Serenity reacted to her blood transfusion last night and required 2 doses of Benadryl in order for the redness and itching to go away. The Benadryl made her sleep soundly, so when she awoke she seemed a little like her old self.
Shortly after waking she received a dose of Fortaz (antibiotic) intravenously, which she has been getting all alone. A few minutes after the medicine was started she began throwing up and her face and neck turned all splotchy and red. We aren’t sure whether it is a delayed reaction from the blood last night, a side effect of the chemotherapy (Vincristine), or an allergic reaction to the Fortaz. Our nurse brought in another dose of Benadryl which has helped, but left her feeling woozy and tired.
This morning we gave her Prevacid, Alopurinol (to prevent uric acid from building up in her system), and Dexamethasone (an oral steroid). She needs a dose of calcium carbonate as well. We are spacing everything out so that if she reacts or throws up we’ll know what caused it. It is so hard because she requires so many medications throughout the day, and she doesn’t like taking any of them. We often have to hold her down and force it into her mouth (using a syringe) and then comfort her after the fact. I’m hoping that as time goes on she will become resigned and fight us less.
It wasn’t an easy morning for her but now she’s very drowsy & zoning out in front of the TV.
I’m sorry that she’s having a rough time. There are those days that we always wanted to wish away – I often asked our nurses if they could hunt down a magic wand for me 🙂 They really did try to find one.
Thinking of you almost constantly.