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Discharge day! We're thrilled! Today went like this:

10:45 am: It sounds like the heperin level in her blood is making the doctors happier. The heperin IV could come out today. Because her Chromogenic Factor X test takes several hours, we will not know if she gets discharged. If she does stay, she will get moved to a different room on 8^th floor. Fairview is stripping and cleaning the floors and performing maintenance checks on the rooms. "Hurry up and wait" is the theme for today.

2:00 pm: The expectation of a hospital stay is for the patient to focus on recovery. Fairview Southdale has been exceptional in that regard. Certain administrative obligations pop up which detract from recovery, like dealing with the short term disability people. "Benefits coordination" is an oxymoron in that company. Lucy was passed to three people so far and got asked the same questions. They were just as clueless after her surgery nearly two years ago.

3:00 pm: Lucy's Chromogenic Factor X result was at the midpoint of her therapuetic range. Her Coumadin dose was set and she has her instructions. The IV lines were removed and she got dressed. Everything is loaded and she has her walker. All that remains is waiting for the pharmacy to fill her prescriptions.

5:30 pm: The pharmacy finally asked for her prescription insurance card. She has a new drug plan this year and the old information was still on file. Plus there always seems to be a delay when painkillers are involved. Lucy is moving with more confidence after the IV tree went away. Her friend Diane called while I was loading the vehicle. Lucy also called her siblings during the wait. The sunset was nice.

6:10 pm: Lucy headed home wondering what sort of mess awaits after me having full run of the house for the past eleven days. She didn't cringe after touring the house, so I think I did all right. I think the chicken strip dinner I picked up for her at Dairy Queen also helped.

Our house is a rambler with a basement. The basement has a rec room, laundry room, office, ¾ bathroom, and a storage area. The bedrooms are on the main level. One of the guest rooms is now an office for her. She doesn't need to go downstairs until her leg is better. Most of the main level has laminate flooring. She is navigating the walker quite well in the house.

I picked up some of the wet wipe style washcloths hospitals use for cleaning up a patient in bed. I also picked up a couple of the shower caps that have the shampoo in them. Lucy does not have to worry about slipping in the shower.

Lucy's next blood test is Thursday. Next week she will get a PET scan since it has been about a year since her last one, see Dr. Thurmes about her leg, and see Dr. Boente about her next Alimta treatment. There is a possibility she may need a break from chemo until her leg fully recovers. Even though her leave was extended until February 13^th, she may need another week added. Her next assessment may not happen until after that date.

We're happy to be home and are grateful and humbled by the outpouring of love and support you have given us through this ordeal. Thank you!

Sunday, Sunday

The yellow bouquet is from Steve and Liz, the elephant is from Diane and the pink rose bouquet is from Anh-Thu and Karen. And yes, the flash on my phone camera stinks. Motorola puts a 5 megapixel camera on the phone and uses a kid's toy LED for the flash. Go figure.

Lucy had a chorus of nurses and nurse's assistants come in and sing "Happy Birthday" to her this morning. That was really nice! Steve and Liz brought a strawberry tart cake. Julie and Suzy came by for a few hours, so Lucy had all her siblings here. Everyone got to see Lucy go for a walk with the Occupational Therapy person. Lucy also had someone from Physical Therapy come by. They worked on some exercises and Lucy has some new ones to add to the mix. Lucy's dad called to wish her happy birthday and see how she was doing. Lucy didn't wear a hat or scarf today so everyone got to see how much hair she has. I think that is the first time she went "topless" since she lost her hair in the first cycle of chemo.

Suzy and Julie did get to see Lucy's leg and it may have been a bit unpleasant. Lucy assured them it was a lot worse and much more painful eleven days ago. Her leg looks like it had a sunburn with a little peeling in a couple areas. There are areas on her lower leg where the color is getting towards normal. Her leg is slightly warm to the touch rather than hot. She has full sensation in her leg and it is not painful to touch it.

Dr. Singh came by to check on Lucy's progress. Lucy's Chromogenic Factor X reading today was in therapeutic range. She will have the heperin drop through the night and will have blood drawn for another test tomorrow. The results will be back in the early afternoon. If the Chromogenic Factor X test is in the therapeutic range again, Lucy could be discharged. The transfusion last night took her hemoglobin up to 10.7. It's been awhile since it was close to normal.

We will have some questions for the discharge meeting. There will need to be some appointments set up to test her blood. The hospital will lend her a walker for a week or two. We will also need a list of symptoms that necessitate a call to the doctor or a trip to the hospital. It is very possible Lucy will need to extend her disability leave another week.

