Easy Come, Easy Go

Good names for puppies..."Easy Come" & "Easy Go!" But I actually meant it with regard to Nick's line that was pulled out today!!! A very exciting and scary development for Nick and me too! Today we got up way too early and arrived at the Interventional Radiology Department around 8:30AM. After a two and a half hour wait, they took Nick back and "removed" his Hickman catheter. The procedure took all of 30 minutes from start to finish and Nick didn't even need sedation. Just a little bit of local anesthetic at the site and then yank, tug, pull and Abracadabra, the line was in a baggie and we were walking out the front door! It is amazing and anti-climatic at the same time. Nick has been fortunate that he hasn't really needed any transfusions since his BMT. They were mainly using the line for blood draws. Now that Nick has been kicked down to the clinic (as of this past Wednesday) Mindy and Dr. F felt comfortable in having the line removed.

In some ways the line feels like a safety net, but, it is really one that Nick doesn't need. The longer the line remains in, the greater the chance of infection finding its way to this foreign object; so it was a good thing to have it out sooner than later. Nick has done fine throughout the day without this appendage, so we bid the power Hickman a fond farewell. Of course, we just took delivery on a two month supply of line care stuff and the home care place cannot take it back.

Next week, when Nick shows up at the clinic to get his labs drawn, he will have to start getting stuck again. Hopefully, after once/week visits for a while, Nick's doctor will decide to let him back down to once/two weeks visits and labs. That will be nice!

Nick & I met with Dr. F (the doctor that used to do his lumbar punctures) on Wednesday. Now that he no longer is in IPOP, he is no longer followed by the Bone Marrow Transplant Team. Now he will be followed by the medical oncology doctors. Nick will still be followed by the graft vs. host team as needed. Right now, all the medical types seem pleased with Nick' s progress. His GVHD has shown improvement and it seems that the liver enzymes are finally headed in the right direction (i.e. - DOWN). His counts have been OK, but, they seem to be on a slight downward trend, so they are being watched closely. Nick has had a cold and cough the past few days, but, no fever. The steroids for the GVH are still being weaned downward and it won't be long until he is off of them altogether; hopefully, with no resurgence of the acute GVHD.

I seem to have a lot of emotional baggage to deal with lately...not sure why. I guess as Nick's daily physical needs decrease there is more time to think and the big picture worries seem to find their way into my consciousness. There are no answers to a lot of the questions I have...so I have to accept that this is the way that it will be and continue to move forward with my life, such as it is right now.

The holidays are a mixed blessing, mostly for the good though, as I am enjoying the Christmas music and the holiday decorating at the studio and home. I have no idea when I will go shopping for Christmas, luckily, I don't need to shop for very many people. The Gems and the Sparklers will be performing in the local Christmas parade this Sunday, so it will be a COLD and busy weekend. I hope to have some pictures to post of all the dancers in their Christmas garb.
Last year's parade was canceled due to bad weather, so I hope we fare better this time. It is such a big disappointment when they cancel the parade after all the time and hard work that has been put into our performance. The Weinberg center is also decorated for the holiday. They have a couple trees and other decor that are really pretty. Two days ago, an oncology nurse from Hopkins gave a piano concert of his own original holiday songs. I wished we could have been there!

Anyway, I guess that is enough of an update for now. Nick is doing well and I can only pray that he continues to improve and grow stonger each day.