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| Big Guy had five days of IV steroids at home ending 2 weeks ago tomorrow. Each day he got 1 gram in a 250 ml bag, dripping for an hour. |
Showing posts with label Solu-Medrol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Solu-Medrol. Show all posts
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Solu-Medrol
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Improving Slowly?
OK. Last night was BG's first Rebif shot without a nurse present and he did a great job. He is using the Rebif II Autoinjector. It did not hurt a bit. He used a spot on his belly, noted it in the Rebif Journal, and went to sleep. No obvious reactions at the site.
Yesterday BG came out at dusk and walked unassisted around the yard with faithful dog! That was huge. The day before he showered, sat at the table and told a story sounding like his "old self," and then actually went out and got on his beloved lawn tractor (scaring the s**t out of me) and mowed for 20 minutes. (These days if he is anywhere but in bed or the bathroom I am shocked.) He was exhausted after that. But it was wonderful. Is it the effects of five days of 1000mg IVSolu-Medrol last week? Is it the Rebif? Is it just the natural course of this hellish episode? I don't know. But I see a positive trend.
One thing is certain. This is slow and this is unpredictable from hour to hour and day to day. Maybe this is one of the lessons of this stupid disease. One must be patient each moment and deal with what comes. Each moment may present a disappointment or a gift or just more of the same. We must cherish the gifts and breathe through the rest. To me it feels like an emotional marathon. I just can't maintain hyper stress for this long. My body can't do it. Our family can't do it. We need to learn a new way to be which as strange as it sounds, requires us to relax emotionally around the MS. To find some peace with it, in spite of it.
Yesterday BG came out at dusk and walked unassisted around the yard with faithful dog! That was huge. The day before he showered, sat at the table and told a story sounding like his "old self," and then actually went out and got on his beloved lawn tractor (scaring the s**t out of me) and mowed for 20 minutes. (These days if he is anywhere but in bed or the bathroom I am shocked.) He was exhausted after that. But it was wonderful. Is it the effects of five days of 1000mg IVSolu-Medrol last week? Is it the Rebif? Is it just the natural course of this hellish episode? I don't know. But I see a positive trend.
One thing is certain. This is slow and this is unpredictable from hour to hour and day to day. Maybe this is one of the lessons of this stupid disease. One must be patient each moment and deal with what comes. Each moment may present a disappointment or a gift or just more of the same. We must cherish the gifts and breathe through the rest. To me it feels like an emotional marathon. I just can't maintain hyper stress for this long. My body can't do it. Our family can't do it. We need to learn a new way to be which as strange as it sounds, requires us to relax emotionally around the MS. To find some peace with it, in spite of it.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
I earned my IV badge today
Today the Big Guy has been in bed for four weeks. He has Multiple Sclerosis. I can't believe I am writing this. My husband has MS. Today it has been four weeks and 5 days since his symptoms began. And today I earned my IV badge. (I am envisioning myself as some sort of 40 something girl scout with imaginary badges.) We just finished day five of Solu-Medrol at home. We did the last dose and then I pulled the IV out (it's a little plastic thing!), slapped that gauze pad down, taped it up and marveled at the amount of arm hair stuck on the IV tape I had removed. I watched a video on YouTube first. So, of course I felt completely confident!
The nurse came and got us started on Wednesday with an IV and a few quick instructions about alcohol wipes and drip rates and saline flushes and Heparin chasers. The she left us, steroids drip-drip-dripping down the tube and hope in our hearts. No problem. Each day I had to get psyched up to do the IV thing. My hands shook. I had jelly legs. Not because I am a squeamish person but because it feels so bloody wrong for me to be in this role. Who am I to be adjusting a drip rate? Why is anyone trusting me with flushing a line? What if something terrible happens? (Oh wait something terrible did happen, demyelination happened.)What if I do something wrong? Now this five day experience is over. Who knows how many IVs lie in Big Guy's future. In our future. BG's diagnosis was less than a week ago. Rebif is on the way, in an Omaha Steaks type container I guess. Please Solu-Medrol, do good work and help my BG get out of bed.
The nurse came and got us started on Wednesday with an IV and a few quick instructions about alcohol wipes and drip rates and saline flushes and Heparin chasers. The she left us, steroids drip-drip-dripping down the tube and hope in our hearts. No problem. Each day I had to get psyched up to do the IV thing. My hands shook. I had jelly legs. Not because I am a squeamish person but because it feels so bloody wrong for me to be in this role. Who am I to be adjusting a drip rate? Why is anyone trusting me with flushing a line? What if something terrible happens? (Oh wait something terrible did happen, demyelination happened.)What if I do something wrong? Now this five day experience is over. Who knows how many IVs lie in Big Guy's future. In our future. BG's diagnosis was less than a week ago. Rebif is on the way, in an Omaha Steaks type container I guess. Please Solu-Medrol, do good work and help my BG get out of bed.
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