Cycle 1, Day +3: Feeling Better

Steven is feeling better.

He had an appointment scheduled in the morning for neuropsych testing (his cognitive functions are being closely monitored), and I never thought he'd be feeling well enough for 2 hours of testing, but he woke feeling better.

His next appointment was in the medicine room, for his daily infusion of GCSF (granulocyte colony stimulating factor), which stimulates the production of stem cells in his blood in preparation for the harvest that will happen before his next cycle of chemo.

He wasn't feeling as well, so he laid down in the waiting room. His buddy Angie from Child Life (a social worker) came to see him. He wanted to sit up for her, this caused him to start vomiting again.

The people in the medicine room came out and got him and put him in a wheelchair and let him lie down in a bed for his infusion. After the GCSF, they gave him a dose of IV ativan for the nausea. They also drew his blood and determined his hemoglobin was low and he should have a blood transfusion.

During the ativan transfusion, he began feeling better and drank 5 small cups of chicken broth. An hour later, all of it stayed down, so they removed his portable IV pump, so he's not hooked up to anything at home now.

It was 4:00 pm and we had to wait for the blood for his transfusion to show up. We went home, they called us back around 6 pm. We got to the hospital around 7 and were there until 10 while he got his transfusion.

He ate rice, drank juice and more broth. He's beginning to look more like himself.

Thank God.

- Kathleen