Quick update

November 15, 2013 in Lymphoma by Reta Reed

Many of you may already know, but Jeff has been moved out of ICU and back to our favorite 7th floor with his favorite nurses. Not that the nurses in the ICU weren’t also wonderful! He made quick friends with all of them, as usual 🙂  Getting off the ventilator alone surprised many of his doctors. (You and I knew he could do it.)

The nasogastric tube is gone, two of the peripheral IVs that were in each hand are gone. He is allowed a regular diet, but he doesn’t have much appetite yet. He is still getting IV nutrition. He coughs a lot and seems to have panic attacks. He has anxiety about choking or suffocating – residual effects of the ventilator tube and ICU. His oncologist is talking about the second cycle and we’re terrified. The recommendation is to do a half-dose of the same chemo. Still high dose, but hopefully not so much to kill the poor guy.

On the positive side, I talked to the stem cell transplant nurse at MD Anderson where Jeff was initially evaluated and typed and she told me there is at least one possible donor. That donor has to be willing and still has to be worked up, but it is a step in the right direction!! We have an appointment next week with the transplant team in Dallas and hope to get this ball moving quickly. His best chance is a stem cell transplant.

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