Like a Boomerang!

A lot has transpired since my last entry – I just haven’t had the energy to get it down on paper (or in cyberspace) until now.

My hospital stay was short lived, admitted on Tuesday, released for good behavior on Wednesday. Unfortunately, they pulled the trigger a little too soon, and like a boomerang, I was back in a hospital bed on Thursday. This time I was their welcomed guest until Sunday evening.

The purpose of the hospitalization was largely to find the cause of my fever, isolate the infection and then aggressively treat it with IV antibiotics. They felt the infection may be in my lungs, but the chest x-ray previously performed, was inconclusive. So, off to the CAT Scan table for a chest CT. This didn’t show much either.

In an effort to rule out a viral infection, or dare I say, Swine Flu, they sent a representative from their infectious disease center to administer a “nasal swab”. I must say, if you’ve never experienced a nasal swab, I would strongly recommend that you don’t…unequivocally, I would rate this as one of the most intrusive and uncomfortable procedures I’ve experienced in the past few months -- (without the benefit of anesthesia).

On the surface, it seems quite harmless. Some guy comes in with a long Q-Tip and wants to swab the inside of my nose…ok, big deal. In reality, I think he somehow transformed the Q-tip into a Louisville Slugger and was intent on getting brain tissue samples. Ouch!

To add insult to injury, until the results come back (about 24hrs), you are presumed to be infected and contagious, therefore quarantined to your room. They pasted a warning on my door that any visitors must take proper precautions and dress in full protective gear. It was pretty comical, the same nurses and doctors who were coming into see me 15 minutes before (dressed in normal garb), were now outfitted in attire reminiscent of Chernobyl. Fortunately, the results came back within 24hrs and I was declared virus-free, so off came the gowns and masks.

The fever still remained at about 101F. So the doctor ordered another test to get a closer look at my lungs. This time they would do a Bronchoscopy. I’ve had this test before, and it wasn’t one of my favorites… During this test, they insert a tube and camera down your throat and into your lungs to take a look around. The images are far more detailed than you can get on a CT scan, plus while they’re in there, they’re able to flush the lungs with saline, collect a sample and then culture it to see if anything is growing (the source of the infection).

Well indeed there was stuff growing, the bronchoscopy came back positive for PCP, Pneumocystis pneumonia. This is an opportunistic strain of pneumonia that lurks deep within and attacks when your immune system is sufficiently depleted and cannot defend itself.

So at last, we found the source of the infection and fever and could start to treat it with the proper antibiotics. I was placed on a heavy dose of Bactrim , first by IV, 3 times a day while in the hospital, and then sent home with a 21 day supply in pill form. The Bactrim, coupled with a daily regimen of Prednisone (a steroid to reduce the inflammation in my lungs), Fluconazole (an anti-fungal drug) and Acyclovir (an anti-viral drug) should pack enough punch to rid my body of the dreaded and quite often feared PCP!

The only downside (and I’m not sure if it really is a true downside) is that the doctor has suspended my chemo while trying to fight off the PCP, since the chemo would only further deplete my immune system and allow the PCP more opportunity to run amok…

The medical team is closely monitoring my blood levels and so far all is good. Estimates are to resume chemo in a couple of weeks. From there, it’s just 4 more infusions – or 8 weeks to the finish line --- barring any more surprises.

Thanks for reading. I’ll post again when there is more to tell. In the meantime, go out and do something positive today, hug a loved one and count your blessings!

Glenn