A Long and Winding Week

Five days of fun with Ifosfamide, Etoposide, and Mesna are behind us, but the nausea and vomiting linger on. Jordan came home today with barf bowl in hand. He's made good use of it several times already, all antiemetics having become ineffective. After repeated attempts at eating or drinking a little something, someone asked him if everything just tasted off. "Either off, or awful," he replied. Again we wonder if this is a premature release, although we do so prefer having him home.

This week's challenges included a day or two of fever, low calcium levels (brought on by the Zometa administered to correct the elevated calcium level), and the major problem of severe pain. Clearly, adjusting the pain meds is a tricky business, but it's hard to comprehend why Tuesday and Wednesday (as well as many other times) were so pain-filled, given that on Thursday, with the first use of Dilaudid and Oxycontin he found relief. Not immediately, but by the end of the day, he was much better, able to get up and stroll about the halls for exercise and a break from the confines of his too-cozy (cramped?) room.

Heigh-ho, on a brighter note, Harold worked his magic on the laptop. It's back where it belongs, providing a welcome link to a wider world. We've also ferreted out a couple of leads on other treatment options to present to the doctor, although our data is still insufficient. He agreed to take a look at our findings if we brought him articles validating the efficacy of clinical trials. The search is on, but it occurs to us that progress updates (or whatever the proper term may be), on clinical trials may not be within our purview. Another question has niggled its way to consciousness since we spoke with him on Thursday which demands an answer, most likely at tomorrow's appointment. And it is: You're searching too, right?