OOPS...

This is the hat Henry got yesterday, he liked it so much he wouldn't take it off even for his nap.

"Life is Good"

So last night Henry and I were so excited because we were getting a nurse that we really like, Dani, however, they had assigned her to two very busy patients. She was running around quickly trying to get everything done for both patients. I felt bad for her, so I did as much as I could, got his weight, his belly girth, his temp, and his alarms were going off so I shut them off, and then realized that one of the syringes was empty so I just turned the pump off so it wouldn't continue to beep at us.

The problem we soon realized was that first, when I shut the pump off they lose all their information about what was infused and how fast... second problem, some how his cyclosporine that goes in over 12 hours, went in over 1 hour! So they start trying to figure things out... like what side effects should we expect, should he go to the ICU over night for careful watching.. they were all panicked! And poor Dani, bless her heart was so upset and crying. I wasn't very worried honestly, Henry and I said a prayer that he would be alright, and that whatever happened we would be able to take care of it. So I tried to make Dani feel better, but a mistake like that can be very bad if it were a different medication.

Luckily after talking to the pharmacist and our bmt Doctor, they gave us a range of side effects to watch for like seizures, kidney problems, acid levels in the body shoot really high causing dehydration... which means they would have had to pump him full of fluid and no diuretics! UGH that in itself would cause more problems, like respiratory failure or distress. So the PA called the Doctor and said she would get back to us, well the Doctor drove over to the Hospital to come check on Henry personally and to talk to me face to face. He must live really close cause it didn't take him that long.

While this was all happening by the way he had a fever and the GvH rash.. which basically turns his body red and splotchy... and then got nauseated from the medicine. All were potential side effects of the high dose of cyclosporine. Turns out it wasn't that big of an overdose.. see nothing to worry about. :) What he was given over an hour was only twice what is normal. Usually they give people two doses of cyclosporine a day, Henry is on a drip so they can try to maintain the cyclosporine levels in his blood. The cyclosporine by the way is used to treat CMV, the virus in his lungs and liver and such. So really he just got two doses at once. By the time they got everything figure out and the Doc came in to talk to us, the peak of the drug had already happened and he was showing no signs of overdose. He was actually sleeping peacefully and the red splotchy rash was almost gone, thanks to good ol' Tylenol. So what could have been a disaster wasn't really that bad.

I feel bad for our nurse, she's so sweet and felt so bad, and they had her trying to manage two very needy patients, and yes she said she should have slowed down, but I totally forgive her! I am sure she won't ever make that mistake again.

I am sooooo grateful for the sweet peace I feel daily, the Lord has blessed me with peace of mind beyond what I can attain on my own. There is no way I would be able to endure this with out that peace. So when the nurses and Doctors are frantic with worry about something, I remain calm most the time because of the sweet peace from the Spirit. I really believe that's the reason I am so able to cope with all this and to really trust in the Lord, he has carried me through this, and I know most of you think you couldn't handle it.. but you could, with the strength of the Lord all things are possible. I know he hears my simple prayers and he answers them and he is always ready to bless us with whatever we need, so long as we ask for it... and sometimes we get it even if we don't ask. When we show humility and gratitude to the Lord he showers us with love and blessings and joy. Above all I'm grateful for the relationship I have been able to develop with my Savior and my Father in Heaven, and with my wonderful husband and children. What a blessing it has been to be together through most of this experience. Much Love to our family and friends. You are a great strength to us!