Day #23 ~ First Dose of Venetoclax

John was admitted to the hospital yesterday. He had a PICC line inserted successfully. He says it wasn't that bad ... compared to bone marrow biopsies without sedation.

Look at his smile. He has such a great attitude going through all this. He says he has always had a high level of tolerance for undesirable circumstances. He said, "I get it from my dad." And then he added, "Well, from my mom too, actually."

Here's a close up of the PICC line...






I didn't know what a PICC line was before this. I assumed it was just an access point into a vein for blood draws without so many needle sticks. And it is that, but more. It's a catheter that runs through the vein and stops just before reaching a specific area outside the heart muscle. When a drug is administered through the PICC line, it gets pumped out into the body rather effectively by the heart. So far, he has only had blood draws. Venetoclax is given in pill form.

John will have this little device for the next five weeks. I will help keep it flushed out daily. Since it's in his right arm and he is right-handed, it seems like it would be terribly awkward to have to take care of without help.

John is doing great. No reactions to the drug. Labs and vitals all good so far. In great spirits. John has had the best of care, as I knew he would. Stellar nursing staff in every way at Sarah Cannon Centennial.

Tomorrow is discharge day. It will soon be one hospital stay down, four to go!

*Just after I posted this and shared the link on Facebook, the nurse took John's temp and it is trending upward ever so slightly. Right now it is 99.6. Not alarming, but something they will keep an eye on. Hopefully this trend will not continue for long.

**Wednesday morning update: Fever came down to normal last night and has remained normal. Labs look great. Leaving hospital soon!