The Last DLBCL Treatment

Day 3 of Treatment #6 went as expected. The IV Brian put in on Tuesday continued to hold. Sariah was Tony’s AMU nurse again today. We told Sariah and the desk clerk, no offense, but we hope we don’t see them again! 😂

It’s been a relief that Tony has been able to sleep well. He did get up around 4:30 am Wednesday morning, and that was a big improvement over the insomnia he had last round from the Prednisone.

When we saw Dr. Graham on Tuesday, he asked if the allergy meds had helped with the bone pain Tony experiences a few days after the Neulasta. Tony told him they hadn’t helped and he had used hydrocodone so he could sleep. Dr. Graham told us he would write a prescription for a few tablets.

When Tony went to the pharmacy to get his Neulasta and Prednisone, there weren’t any pain meds in the bag. All the pharmacist could tell us was that the order had been withdrawn late last night, and no further explanation was provided.

So, we went down to the oncology clinic to get some answers. After a long wait, the oncology nurse, Rebekah, came to visit with us. It turns out, as a two-year resident, Dr. Graham isn’t authorized to write a prescription for narcotics at the VA. 🤦🏼‍♀️ The prescription would have required the supervising physician, and Dr. Patel was working at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital today, so he wasn’t available to help with a last-minute request. Poor Dr. Graham will now get schooled by the nurse and the supervising physician regarding the protocol. We left the hospital without any pain meds. Fortunately, we found some here at home.

On the way back to the Fisher House, Tony stopped in at the Patriot Store to buy a beanie with an Army logo on it to keep his head warm.

We ate some yummy leftovers for lunch and packed up. We are so grateful for the Fisher House and all who serve there. We hope we don’t need to utilize it again.

We made a few stops on the way home: Trader Joe’s, Tractor Supply, Flying J, and out to Iona to deliver a book one of the grands had forgotten to take.

We are home for the holidays! 🦃🎄 No next-time bags to leave packed. We are so grateful to be closing the chapter on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and pray that the PET scan in January shows that the disease has been eradicated.

He proposed after knowing me for 35 days. We were married 91 days later. I’m grateful for this man every day and extra grateful today that the patriarch of our family is still with us. Today we celebrate 13,880 days of marriage. If I could go back and give advice to that sweet young couple, it would be, “Hold on tight!”