The Birth Day and the PET Scan

Baby is here!  I am in awe of how well he is doing.  I'll admit that the whole process leading up to delivery was pretty scary. 

I was admitted on Monday morning (7/28) for the second steroid shot.  After getting my lab results back, it was determined that my hemoglobin and my platelets were really low.   I would be receiving a transfusion of blood and of platelets I order to make sure things were safe for surgery the following day.  The platelets arrived pretty quickly and I was transfused with those by Monday afternoon.  The blood, on the other hand, didn't arrive until 10:00 at night.  Because I have certain antibodies, the blood has to go through an extra screening to make sure it doesn't have those antigens.  (Remember the whole problem with my baby's blood?)  Transfusing that late posed a small problem.  I was supposed to have 6 hours of a magnesium sulfate drip prior to surgery.  My surgery was scheduled for 8:00am.  They turned the pump on for as quickly as I could tolerate and I was done with my two units of blood by 1:00am.  They started my magnesium and I dozed for a couple of hours. 

Around 4:00 in the morning, they drew my blood again to make sure things were safe for surgery.  Around 6:00 in the morning, I was informed that my platelets were still only 37 (should be 50 for surgery and 100 in order to perform the "awake" cesarean section).  My OB made the call to go ahead with delivery, but we had to get more blood and platelets to make sure I was safe in case things went bad.  Again, we had to wait and wait for blood because it needed the extra screen.  8:00 came and went.  12:00 came and went.  Finally around 1:00, we were informed that the blood had made it to the hospital and we were looking at a 3:00 surgery.  At 2:30, we were informed that someone else wanted to use the operating room and my doc said NOPE.

My beautiful son was born at 2:53pm weighing 3lb9oz.  Of course as soon as we got to the OR, I was put under anesthesia, so I didn't get to meet him until a couple of hours later.  My surgery was finished without any complications.  Even though there was risk and concern of hemorrhage, I was told that I barely bled more than normal.  When they brought my son out to see my husband, he wailed upon being unwrapped.  Things could not have gone better.

On Wednesday, the resident OB let me know that my OB and my oncologist were suggesting another transfusion for me.  My body had just been through shock, essentially, and thy wanted to make sure I could actually be discharged in a decent condition.  They still had the blood from the previous day (I didn't NEED it!), so I agreed.  I felt terrible.  I had been feeling terrible- chemo + pregnancy + surgery will do that.  By the time I was done being transfused, I was also done being bedridden.  I asked my nurses to take out my catheter and unhook me from my pump for pain meds (which also meant taking off the pulse oximeter on my finger and the respiration monitor at my neck).  I finally felt better.  But then I felt so much worse.  Wednesday night was a really rough night.  I had only been up out of bed once on Wed.  Trying again during the night took not one but two nurses.  I was in so much pain not only because of my incision but my legs and hips too.  I had no idea how to manage it all together.

Thursday morning, the resident OB asked when I wanted to go home.  I almost cried.  I told her "not today."  If the overnight had been more successful, I might have thought about going home that day, but I just didn't feel comfortable with that.  However, throughout the day I got more and more confident.  I dressed myself.  I slept a lot.  I visited with my son.  I was able to use the bathroom on my own.  When Friday came, I felt ready to go home.  The OB wrote up my discharge papers and my oncologist checked in on me.  He told me that my platelets were still incredibly low even though my hemoglobin had come back up.  I was instructed to page the oncologist on call if I had ANY problems after being discharged.  Luckily, I have not.

Before I left the hospital, I was contacted to schedule my PET scan.  The PET scan is the *big* test we were waiting for.  It tells my oncologist where else the cancer is.  We know it's in the femurs and pelvis because of x-ray and biopsy.  It gives the radiation oncologist a framework on where we need to radiate.  It gives the orthopedic oncologist images that will help determine type of surgery (pins? whole hip replacement? none at all?).  I went through this test this past Wednesday (8/6).  I was injected with a radioactive dye that shows uptake in rapidly reproducing cells (cancer)...

And that leads us to today.  How lucky am I that I got to consult with 3 different doctors all within and hour of each other?  But we have results and we have a plan.  I wish I had good news to share with everyone, but cancer is an ugly beast and I didn't exactly get lucky.  I guess if there IS good news, it is that there was no cancer detected in any of my vital organs.  My liver, lungs, spleen, etc., look good.  My bones on the other hand, don't fare as well.  We knew it was in the femurs and pelvis.  There is a LOT of it in the pelvis.  There is also a tumor on my C2 vertebrae that the doctors are very concerned about.  I had no clue.  Now all of a sudden, I am hit with the realization that paralysis could happen at any time.  This tumor is not only close to my spinal cord, but close to my brain as well.

So what is the plan of action?  I start radiation on Monday (8/11).  We'll be radiating the tumor in my neck in hopes of getting rid of it.  We'll also be radiating my hip/femoral head in order to both shrink the cancer and to bring me pain relief.  I also start back on chemo next week in order to shrink/get rid of everything else.  I'll continue the same weekly regimen that I was doing before delivery.  I'm hoping I can handle it better NOT being pregnant.  According to the doctors, the radiation and the chemo complement each other- they help each other to be more effective.  These next couple of weeks will be tough on my body, but they'll be tough on the cancer, too.  I will also receive a shot of a drug called Xgeva, which helps with bone building.

My older two children will be attending a camp next week specifically for kids who have parents that battled cancer.  (Camp Kesem). I am really looking forward to what they can experience there.  That also leaves me alone time with the (now) second youngest.  I'm looking forward to that too.  And while I wish the youngest could be at home with us already, I know he's in good hands and will continue to get stronger and gain weight and be home soon.  Thank you all for your continued prayers and well wishes.  And a BIG thank you to those who have volunteered time for me as well as the food and gift cards.  We appreciate it more than you know.