It's time for another update.
Things have been going fairly smoothly since Becky's last surgery in June. It feels like her SBO (small bowel obstruction) issues have been resolved - at least for now. She did make one return trip to the ER and hospital in July for what felt like another SBO issue. This came as quite a surprise since she had the surgery which was supposed to "clean up" all the scar tissue that was thought to be the most likely root cause of her SBO problems. This particular episode and ER/hospital trip was not quite as severe as most of her previous ones. Things pretty much cleared up on their own within a day or so and she was able to head back home.
On the other hand, my body decided it was time to join in on the fun. A few weeks ago, I woke up extra early on a Friday morning with pain in the left side of my back. Since I had been down this road a couple times before, I was pretty sure what the cause was, but I was hoping this kidney stone would take care of itself without a trip to the Emergency Room. No such luck. Within an hour or so, I knew that at a minimum some pains meds were going to be in order. Something stronger than over-the-counter Tylenol or Ibuprofen. It was a relatively short trip. A scan to confirm the stone (and a few other lying in waiting), some pain meds, and something to help it pass. No surgery. I was better in a couple days, but I'm doing some follow-ups to decide on next steps. Becky said it felt weird to be sitting in the chair in the ER room while I was the one on the bed being treated. Anyway, enough about me. Back to Becky
Becky also made one more trip to the ER. She had been diagnosed as being anemic a few weeks ago. In fact, she's been borderline anemic off and on since the transplant. It's a common issue that transplant recipients have to deal with, and the transplant team has tried to improve things with various vitamins and meds. It's been a little worse lately and we had been working on the best plan to get Becky some iron infusions. Anyway, Becky woke up one morning with some chest pain. Since anemia can lead to heart issues, we decided to get her checked out. Better safe than sorry. The good news was that there were no heart issues. The bad news was that during the course of running all the tests they determined Becky had a UTI. Actually, it wasn't terrible news. Since Becky's on immunosuppressant medications, it's good the UTI was found early so it could be treated. She stayed in the hospital a couple days getting IV antibiotics and everything cleared up.
As far as the anemia goes, we were able to get the insurance to approve getting iron infusions at Texas Oncology here in Round Rock rather than having to make multiple trips to UTSW in Dallas. Becky finished a first round last week, and she's feeling a little better. It was a little emotional for her to get those infusions in the same room that her mom got chemo treatments a few years ago. Life likes to throw a curve every once in a while. Anyway, she's still tired, and she'll be getting some follow up blood work in a couple months to see where things stand.
So, overall things seem to be going fairly well. We haven't had any major issues in a few months. It feels like the we're dealing with fewer of the big things, and we're finally figuring out what Becky's new normal is two after her transplants. Yep, November 28th will be two years.
Until next time...
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