Week 3

This week has gone much better than most for Bryon. There was no car accidents, tickets, icy roads, or chemo induced vomiting. He sailed through his twelve hours of treatment on Monday, and was feeling very well up to today.

Tonight he called in sick to work after he had developed a rash on the IV sight. The nurses trade arms every other week so that the medication does not do too much damage to his veins, but he still runs the risk of having trouble. After speaking with the trial coordinator, Chris, we were told that the rash was a tell tale sign of burned veins. When a person receives massive amounts of medications through an IV, especially chemo, it can burn the veins. It is extremely painful and shows up as a rash on the arm. The irritation follows his veins up and down his arms and it is very hot to the touch. Bryon says it burns, but itches terribly at the same time. He will need to apply an ice pack to his arm for about 48 hours to sooth the irritation. Then, he will have to use a hot pack for about 24 after that.

Bryon will stay home tonight but is in good spirits. He and his family have gotten used to things going wrong so this was no surprise to us. There is still rumors of fundraisers being planned for the first part of June so stay tune for the latest info. Thanks for visiting with us this week!