1st day of chemo...yesterday, today, next week???

Yesterday LeeR had a port placed and was then scheduled to go have his first chemo session. The port placement took too long for him to start chemo since the chemo is projected to take 5-6 hours.  So we got up bright and early today and reported for chemo. All went well, at first anyway. He was prepped and they started the saline drip and hung the first bag. Routinely, before beginning the actual chemo, a blood sample is taken to check the blood counts. The nurse said, "I'm sure it will be fine--we actually are more concerned after you have already had chemo but we need to do it to be sure." A few minutes later LeeR's oncologist, Dr. Gregory Litton, came in shaking his head and said that his hematocrit (the volume percentage of red blood cells in blood) was only 15. It is normally about 45 for men. The doctor couldn't believe the test because three weeks ago it was normal, so he asked for another test. The new test came back at 16.

So chemo was postponed (again) and LeeR was admitted to the hospital to receive four pints of blood and then to find out the source of the bleeding and where the blood is going. He will finish the transfusions about 10:00 tonight and we're hoping for good and positive information tomorrow. Usually this loss of blood is caused by a problem in the GI tract, but the preliminary tests showed no blood in his stool. Tomorrow morning he will have an EGD (endoscopy, etc.) and other tests, as necessary.

Today was a rough day. LeeR was in a lot of pain from his surgery site, looked kind of grayish-yellowish-whiteish, had slurred speech and had trouble staying awake. It was scary. But, after two units of blood, he started looking more normal, he was awake and alert, and his speech was fine. Looks like he dodged a bullet. The doctor said that if he weren't in the great shape he is in, he would likely have had a heart attack and be gone--especially at his age.

Tomorrow is a new day--we are hopeful that the doctors will be able to find the source of the problem, fix it, and send him home to rest for chemo next week. This is quite a journey. We are so grateful to be walking this path with the love and support of our family and friends. We feel so blessed and embraced by love. Thank you all--our love for you is overflowing.