LexieCat Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 I think it's just hospital policy. Everyone admitted to the hospital or having an invasive outpatient procedure has to be tested. I guess the theory is that not EVERYONE is immune after vaccination--in theory, someone vaccinated but contagious could be admitted and unknowingly cause an outbreak. Remote possibility, but I'm still wearing my mask indoors, so I guess they are being overly cautious like I am. Annoying, but everything for the past year has been annoying. On a happier note, my car looks great--they did a terrific job. I thanked them for getting the work done so quickly. The first place I took it for the quote has several locations and they couldn't even start until the end of June. Looks like they detailed the whole interior, too, which was a nice bonus. My car is a Nissan Rogue, and my rental car has been a Hyundai Elantra. I practically killed myself getting in and out of that little car--I've gotten spoiled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 I agree with you Lexie. I just went in two different hospitals for procedures and got a blood test upon arrival that was processed before the surgery. I didn't ask, but assumed it was for Covid, and they did know that I had already received the vaccine a couple of months ago. Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 Hm, I suspect that was for general labs. As far as I know, all COVID tests are via swab, My appointment is at a drive-thru site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 Hmmm...you are probably right. I thought it was likely an antibody test, but that might not be practical... Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted June 6, 2021 Author Share Posted June 6, 2021 I created a page on the CaringBridge website to update family and friends about how I'm doing during my hospitalization (going in this Wed.). I'd rather not post the link itself on a public site like this, but I sent @Tom Galli the link and asked him to keep you all up to date on this thread. To the extent I feel up to it, I'll check in here. It's just that I expect to feel pretty crappy much of the time I'm in, so I may not be posting much till I get home. Preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennedy Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 I'll be thinking of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJM Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 We will all be thinking of you! Hope you are feeling well enough to post. You got this Peace Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 Lexie, Ill be thinking of you. I really believe you’re going to do just fine! Babs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUNGevityKristin Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 Keeping you in my thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 Lexie, We are all hoping for the best for you as well. Go and kick some butt. Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted June 7, 2021 Author Share Posted June 7, 2021 Well, Iovance stock is rebounding on the news that my treatment starts this week, lol. Actually, it's rebounding (up over 12 percent today) on news related to the latest successes of its melanoma trial: https://seekingalpha.com/news/3703531-iovance-bio-reports-33-month-follow-up-data-for-lifileucel-in-advanced-melanoma-at-asco21. Apparently one of the patients initially had only a partial response, and then several months later achieved a complete response. Let's hope this is as effective on lung cancer as it appears to be on melanoma. BTW, @TJM, I picked up a few shares, myself, when it was way down. Putting my money where my lungs are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 I'm posting this update for Lexie who was admitted to hospital this morning. She reports a minor battle over a blood draw. She has a port and doctors assured her port would be used for blood draws, but guess what! She "reluctantly gave in and sure enough, the nurse couldn't get a vein." After an hour of poking, they gave up and started chemo. She had infusions that lasted into dinner time. Hopes to have the blood draw issue sorted by tomorrow. She doesn't want to be "turned into a pincushion on a daily basis having a perfectly usable port!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 Thanks Tom. I can't believe they ignored the port for blood draw. I was just in the hospital and one of the hardest things I went through was being poked 5 times to put in an IV. I feel her pain on this topic. I look forward to hearing more as you hear. Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted June 10, 2021 Author Share Posted June 10, 2021 Hey there, just to clear the record, they didn’t poke me for an hour—it was only 5 minutes or so. Then the nurse left and an hour later I was told they’d start the chemo without the labs (I had labs drawn before the port was used for infusions). And it wasn’t that they were simply ignoring the port—apparently there is a hospital policy not to use it for blood draws—supposedly due to risk of infection (an issue that never posed a problem at Penn). But I’d been told by the research team that once I was in-patient, they would do the blood draw through the port. THAT is why I was upset. The good news is that I was wakened in the middle of the night last night by a nurse who drew the labs through the port! Which was a big relief. Tough to blame the nurses since they are at the mercy of hospital policy, but I’m pretty sure doctors can override it. So far, so good here. I will be in this room till Sunday night, when they will transfer me to ICU. I’ll be infused with the new/improved lymphocytes along with IL2 on Monday, and with more IL2 Tuesday and Wednesday (if tolerated), then moved back to a room here in the oncology unit. After that, as soon as all my blood counts/labs are good I can go home—in theory, as early as a week from today. I’m feeling kind of fatigued, not much appetite, and rather puffy due to all the fluids. But so far, managing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJM Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 I like Tom's update better. Keep it up Tom (and embellish as much as possible!). Peace Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted June 10, 2021 Author Share Posted June 10, 2021 Hey, I may hire him as my ghostwriter for my memoirs—just to punch up the boring parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 I think Tom put a certain flair to it...in my mind, I saw Lexie giving it to the hospital staff...verbally articulate and piercing with her statements, but now all that great scenery is gone. (sigh...)