Day Four of Interleukin 2

 Good news--we both slept better last night. Without the blood pressure cuff, he was only awakened every two hours instead of every 15 minutes! Our daughter dropped off a mattress pad for the fold-out chair and a noise machine. Between the two of those, for me, it felt like heaven! 

With his blood pressure back to normal, he was given the 7 am infusion. Side effects weren't quite as bad this time. He didn't even get the severe shakes. Medicine helped nausea, although it never goes away completely. So...around 4 pm, he got another dose of Interleukin 2. This time it really whomped on him. He shook violently, but it's still amazing to me how fast the Demerol calms him down. It leaves him worn out. Then the vomiting and diarrhea started. Medicines helped, but he feels awful. For the past hour or so, he has been able to sleep, which is a blessing. When he wakes up, he's groggy and always nauseous. His skin is getting redder, and he looks puffy everywhere because of water retention. It's a lot to go through. Of course, it's definitely worth it if it helps the tumor go away! This time we were anxious because we didn't know what to expect. Next time, we will know, and it could be harder for him to know what he has to endure. We hear that each time could get a little worse. He's a trooper, though, and will get through this! 

Only one more day of infusions, and hopefully, we can go home on Saturday. Some of the side effects go away quickly. Others linger, and he will be exhausted, but it will be nice to have a three-week break!  

On a rather humorous note, one of the side effects that must be rather common is hallucinations. Ian mentioned that I shouldn't be alarmed if Mark saw bunnies hopping over the bed. Mark was rather taken back by this and wondered, "Bunnies, why bunnies?" When the doctors, Ian, Roxanne, and the nurses were here yesterday morning, they asked if he had seen any bunnies. Mark asked, "Why bunnies?" Dr. Taylor explained that people saw different things. Some saw floating flowers and clouds, while others saw scary spiders or bugs. So why did Ian say bunnies? Evidently, two of his recent patients mentioned bunnies! That doesn't sound so bad, but for Mark, it's not so pleasant. For years he had nightmares about bunnies. When he was young, he raised rabbits--lots of rabbits. He and his dad had built a condo of cages for them. One day he cleaned them up to show some guests who were visiting that evening. When he took the folks out to see the rabbits, to his shock and disgust, there were lots of new-born bunnies on the wire, getting smashed by the rabbits. Somehow, he had missed keeping track of the day the mothers were to give birth. Typically, he put the mothers in hutches with straw, and they made a soft nest with hair plucked from their chests. Several mothers had given birth to bunches of bunnies that evening, on the wire. It was a grotesque scene, and Mark had the awful task of cleaning up the mess. For years he had nightmares of bunnies bouncing on the ceiling, asking him why he killed them! So, he doesn't really want bunnies jumping over his bed! So far, none have!!