Detlef starting chemo

Here is my first experience with a blog, and I get to write about one of my favorite people in the world. . . . . Detlef. Yesterday as I was contemplating flying out to Denver to be the medical translator, I had a flashback of babysitting Detlef when I was 14 and he was a baby. Where did the years go?

I arrived here about 9:45 am today, and Karma picked me up at the Denver international airport. We came directly to the hospital to hang out with Detlef on the Oncology floor. He looks great, and is in good spirits. He even shaved today prior to being moved into the intensive care unit. He is being moved to the ICU as a precaution so that he can be more closely monitored while they start his first round of chemotherapy. Right now, he is doing great, and is very stable, but they are being very careful, which is good.

I have met the oncologist, and some of the nursing staff here at St Joseph's hospital, and I am very impressed with the game plan. They are hoping that Detlef will respond quickly to the chemotherapy regimen, and hopefully send his leukemia into remission as soon as possible. Because of the type of leukemia that he has (ALL Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia), they are planning on moving toward a bone marrow transplant as soon as he is in remission. Dietmar will be their first choice if he is a match. After that, all other relatives have about the same chance of being a match as the general population. The take home message here is that we should all be tested and should be placed on the bone marrow transplant donor list.

Detlef is being moved to ICU as we speak. He will be in room 628 until the first round of chemo is finished. This should be about 4 days. After that he will probably be moved back to the Oncology floor, which is on the 10th floor of this hospital. Detlef has been thrilled at the fact that he has many food choices available to him. He can choose whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and they bring it up to him. The hospital that I work at could learn a lot from that kind of service!

Chemo should be starting around 2-3 pm today. They will give him an infusion of some nausea medication, and a steroid infusiong prior to beginning that should help lessen the side effects of the chemotherapy. He will be given several different medications over the next 4 days, then he will have a break for about 7 days, and he will be given another IV infusion of one of the chemo drugs. Then he will be on some oral medication for 3 days. If all goes well, approx 3 weeks from today, he will have another round of chemotherapy infusions, with different medications. He will have this repeating pattern of medications, alternating, every 3 weeks if he is able to tolerate things well.

That is all for now, Karma and I are in the waiting room, and will try to post the "rest of the story", or should I say the beginning of the story soon.

Love to all,

Lisa