Sunday, February 10, 2013
I should have posted before this. Rick survived the pneumonitis. The emergency room doctor at Anne Arundel Medical Center gets all the credit. All of the doctors were leery of using sulfa drugs because Rick had a reaction back when he was taking IL-2. No one wanted to use sulfa again. But the doctor at AAMC felt that we were going to lose him if they didn't do something extraordinary. So, after consulting the the two oncologists he decided to go ahead and use the sulfa based drugs. He felt that he had Rick in a closed environment and could keep a nurse near his side in case of a problem. He went ahead with the treatment and reported later that the drugs began to take effect and you could see a visible change in Rick -- for the better. It took a number of days, but he was soon home. Too weak to climb the stairs, but home. They moved things around and made a bedroom for him out of an office. He stayed there several days until he was able to tackle the stairs to the master bedroom. Then, once that was done, he had an appointment with the oncologist to discuss the next steps in the cancer treatment. The oncologist told them that while all the rest was going on, Rick's hernia had become an issue, and suggested getting it repaired before the next round of whatever treatments they chose. So, Rick head back to the hospital for a hernia repair. That was an easy job for him. He has bounced back from that one just like the old Rick. Now, they are awaiting word from the sponsor of the trial to decide if he can rejoin the trial. I am of mixed emotions on that one. While the drug was working miracles on the cancer cells, it was leaving him at risk for pneumonia. I'm glad I'm not in that decision.
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