Stop the Leak

With all that's going on with the house, it's not the only stress in my life. When it rains it pours right? On Monday the 7th I received a phone call from my step mom in Florida. Considering that the phone call came in at 10:00pm their time I knew something was up. My dad has been dealing with aggressive brain cancer, see here and here.

He has been taking experimental drugs to be able to prevent the tumor regrowth, but after his last surgery he had to discontinue and taking steroids to fight infection. They have been weaning him off the steroids to be able to start a new chemotherapy study drug (E7080) which he began on March 3rd. On Thursday and over the course of the weekend he was experiencing moderate to severe headaches. Daryl (my stepmom) was concerned when he started leaking fluid out of the surgical site on Sunday night. She called the oncologist and the recommended that he be admitted into the ER. He was being treated for three issues. 2 different antibiotics in case of infection, again on steroids (8mg daily) and a drug called Diamox to reduce the production of fluid. The doctor wanted him to stay in the hospital for a few days so he could review his MRI's. The question was whether the new experimental drug caused the issue or if the timing was coincidental. They looked at the MRI from 2/18 and from 3/3 and both showed a considerable amount of swelling and fluid in the brain. They also showed the "shift" of the brain.  Let me explain. Imagine the brain with a straight line dividing the left and right sides.  Now imagine that line bulging in the middle to the left.  The entire left side is swollen and the right side is being pressed against.  Also, you can see fluid pooling in the lower left region.  This corresponds to the spot where it leaked out of his head. From these images it appears as though the timing was coincidental. This was all the information from Tuesday and he was expected to be released on Wednesday at some time.

Overnight my dad's head began to leak again causing plans to change. The doctor came by and said he needed to re suture the surgical site.  This requires opening up the site again, checking for infection and then closing the wound.  If any puss is found he will have to remove the skull bone and then close the site.  The wound will heal without bone and he will have a soft spot there.  He is hopeful that he can contain things.  If after this he still leaks serum then he would have to put a shunt in with drainage from the head to the stomach where the stomach would absorb the fluid. He was put on more antibiotics and surgery was scheduled for Thursday morning at 9:30am EST. I awoke on Thursday morning to a text stating that the surgery was canceled because the leaking had stopped. The doctor came by around 8:15 and took a look at the wound.  He was immediately pleased to see a dry area and decided to shave his head to get a better look.  He found a clean, sealed wound, with no leakage. He then consulted with an infectious disease doctor who came to see my dad.  He was very thorough and explained that he had spoken to Dr. Kumar 2 or 3 times including this morning.  The doctor examined my dad and said he needs to continue in IV antibiotics for between 2 and 6 weeks. All indications seem to point to cellulitis at this point but he can't rule out infection in the bone.  Having to take medication via and IV for this length of time will require that my dad gets a "pick line".  This is a permanent port from which they can draw blood or give medication without poking a vein each time.  The hospital inserted the pick line on Thursday and kept him on antibiotics overnight and hopefully head home on Friday.

The doctor explained in order to deliver the antibiotics, they have three options.  They can either travel to his office daily to receive the IV antibiotic, a home health nurse can come to the house, or Daryl can administer the IV antibiotics and see the doc each week.  They are opting for the option three, because Daryl has experience inserting IV's on her horses. The good news is he can go home but the negative is that he will not be able to have any chemotherapy until the infection is gone.

So I am praying that the infection clears up quickly. It's hard for me, because I live 3000 miles away and I feel helpless sometimes. But I know they have many friends and family that are there for them. I just wish I could be one of them too. I guess I have to be supportive via phone and email. That's the current conditions over in Dade City Florida. Please keep him in your prayers! Thanks to all my family and friends that are my support group. I love you all!