Day 2

Bobby just asked me how the blog was coming...and I said, "Its not...I've been sleeping!" I hadn't posted anything--and he was disappointed. Sorry...I've been kind of busy fluffing pillows and tucking in sheets! Let's see, yesterday, we came down to Hopkins. Bobby had his Hickman catheter placed. It didn't run the first time so they had to place a second one. That caused some extra tenderness in his neck/chest but that has improved. After the catheter was placed, we were taken up to his room on the 5th floor. The nurses were like flies on him (and he loved that). He is making friends with all of the nurses. They are young, cute, and are taking great care of him. He has mentioned several times that he is impressed with the care. Last night, they hung the Interleukin-2 at 10PM as planned. About 45 minutes later, the "rigors" started. This is a side effect of the medication and the nurses were quick to give him morphine to help control the rigors. Chills [Rigors] Chills are extreme, involuntary muscle contractions with characteristic paroxysms of violent shivering and teeth chattering. Commonly accompanied by a fever, chills tend to arise suddenly, usually heralding the onset of infection. This is expected from the body's reaction to the IL-2. The chills I saw last night were severe...not like I've seen before. It took about 15 minutes for the medication to work and for him to feel better. Nausea has also been a problem. Finally, some Zofran helped him this morning. Other than the chills & nausea, he is feeling pretty good. Bobby is eating like normal...well...normal isn't quite covering it. Today, for lunch: Sloppy Joe, macaroni & cheese, tossed salad, roll, fruit cup, cookie...and I think I'm missing one or two things. Oh, he saved his chips for later. I hope it stays where he put it!He gets nervous when it is time for the next dose (in 30 minutes). They said they would just give him the morphine to prevent the rigors (he thought this was a great idea). The plan is to keep going with the doses until we get to 14. They are watching him closely and so far--he's doing great. His spirits are hanging in there. His eyes just lit up when MSP just landed at the hospital. He likes being able to sleep. I hang a note on the door so they don't come in every 5 minutes and wake him. He slept for a few solid hours this morning. OK, we are getting ready for the 2PM dose. He has been playing on Skype and texting people. I'll post more this evening. Hugs to all...we feel the love!