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Thursday, February 02, 2012

Day + 8 and the answer to "so do you just sit all day"

Answer:  Oh I wish...

I am sitting right now.  This is the first time I have not been busy since 8:00 a.m yesterday.  So I have tried to figure what I do all day but the big thing is working on keeping it quiet here.  That means, beeping management.

Meb receives no less than 19 scheduled medications.  Most are IV to manage possible side affects of the transplant.  Most are given more than once a day. 


Oral Medication
Vitamin D#
Progesterone
Multi vitamin, no Iron
Eursodile
Thyroid


IV:


Mycophenolate mofetil: ever 8 2hrs
Ceftazidime: every 8   15min
Zofran: every 8 15min
Pantopraxole: AM  15 min
Acyclovir  Every 8  20min
Filgrastim:  AM  20 minutes
Ativan:  6 times daily 15 minutes
Magnesium: Every 8 15 minutes
Cyclosporine: 2 times a day, 3 hours.
Fluconazole: evening  20 minutes.

Then there are the other meds.  Scope patches, benedryl, hydrocortozone, tylenol, Phenergren,and a few I don't recall that aren't on the list.   Then, add the blood products.  Last night after 8:00 she had platelets and two units of blood  That took about 6 hours.

The nurses do a great job.  They are so quiet and they will stand in a room by the pole and wait for it to beep. But they are often with their other patient and getting more stuff ready to put on the pump so there can be more beeping.  It is nuts.  

It sort of goes like this.  Two or three meds that can go at the same time are started.  The pump beeps, you "silence" the pump and then call the nurse.  Now, as you can imagine, I know how to really turn them off but that is frowned upon. To get this in, we do this all day long and sometimes into the night and it changes every day.

No one is complaining.  The nurses do a great job.  Each medicine is given for a very good reason. Side affect management, comfort, prevention of a nasty infection. It is all very well managed and necessary.  

It is just darn distracting.   There are few times I have many moments strung together for writing, calling, answering e-mails, or reading more than a couple of pages.  Some one brought me some short stories.  I think that was a good idea. 

I of course I have lots and lots of things I think I can do. Surprise I cannot: I realize that I have to focus on simple things like stringing cranes and folding more.  Mailing the thank-you notes and writing more.  I have to find things to do that are short and can be accomplished in less than 15 minutes, or less.    

I want you to know that I think about all the things I should do and really intend to answer the messages and respond to the requests but I might loose tract of what it was I was trying to do. 

All my efforts and the doctors efforts and Mary-Elizabeth's efforts are on making Elie May and Pearl Ann feel welcomed and helping them move in.  I can't do much more than that right now. 

Words with Friends takes too much effort but I have a great Dream Zoo and very happy Animals.  

1 comment:

Lafcadio said...

Staying by your daughter in her time of need, keeping things quiet and doing whatever is necessary to prevent you from running screaming down the hall is plenty for now. The other stuff pales in comparison.