karenulijohn

As of last night, Harvey has had five infusions of antibiotics and there is a marked improvement in his condition.  Apart from the fact that his foot hurts like the dickens, he is much like his old self, able to do a few things around the house, but most especially, able to come out with the jokes and comments that so endear him to me.  Thank goodness his appetite is also slowly returning.  I don’t think I could stand another night of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup for dinner.  The fuss he made over my fixing it might have fooled the average person into thinking that I had prepared Pheasant Under Glass.  I guess when you don’t feel good, some bland foods taste positively delicious.

It seems like we have spent most of our days, since Thursday, at Sutter hospital, either visiting the doctor, or having an infusion, or blood draw.  Yesterday we went to see Dr. Colbourn in the morning.  He had a look at the toe and asked Harvey if he thought the red area had receded.  Harvey replied, “Oh yes, quite a bit!”  I jumped in and said that it looked exactly like it did last Thursday except the redness was not so angry looking.  So, the doctor took his pen and drew a line around the offending red lump providing a baseline for comparison.  He then told us that it did not need to be lanced because there was no sign of any blood or puss.  He went on to describe the lancing procedure in great detail, and I could feel Harvey squirming in the chair next to me.  Dr. Colbourn laughingly told us that he loves to describe things like that in gory detail because patients feel better when he tells them that the described procedure won’t be required.  We will be seeing him again tomorrow to determine whether or not Harvey will continue receiving antibiotics by infusion or in pill form.  While we hope for pill form, we will do whatever is necessary to get this infection under control and finally healed.  After a quiet afternoon, we headed back to the hospital at 5:00PM for the infusion.  Days go quickly with this schedule.

This morning we saw Harvey’s surgeon, Dr. Owens.  He noticed immediately that Harvey has lost weight, asking what was happening.  I was satisfied that Harvey’s description of events provided enough detail, so I kept quiet.  Dr. Owens examined his face, cheeks and neck, first with his fingers and then with the ultrasound.  He is very thorough, even explaining to me what he was seeing.  Finally, he announced that everything looked terrific and we can look forward to seeing him again in three months.  Oh, what a relief!

We decided to celebrate at the Black Bear Diner in Roseville where Harvey tucked into two eggs over easy, all of the strip potatoes and one sausage patty.  He couldn’t quite manage the second sausage patty and the biscuit, but I was so happy to see him eating and enjoying the experience.  It’s great to have him back!

It has been approximately six weeks since the last infusion, and Harvey has experienced debilitating side effects throughout this period.  No single thing has been catastrophic, but in combination, they have made a significant impact on our lives.  He has complained of a general feeling of being unwell, and has experienced some gastric issues which finally resolved after being told he could take Immodium.  His appetite diminished to the point where his total caloric intake for the day might be no more than 500 calories.  Wonder of wonders, he has even “gone off” White Zin!”  Needless to say, he has lost a total of 18 pounds over this time period.

All of this has not only affected Harvey physically, but emotionally as well.  He is not accustomed to being bedridden, and unable to stand for any length of time without feeling as though he would fall over.  This all came to a head this past Tuesday when he told me to have a look at his big toe.  It was very swollen and red, hot to the touch.  He was having difficulty walking on it.  He finally called the “on call” doctor with the Yervoy study.  She returned his call immediately and suggested that he try to move his appointment with Dr. Colbourn forward from next Monday.  Luckily, we were able to see him yesterday at 4:00PM.  Earlier yesterday, Harvey had planned to attend his weekly Rotary meeting, and I was going to walk over and meet him there.  As I was preparing to leave, he called to me from the shower saying that he didn’t think he could go, and that he felt so weak he could barely make it to the bed.  I felt his pulse, but it wasn’t racing, though he did seem to have a fever.  He slept the entire day until I roused him at 3:00PM to get ready for the appointment.

Dr. Colbourn listened to this litany of complaints that we had attributed to Yervoy, and after looking at Harvey’s toe, announced that he had an infection called cellulitis.  “Cellulitis (sel-u-LI-tis) is a common, potentially serious bacterial skin infection. Cellulitis appears as a swollen, red area of skin that feels hot and tender, and it may spread rapidly.  Left untreated, the spreading infection may rapidly turn life-threatening. That’s why it’s important to seek immediate medical attention if cellulitis symptoms occur.” (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cellulitis/DS00450)

Harvey will be receiving intravenous infusions of the antibiotic Ceftriaxone Sodium, which is a cephalosporin antibiotic, for the next seven days.  He had his first infusion at 6:00PM yesterday after leaving the Dr.’s office.  We finally got home last night at about 8:30PM and he went straight to sleep.  This morning he awoke at 8:00AM with the most cheerful “good morning” that I’ve heard in weeks.  He ate a banana, had some orange juice and a piece of toast with butter and jam.  What a difference!   The doctor is very optimistic that Harvey will be feeling much more like his old self in a matter of days.  We will see him again on Monday morning to check on Harvey’s progress.  Praise God and thanks to all of you who have kept Harvey close in your thoughts and prayers.  We are truly blessed!