In ICU - Short Version

Ma is in the ICU with septic shock. She was on morphine yesterday for pain. She had very low blood sugar twice (39 and 23). When the nurse couldn't wake her up, the doctor sent her to ICU. Soon after she got there, she went into Code Blue. Her heart is actually okay, so they didn't need to use the crash cart, but her breathing is irregular, and she's on a ventilator.

Overdose

Ma has been having pain in her legs, especially her right leg. Last night she was in a lot of pain. The Norco (Vicodin) was taking too long to take effect, so the nurse gave her 2 mg of Dilaudid at around 3:30am after consulting with the on-call doctor. Apparently this was too much, and the day shift nurse could not wake up Ma. Her respiration was 8, and her blood pressure was low. The nurse had to give Ma two doses of Narcan to wake her up. Even then she was still groggy. Don't know if this is considered a hospital error.

The pain in Ma's leg is possibly due to DVT. She's having an ultrasound done this morning.

In addition, she's having a colonoscopy done this morning to see what's causing her bad diarrrhea. To prep her, she was given a water enema last night and this morning.

Still in Hospital

Ma's still in the hospital. On Tuesday she was given platelets and another unit of blood. Yesterday 2.5 liters of fluid was drained from her abdomen. Despite the platelets, the incision bled a bit last night. Ma started solid food yesterday. She still gets diarrhea. Dr. Irwin said she'll be discharged when her diarrhea is under control and she's seen by a physical therapist. I don't even  know how much she can walk at this point. I doubt she'll go home today but maybe tomorrow.

In the Hospital

Ma's in the hospital. She's been having severe pain in her abdomen and diarrhea and vomiting. Turns out she's anemic. Probably a side effect of the chemo. She was given two units of blood. They did a CT scan of her abdomen today. No results yet. Don't know if she'll be released tomorrow. But her symptoms are under control. She's a bit bummed that she's not allowed to eat.

Ascites

Ma had her CT scan Friday. She did have fluid in her abdomen, and they drained 2.5 liters from her.

Correction to her weight. She had told me she weighed 159. Turns out she meant 129. Big difference. Anyway, she was down to 123 after the procedure.

She's been having cramps and diarrhea and takes Vicodin for the pain. Pa thinks it's all due to the Xeloda. Her last dose is Wednesday morning. Maybe her symptoms will be relieved after that. She sees Dr. Irwin on the 25th. I think he plans on giving her a break from the chemo.

Acid Reflux

Ma has been complaining of acid reflux for a week now. She's also bloated. Three days ago she weighed 123 lbs. Today she weighed 159! The extra weight is probably due to fluid in her abdomen. That's like 4 lbs. of water. She's having a CT scan done on Friday and will have the fluid drained then. Dr. Irwin doesn't know if the ascites is due to her cancer or her liver. Her PET scans show spots on her liver that the radiologists interpret as cirrhosis.

A Xeloda Side Effect

When Ma first started taking Xeloda, I kept asking her if she had any side effects. She said no. Today I found out she's been getting dry lips and mouth sores. She's been using her leftover "magic mouthwash" from last year. It's a mixture of Nystatin, lidocaine, Benadryl & Maalox I don't know if it's helping, but she's able to eat. In fact, sometimes she eats too much. Last night her blood sugar was nearly 400!

Ma saw Dr. Irwin today. He'll keep her on Xeloda for now and will see her again before Thanksgiving. Her breast isn't as angry red as it was before, but we don't know if it's the Xeloda that made a difference. Her tumor marker CA 15-3 went up to 49.4. It had been 38 in early September. Normal is 0-25.