We're Home Again

Bill was discharged from the hospital late Thursday afternoon.  We had a restful night at home, and he is scheduled to begin  outpatient rehab at Frazier on Monday.  He is pretty weak but happy to be at home.  His memory is not quite back to 100% yet but it's coming back quickly.  

Their is still no conclusive diagnosis for what happened to him.   The most popular theory is that he had an air embolism caused when the central line was removed.  That would have caused an air bubble to move up into his brain causing damage to the brain similar to a stroke.  The good news is that the neurologists feel confident he will make a full recovery (from the brain damage) in time with rehab.  The bad news is we do not know what this all means for future chemotherapy.  

I feel like we have been in a very long version of a "House" episode.  Nothing that happens has a simple answer, everything seems to be complex and confusing, and unusual.  I guess this kind of thing should be expected, nothing is simple where cancer is concerned.  

Hopefully we will be able to stay home for a while and Bill will have some time to build his strength.  As always, we appreciate your well wishes and prayers.  Feel free to send Bill an email, he is using email to practice his cognitive skills and I know he would love to hear from his friends.  His email address is billnolan@insightbb.com.  Keep in touch.  Holly

Good News

Good news!  Yesterday Bill began to talk, he was responding to us and actually putting words together and making some fairly coherent sentences.  He seems to be making positive progress.  The Docs are still not sure exactly what happened to him, it could be an infection in the brain, it could have been a small stroke or an air embolism, it could have been a seizure, or it could have been a reaction to the combination of meds he was taking as a result of the chemo therapy.  They have done many tests and some of the results are in but we are waiting on others.  Currently, they are treating him for everything they think it may be.  

It seems that he has had an injury to the right side of his brain, which controls emotions and short term memory.  He seems to be really happy one minute and then really sad the next.  Yesterday we saw marked progress from the morning to the evening.  He seems to be regaining movement in his left arm which was paralyzed at the onset on Wednesday afternoon.  We are hopeful that this progress will continue and he will be back to normal very soon.  

He is still in the intensive care unit, and they are very strict with the visitation rules, but if that's what's best for the patient then we'll gladly live with it.  

I want to thank everyone who has helped us out recently with the storm cleanup and the power outage while we have been here in the hospital.  We finally got power at our house last night which is one less hassle.  I'm sending good "power thoughts" to all of you still without power.  What an ordeal! 

Hopefully, my next update will be to inform you that we are going home again.  As always, thanks for your positive thoughts and prayers.  Holly

Another Unfortunate Twist

Apologies for not posting an update sooner, but like most of us here in the metro area, we have been and still are without power.  I am sorry to report that things have taken another bad turn for Bill.  

We came home from the hospital after completing Cycle I of chemo on Sunday morning.  Bill was pretty weak, but holding his own.  He was getting stronger each day and by Wednesday he was able to take a walk down the street.  He even wanted to go out for a fish sandwich for dinner, we were pretty excited about his progress.  On Wednesday afternoon the home health care nurse came to remove the central line from his chest.  She removed the line, Bill seemed to be doing okay but within about 5 minutes of removing the line something happened.  We don't know if he had a stroke or a seizure or what but he became non responsive.  We immediately called 911 and he was taken to the emergency room at University.  It was a nightmare, we were in the emergency room from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. before being admitted and put in a room.  

As of this morning, he is in the intensive care unit for neurology patients on the 5th floor of University Hospital.  He has had a myriad of tests including MRI, spinal tap to check for meningitis and a wide range of blood tests all in an effort to try and determine what happened.  He is still relatively unresponsive, not comatose, but unable to talk or communicate in any real way.  He does respond to pain, ripping off the tape on his abdominal dressing seems to bring on a response which is a positive sign.  So far, they seemed to have ruled out more cancer, which is a plus, and there has been no seizure activity since he came into the hospital.  He had evidence of having a small stroke, but nothing severe enough to have caused his present state.  We are really at a loss.  At least he seems to be resting peacefully right now.  The girls have come in and are staying with us, always a blessing and comfort to both of us.   I don't know what all of this means for future chemo treatments, clearly he will be unable to face that until he recovers from this.  One day at a time I guess.  

As always,  we so very much appreciate your cards, calls, emails and kind words of encouragement.  Please continue to keep Bill in your thoughts and prayers.  I will do my best to keep this site updated.  My guess is that we will be here in the hospital for a while.  

Round One of Chemo

We started the first cycle of the biochemo therapy yesterday.  After seeing the Oncologist yesterday morning, Bill was admitted to University Hospital and began the process around 2:00 p.m.  So far he is holding his own.  The side effects of this particular therapy are like having a very  bad case of the flu.  He is beginning to feel those side effects.  The Drs. and Nurses here at University have been wonderful so far, very attentive, efficient and caring.  

This morning we were moved to a private room, which is quite nice.  Maybe I can bring my bed in now, sleeping in the hospital chair gets old fast.  We are on the 8th floor, the south wing room 838.  Hopefully the stay will only be the 5 days as expected and there will be no "drama" this time.  

Bill was feeling so good last week, he even cut the grass.  I know that gave him such a lift psychologically.   It's hard to see him feeling so bad again, but hopefully this will pass quickly and he will be strong again soon.  I know you will keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  We hope to be home by Sunday.  I'll keep you posted.  Holly