Amanda woke up around 5am Thursday with chills and a fever. We were warned at the start of chemotherapy that fever + chemo = infection = UH OH. They gave her a laminated yellow card to take to the emergency room which basically tells the doctors "DO THIS RIGHT NOW."
She thought it was a bladder/kidney infection -- so did the doctors at the walk-in clinic the night before -- but tests at the ER seemed to dispute that. There was no disputing the fever and general feeling-like-crap symptoms.
After six hours in the QEII emergency room and the administration of the ass-kickingest antibiotics on the shelf (Cipro and a combo I can't remember the name of), she was admitted to the gyno-cancer floor at the VG site. That's where she spent the initial recovery time after her debulking surgery. They also sent her for CAT scan.
Meantime, Friday, reporter Julia Wong from Global Maritimes came by to shoot a story they'd been in communication with us about for a day or so. Here's the story that resulted.
The CAT scan ended up revealing the problem.
The details are so yucky that I'll spare you the fine points. Let's just say that they found an abscess inside her in an area where they'd removed organs in a surgery nearly two months ago. It had been festering for that whole time but had finally reached a point where her body could no longer contain it, and the infection began leaking into her bloodstream and out her body.
The pus-filled blob was about 3x6 cm. Gross.
With that new revelation, the docs have been able to fine-tune the antibiotics to scale down from a broad-spectrum, kill-em-all approach, to a narrow-focused anti-abscess strategy. Amanda says she's feeling a lot better than when she came in. Apparently the docs say she'd have been in septic shock if we'd waited a few hours to come in.
While she's in hospital, we're hoping the docs will get her pain under control, as she's been hurting a lot from the leak (extravasation? infiltration? interstitial splorch?) of chemotherapy juice into her tissue. Since she's already there we're hoping they'll figure that stuff out.
Hopefully she'll be home soon to resume hanging out with Gordon and me and Barb and Wendall who've been heroes again, keeping everything going at home while I'm at work and Amanda's in hospital. Thank goodness they're here.
She thought it was a bladder/kidney infection -- so did the doctors at the walk-in clinic the night before -- but tests at the ER seemed to dispute that. There was no disputing the fever and general feeling-like-crap symptoms.
After six hours in the QEII emergency room and the administration of the ass-kickingest antibiotics on the shelf (Cipro and a combo I can't remember the name of), she was admitted to the gyno-cancer floor at the VG site. That's where she spent the initial recovery time after her debulking surgery. They also sent her for CAT scan.
Meantime, Friday, reporter Julia Wong from Global Maritimes came by to shoot a story they'd been in communication with us about for a day or so. Here's the story that resulted.
The CAT scan ended up revealing the problem.
The details are so yucky that I'll spare you the fine points. Let's just say that they found an abscess inside her in an area where they'd removed organs in a surgery nearly two months ago. It had been festering for that whole time but had finally reached a point where her body could no longer contain it, and the infection began leaking into her bloodstream and out her body.
The pus-filled blob was about 3x6 cm. Gross.
With that new revelation, the docs have been able to fine-tune the antibiotics to scale down from a broad-spectrum, kill-em-all approach, to a narrow-focused anti-abscess strategy. Amanda says she's feeling a lot better than when she came in. Apparently the docs say she'd have been in septic shock if we'd waited a few hours to come in.
While she's in hospital, we're hoping the docs will get her pain under control, as she's been hurting a lot from the leak (extravasation? infiltration? interstitial splorch?) of chemotherapy juice into her tissue. Since she's already there we're hoping they'll figure that stuff out.
Hopefully she'll be home soon to resume hanging out with Gordon and me and Barb and Wendall who've been heroes again, keeping everything going at home while I'm at work and Amanda's in hospital. Thank goodness they're here.
I'm so sorry there was another hospital visit involved, but the phrase "interstitial splorch" was pretty sweet. :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Scott and Amanda..
ReplyDeleteIts Michelle from IWK.. just wanted to let you know I am thinking of you all!
Just wanted to let you know..I think of you all , all the time.. and Im in your corner anytime you need it!
I haven`t been good at following.. im a facebooker lol but I pray that you get comfortable soon!
xo..
Im sure that little Gordon of yours, is a handsome man.. ;)