... I'm glad it was only five minutes, but sometimes that can be a lot when someone is "digging around for veins". Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 Lexie reports a good night sleep June 9th and more importantly a morning blood draw "FROM MY PORT"! She's not feeling too bad yet, a bit fatigued and not much of an appetite. She's discovered kitchenette coffee is better and hotter than room service. New cells are slated to arrive from Lovance Lab today (June 11). She also discovered another woman in the trail and hopes they will meet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Thanks for the update Tom. Please make sure that Lexie knows she has all of our love, hopes and prayers for her to kick butt. Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Update on Lexie as of June 11th. She is feeling very fatigued and finding sleep difficult because staff is waking her and trips to the bathroom to eliminate fluids being pumped into her. She had a scare on discovering she was sitting in a "puddle of blood". She'd pulled out one of the multitude of tubes she is connected to. She is finding movement difficult given all the connections. Reported trouble breathing and increased coughing but a nebulizer treatment resolved that difficulty. Lexie reports her 02 saturation is between 97 and 98. She's not had nausea and this surprises the staff but her appetite is waning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted June 12, 2021 Author Share Posted June 12, 2021 Hey gang, here’s a personal update (thank you, Tom, for covering yesterday). So far, no picnic, but not feeling bad. Food isn’t great and I haven’t eaten much but I’ve managed at least a couple of half-meals a day. I’ve got pounds to spare so not worried about that. They’ve been monitoring my weight every day because of the fluids, but after the first couple of days, I have little/no edema and my weight has gone down a tad. I have only one chemo treatment left for tomorrow. The first couple of days I was getting a couple of 22-hour infusions (forget which drug—might have been the Mesna that prevents bladder problems from one of the chemo drugs. The infusion tomorrow will be for only a couple hours. Unfortunately, the rest of the time I’m still hooked up to saline, so still an ordeal to move around. I’ve taken a couple of laps around the floor but it’s a pain to navigate any trips—even across the room. I brought WAY more stuff than I probably should have—I was hoping to avoid the hospital gown thing, but after my yoga pants got soaked as a result of pulling out one of my lines, I decided to mess up their clothes rather than mine. I THINK the plan is to move me to ICU tomorrow evening, where I’ll stay till my immune system is back in order. One of the research nurses took a set of “unboxing” pictures of my new and improved lymphocytes. I tried to post them but can’t quite figure it out when I’m posting from my iPad. I’ll post them later. LOL, she referred to the canister they arrived in as an “Oscar the Grouch” trash can—covered in stickers. Cool pix, though, literally—they capture the plumes of dry ice they were shipped in. I told the nurse to tell them hi for me. I’ll be meeting them day after tomorrow. I tried to connect with that other patient in the trial but she never called back. I’ll tell the research nurse to make sure it wasn’t a wrong number. Hopefully her (the other patient’s) experience is as uneventful as mine has been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgetO Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 I'm glad to hear it's not so bad! Hang in there. I think of you often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Hang in there Lexie. Sending out good thoughts and prayers for you. Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJM Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Curious if the have a target WBC? Glad your doing well! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 Not much time for lengthier post— things a bit busier here in ICU. I’ll write a more detailed account of everything later, but just to hit the highlights—new cells infused yesterday. It’s the IL2 that can cause the severe effects they are worried about, so I had a bit of trepidation. There is a bit of IL2 mixed in with the new cells, and after that infusion (3 bags, 30 minutes for each), I did have some mild chills for a bit. Kinda like after my second COVID shot—minus the aches. First infusion of IL2 was this morning. Everybody had to go over with me yet again all the POTENTIAL risks—some pretty dire. The infusion itself took 30 minutes. About an hour later I felt like I was in the Polar Bear Club. Not only was I chilled to the bone, I was violently shaking all over. They gave me injections (yay port) of Demerol and morphine. The shakes.stopped almost instantly. I vomited twice (an amount equivalent to two spits), and that was it. Second IL2 this afternoon. Everyone’s impressed and happy about how well I’m doing—hopefully I can make it through all six IL2 infusions. More later…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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