the rest of the lumbar punctures, so that is reassuring as well. So far, he hasn't had any headaches since the procedure either, so we are continuing to cross our fingers. If everything continues to go well, we should get to be discharged from the hospital on Monday with follow up appointments scheduled for nearly everyday for the rest of the week.

We continue to be extremely grateful for all the support our friends and family provide. There has not been a day since we have been here that we have received any less than 3 cards in the mail letting us know that everyone is thinking about us and praying everyday. We also are extremely grateful for those that have contributed to the medical fund for Brian and I to help ease the burden of the medical bills and all the other expenses that come along with this trial. It has allowed us to focus on getting well and not spend our energy worrying about monetary responsibilities. We are truly blessed and can't thank everyone enough.