So last week was my third infusion. I was scheduled to have the treatment on Wednesday. About two week ago, however, I realized I had paid to play in a golf tournament with my brother, Justin, on Wednesday. I called and was able to move the treatment to Friday. Ya, I know, my health is more important than anything else but how was I suppose to miss golf? A side note, Justin and I played in the tournament at Talon's Cove and finished tied for fourth!
Friday, Nicole and I went to the treatment at HCI. Because I moved the scheduled treatment, my doctor's appointment was scheduled at 10 am but my infusion time was not until 3 pm. Yes, another long day at HCI! Nicole and I planned on being there a little early so we could get the labs drawn in plenty of time so the results would be available when we saw Dr. Grossman. The labs always seem to be what holds us up before the infusion can begin. I went into the lab and the nurse attempted to start an IV. Now I have never had any trouble for nurses to draw blood or start an IV but for some reason at HCI, it ALWAYS seems to be a problem.
The nurse attempted to start an IV in the bottom side of my right wrist. Not only did it REALLY hurt but she had to remove it because it was not a very good IV either. I now have a really nice bruise on my wrist. The nurse then was able to start an IV on the top of my right hand. She pulled about 8 vials of blood to cover all the required tests they need for the trial as well as the doctor and infusion. This made me about 45 minutes late to the doctor.
Nicole and I also learned that the clinical trial coordinator, Chris Hamatake, had left. We were getting a new person to take over. This caught us by surprise because I spoke with Chris about two weeks earlier (remember the golf tournament) and he made no mention about leaving. It was also a little bothersome that no one called to tell us once it happened. We then met Andrea who would take over until someone else was hired to replace Chris. Andrea was not nearly as concerned with the injection as Dr. Grossman was!!!
We then decided we would go into Salt Lake and eat lunch and hang out until the infusion. Andrea said she would call the monitoring person over the trial and let us know our status on the trial. Andrea said to plan on being back at 3 pm to start the infusion. Nicole also asked Andrea to check the labs to make sure everything was ok so we did not get slowed down starting the infusion. Andrea said she would check on those also. Just as we were leaving, Andrea called and said I needed to have two more labs drawn that were important to check before starting infusion. We turned around and went back to the lab. It took the nurse several minutes to draw the blood. The nurse could not get a good flow of blood from the IV. Nicole said it was because she left the tourniquet on while she attempted to get the blood. We then left and went and a really nice lunch at the Gateway.
We came a little early and checked in hoping we would start on time. We got pulled in for infusion on time but the actual infusion didn't start until about 45 minutes after the scheduled time. This meant once again I would be one of the last if not the last person to leave. The infusion went really pretty good. I am finding that I am very tired after infusion and this time I was not hungry at all. I have found that my stomach is more uneasy as well.
Nicole reminded me, following infusion that I only had 12 more to go!!!
Friday, Nicole and I went to the treatment at HCI. Because I moved the scheduled treatment, my doctor's appointment was scheduled at 10 am but my infusion time was not until 3 pm. Yes, another long day at HCI! Nicole and I planned on being there a little early so we could get the labs drawn in plenty of time so the results would be available when we saw Dr. Grossman. The labs always seem to be what holds us up before the infusion can begin. I went into the lab and the nurse attempted to start an IV. Now I have never had any trouble for nurses to draw blood or start an IV but for some reason at HCI, it ALWAYS seems to be a problem.
It was really busy for the doctor on Friday. Because we were late getting to him because of the lab, we had to wait for a little bit before we saw Dr. Grossman. We went over the last three weeks. I told Dr. Grossman that I have been having more stomach issues but everthing else was doing pretty good. I then told Dr. Grossman about my shoulder. He began very upset and alarmed that I had gotten an injection into my shoulder. Dr. Grossman then said there was a possibility I could be taken off the trial because of the injection. Dr. Grossman said taking a steriod was a no no with this trial. I became a bit upset with him. My shoulder is really giving my problems and I told him about all this with my shoulder hoping I could get something done about it. He was sooo upset about the injection that he left without covering my concern about my shoulder. I got the impression that he was more worried about the protocol and trial than my overall health. I have been a little bit upset about his reaction ever since.
Nicole and I also learned that the clinical trial coordinator, Chris Hamatake, had left. We were getting a new person to take over. This caught us by surprise because I spoke with Chris about two weeks earlier (remember the golf tournament) and he made no mention about leaving. It was also a little bothersome that no one called to tell us once it happened. We then met Andrea who would take over until someone else was hired to replace Chris. Andrea was not nearly as concerned with the injection as Dr. Grossman was!!!
We then decided we would go into Salt Lake and eat lunch and hang out until the infusion. Andrea said she would call the monitoring person over the trial and let us know our status on the trial. Andrea said to plan on being back at 3 pm to start the infusion. Nicole also asked Andrea to check the labs to make sure everything was ok so we did not get slowed down starting the infusion. Andrea said she would check on those also. Just as we were leaving, Andrea called and said I needed to have two more labs drawn that were important to check before starting infusion. We turned around and went back to the lab. It took the nurse several minutes to draw the blood. The nurse could not get a good flow of blood from the IV. Nicole said it was because she left the tourniquet on while she attempted to get the blood. We then left and went and a really nice lunch at the Gateway.
We came a little early and checked in hoping we would start on time. We got pulled in for infusion on time but the actual infusion didn't start until about 45 minutes after the scheduled time. This meant once again I would be one of the last if not the last person to leave. The infusion went really pretty good. I am finding that I am very tired after infusion and this time I was not hungry at all. I have found that my stomach is more uneasy as well.
Nicole reminded me, following infusion that I only had 12 more to go!!!
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