All the same procedures as the day before but we all knew that although Jamie had tolerated the antibodies well, the next day could show more side effects. We were so relieved that the first day had gone well, we kind of forgot there was more to come! The second day saw Jamie in more discomfort, especially in the back and tummy and he used the morphine a bit more. He played in the morning in his room and by noon was sleeping. He slept on and off throughout the afternoon but the Drs and Nurses were in constantly monitoring and checking the vital signs. Any sign of a temperature needs to be dealt with quickly as the antibodies cause fever in some children. Jamie did spike a temperature by evening and the rash on his head was getting worse with blisters having formed and beginning to crust. The Drs kept looking at it and weren't convinced that it was Shingles because it had already crusted and was quite small. We had heard though that Shingles can occur after radiotherapy.
Jamie's heart rate was a little fast at times during the transfusion and then the cough appeared again. This time it occurred earlier in the day and he had several episodes of persistent coughing. By the evening one such episode lasted more than 40 minutes and was severe.
The Drs were called and they felt that this was an allergic reaction to the antibodies and decided to stop the infusion for 30 minutes and to administer morphine and Benadryl. Within minutes of the infusion stopping, the cough became much better and Jamie rested. They started the infusion again at a slower rate and Jamie coped well. They then turned it back to full flow and Jamie was able to complete that days infusion without too many other issues.
Days 3 and 4 were interesting and slightly panicky at times but I will explain more soon!
1 comment:
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