There is a minor issue with pain management that still needs resolution. Lucy knows that she will not be totally pain free tomorrow. It will take a week or two for her leg to get back to normal. Her pain increases when she puts weight on her ankle. After she sits down, the pain starts subsiding. It sounds like the pain increase is not much. She describes it as annoying when she walks. It does not keep her awake at night and it does not distract her when she is sitting with her leg propped up. Lucy has been fortunate to never require hospitalization until her surgery in April 2010. She has never broken a bone or needed stitches. All the stuff she is going through is uncharted waters to her. It's hard for her to describe what type of pain, or how much pain she feels. Now that she has told them when she feels an increase in pain and when it starts to diminish, some of the concerns have abated.

We're cautiously optimistic about her going home tomorrow. It really depends on the blood test. Please keep your fingers crossed for her!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes today! Lucy is lucky to have such an amazing group of supporters!

Room with a View

I have been parking in the Skyway Ramp and I walk past this stained glass panel every day. The flash on my phone's camera causes a lot of flare. The gnome is not lighting flatulence (though he looks guilty) and the owl is not looking for the culprit.

Lucy took a short walk this morning. It helps clear the fog of the pain pills. Her leg color has gotten noticeably better in the past day. Her right calf circumference is within 3 cm. (about 1.2") of her left calf. She says her ankle is stiff but is getting a bit more range of motion. Lucy has been working on her physical therapy exercises. Her Braden risk bracelet was removed because she is more active and her skin can air out.

Dr. Singh from Minnesota Oncology came by. Lucy was moved back to 8^th floor this afternoon. Her hemoglobin dropped after yesterday's increase so she will be getting a two unit transfusion. This means the four transfusions she has had since being admitted have required eight units of blood. She will be here until Monday at the earliest. The rest of the blood work sounded OK. Her Coumadin dosage was dropped to 2.5 mg and they did not have to administer a quick "blast" of heperin (called a bolus). We hope this means she is getting close to being removed from the IV heperin and her Coumadin dose is getting set.

I did get to take Lucy to the Meditation Sanctuary before she was moved. We used a wheelchair because it was a quick trip. She liked the fireplace and water feature. Changing her scenery also helped.

The view from her room is great. For those of you in the Twin Cities area, she overlooks Crosstown and France Ave. The fog lifted and the sun came out and we can see all the way to Highway 100.

Lucy's birthday is tomorrow and she will be spending it in the hospital. I'm grateful for getting to celebrate another birthday with her! I do wish she could have been released today. Comments are working, so please feel free to send her birthday greetings tomorrow. Thank you so much for your support!

Eight days on the road...

There was a little additional news from last night that didn't make the post (and I was too tired to do the update). Lucy got to sit on the edge of the bed last night for almost a half hour. I got to give her a long back rub which helped her relax. Her calf diameter went down another ½ cm. Her pain level has stayed the same, but it is significantly better than a week ago. Her blood work is showing normal values except for her hemoglobin being low. Adult women are supposed to be between 12.1 and 15.1 grams/deciliter (g/dL). They want Lucy's hemoglobin to stay above 7.5. If it goes below that, she will get a transfusion.

This morning was incredibly foggy. It has been a very mild winter here unlike last year's near-record seasonal snowfall and unusually cold temperatures. We earned a break after last year. I normally can drive from home to Fairview Southdale in about twenty minutes for the six mile trip. France Ave. has a bunch of unsynchronized stoplights once I cross into Edina from Bloomington. Today I needed fifty minutes. There is a large lake and marshy area near Normandale College at 98^th St. and France Ave. The fog in that area reduced visibility to about fifty feet. Even the inside of the hospital parking ramp was a bit foggy.

Dr. Thurmes stopped by to see how Lucy was progressing. Her Coumadin dosage still needs a tweak. She had noticible improvement in her hemaglobin after yesterday's transfusion, rising from 6.1 to 8.4. Lucy will probably be here until Saturday at least. Dr. Thurmes wants to see two consecutive acceptable results before disconnecting the IV heperin.

Lucy had the PT and OT people here today. She ran through her exercises and has a walker to use. She can get out of bed without needing a handrail. Her right ankle is still very stiff. She walked close to one hundred  feet in total today, half with the walker, in four walking sessions. Now she has a recliner to sit in so she spent most of the day in the chair. It still takes her a moment after she stands up before her ankle loosens up enough to slightly work.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your concern for Lucy!