Today was a fractionally better day for Dominic. Though he got very little sleep again last night, he was able to rest as the pain was better managed. Plasmapheresis called for us early today, our nurse came in at 7am even though transport didnt arrive until 7:30. The advantage of this is that we were done by 10am. The treatment itself went smoothly. All of the nurses in the unit are so pleasant and take very good care of Dominic. Plus they allow me to stay for the treatments, which doesnt hurt. By the time we got back to the room, Dominics pain meds had worn off and he was exhausted. After a short nap, the ivs began again. Currently, Dominic receives an anti rejection infusion, an antibody renewal infusion, and a steroid infusion. In addition, today he received another unit of blood. Between all of the labs being drawn and the plasmapheresis, his hemoglobin was low and in order to continue with treatments that count needs to be up. We saw Dr. Desai again today (the surgeon and our main nephrologist). He brought news with him. Neither good nor bad, just news. Dominics protein has gone down to a nine, which is in the right direction but his creatinine had gone up to a 2.3. The doctors are not quite sure what to make of this combination so they told Dominic to drink more water and we would draw labs again tomorrow. Due to the fact that Dominic is still tolerating plasmapheresis so well the doctors have also agreed to do two treatments over the weekend. So much for a break; however, if this will bring his numbers down then it is worth it. It will still be a bit of a break as plasmapheresis comes to the bedroom over the weekends rather than going to the clinic. Dominic was able to do two half laps around the unit today! Though still in pain and going slower than he would like, this was a huge improvement from yesterday. The hope is that by the end of tomorrow he will be able to do a full lap. He is also struggling with his appetite a little bit. With the persistent pain in his abdomen, eating is not an appealing thought for him. However, we are hoping that walking will (in the long run) relieve some of the pain and help him to have more of an appetite. We were also given the start of our discharge training today. While discharge is still a ways away, we need to beginning memorizing his medications, understanding how to care for Bean in the long run and learning his new lab and clinic schedule. It is a lot to take in but the idea of going home makes it bearable. Thank you all so much for your constant words of encouragement and prayers. We ask that you pray for a physically and emotionally restful weekend so that we can face this up coming week with renewed spirits. Thank you and God bless. In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1: 6-7
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 04:00:19 +0000