Sorry I haven't emailed this week, but I want to let you know what is going on. I want to say thank you for reading this email. It is nice that you take the time and thought to think of me.
The week started pretty normal - nothing on Monday, but I got word of one more scan to be done. Tuesday I went in to Primary Children's Hospital to get a PET scan, completing my scan accomplishments that now list at Cat scan, MRI, and now PET. I started to notice, especially on Tuesday, that I was getting more and more uncomfortable. On Tuesday I also met my doctor, and he informed me of the Chemo therapy treatment plan that I would be starting - tailored due to studies that showed a certain treatment plain for my age group and basic condition was more effective. This was my first time, actually (in the three weeks I have been home) that I have met with my doctor. He seemed informed, willing to take the advice of other leading medical consultants, and understanding of my questions.
Wednesday I went into the hospital and got a port placed while in surgery. A port is a membrane placed under your skin near your heart that holds blood, and has a tube that connects to the vein. This gives nurses an easy place to place an iv, since they don't really have to worry about missing the vein when they have a reservoir to poke into. It also allows me to take a shower when I go home since all of parts of the reservoir remain under the skin. Sleeping was a little rough that night, and they gave me some heavier medication than just the Tylenol and Ibu Profen I had been taking. It was a pretty rough night, and it led to a solution that, though painful, worked. I would yet have other complications.
On Thursday they realized the my pump, that was pumping fluids into my body in order to prep for chemotherapy was "kinking" or getting obstructed a lot. An X - ray of my chest revealed that the surgery done on Wednesday had effected my lung, causing it to collapse (this has some medial name that I don't remember). I, as well as the other doctors and nurses, where surprised that I hadn't been feeling more pain than I had. Because of this condition, the doctors decided to operate on me (surgery again) even though I had eaten a few hours previously. This made the drugs that they chose to use more limited, and I opted for the lighter medication. I totally hallucinated, and was kind of aware...for some parts of the procedure, what was going on. The Chest tube, is what came out of the operation (sucking air out of the space) and was the third, of what would be, at the max, 7 of either tubes of wires that were connected to me at one time.
Thursday night, around midnight, they started my chemotherapy. It was done in an hour and a half, and then a 15 minute dose was done 24 hours later (on Friday). On Friday night, when they hooked me up to the chemo drug, I slept through it. After Chemo therapy, the main battle was managing the pain I was still feeling (they eventually hooked me up to something that flowed continuously at a slow rate through my port), and the effects of the constipating effects of some of the drugs I was taking. I started feeling a little better on Saturday, and got better and better till now, where I feel the best I have felt all week. Due to the relatively fast action of the chemo drugs, and their apparent shrinking of the tumor, I feel better than I did when I landed in Salt Lake City.
With all of this going on, I really have my parents to thank, and the nurses who were so attentive to me while I have been here. Mom or Dad have always stayed with me, and have slept over multiple nights at the hospital.
I hope to be able to go home tomorrow, and I am happy to report that as of right now, I am not hooked up to any machines. My biggest obstacle now is just making sure I can manage pain with oral medication, and we hope to see some of the swelling in my legs go down - they hook you up to fluids before chemo, and with everything that happened, I gained 22 pounds in about three days. Since then I have lost some :)
Here is a thought that I liked as I prepared to teach my Family Home Evening lesson today: Elder Nelson gave a talk on focusing on the the joy that we can have through the Savior in our trials: What will you and I be able to endure as we focus on the joy that is “set before” us?20 What repenting will then be possible? What weakness will become a strength?21 What chastening will become a blessing?22 What disappointments, even tragedies, will turn to our good?23 And what challenging service to the Lord will we be able to give?24
Sincerely,
Nathan Allen
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