7th Day In Hospital: No Progress With Blockage... Surgical Team Decision Tomorrow (November 13, 2024)

Ali’s blockage still hasn’t cleared. The doctors and nurses are doing all they can to get things moving, but nothing has hit the mark yet. Dr. Ashley Ciosek shared an update this afternoon… tonight, the surgeon team should circle back to Ali’s primary care team with their thoughts on the next steps, since the non-surgical approaches haven’t been as effective as they’d hoped. We were really hoping for a decision today, but it looks like we’ll need to wait until tomorrow.

They drained another liter from Ali’s nasogastric tube today, pushing the total over two liters in just a couple of days. It’s hard to imagine how uncomfortable that must be, but Ali’s handling it with strength.

Her Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) is now on day three, with the team slowly increasing the calorie count each day. This will continue until Ali is discharged and we start handling TPN at home. Once we’re out, a home health care nurse will be coming by a couple of times a week. They’ll be making sure Ali’s central line stays in top shape, keeping an eye on her health for any signs of infection, checking electrolytes, and watching for any complications, especially with her liver since that can be a concern with longer-term TPN use. They’ll also be coordinating with her doctors and dietitians to adjust her formula based on lab results and how she’s doing.

Then, there’s the 46 hour take home chemotherapy sessions, which will kick back in once she’s ready. It’s going to be a lot, but we’re committed to making it work.

Ali's hemoglobin is around 8.5 right now, which is a bit low… it ideally should be closer to 15. Dr. Ciosek mentioned today that if it drops below 7, Ali may need a blood transfusion.

One of my coworkers, a cancer survivor, had appointments at Vanderbilt today and made a point to visit Ali. They spent about 30 minutes together, which was a comforting break for her and gave her some motivation to keep fighting.

For now, Ali’s pain is under control, thanks to the fentanyl patch and IV dilaudid. She’s been keeping active too, which is very important. We do laps around the floor together during the day to keep moving as much as possible. Her sister stays with her overnight and even sent me a picture at 9:00 PM of Ali still walking the floor.

None of this is due to a lack of trying… Ali is fighting her ass off right now.