EATING LIKE A BIRD

So what’s going on with Kristina this past week?  A couple of scares and a little bit of improvement. 

First the scares – One of the signs of GVHD is intestinal trouble.  But that’s been going on since the Mucositis set in after Chemo.  So when Kristina went in last Tuesday for her visit, the watery diarrhea was a concern.  Lingering from Mucositis?  First sign of GVHD?   Many issues with digestive tract distress but one of them is the ability to absorb oral medications.  Being able to take medications orally, keep them down, and properly absorb them (getting them ‘on board’ according to Kristina) is critical if one wants to stay out of the hospital.  Delivering those same meds is possible by IV, but in a hospital setting. 

So on Tuesday there was some deliberation whether she should go back to the hospital or not.  She was able to avoid being admitted and things are getting a little better. 

The second scare was a sudden spike in temperature.  Within just a few minutes, her temperature climbed.  98.4, 99.1, 99.4, 99.6, 100.1, then 100.4 – which is the tipping point to get to the hospital.  Infections can spike fast.  But then it stabilized and trended down.  Whew!  No sudden hospital trip. 

GVHD (see yesterday’s post) is confirmed on the skin.  Rashes on the arms, back of neck, up to the cheeks, but worst on the arms.  It’s treatable – Hydrocodone for the rashes from the collar bone up and another steroid cream for the arms, chest and torso.  And the creams are working, the rashes are getting a little better. 

Through all this Kristina is ‘eating like a bird’ (her words) eating small portions of food and getting slowly, incrementally better.  Saturday was the best food day yet.  The gun metal taste is still there, so food isn’t particularly enjoyable, but Kristina felt that her taste buds may slowly starting to come back.   

So now for the ‘ask’.  Care giving is a thing.  And up coming cost of professional care giving is more of a thing.  As much has she hates it, Kristina is not yet able to live independently and she’s weak.  Lizie will be leaving on Sept 16^th.  The calendar is in good shape with care team visits, but large financial obligations are looming.  Visiting the go fund me page is sincerely appreciated.