Friday, September 5, 2014

Pancreatitis? OUCH!!!

Lilly was scheduled for a regular clinic visit today. She needed to get her last Erwenia shot for this part of the phase, plus Doxorubicin, Vincristine, and start back on steroids again. But, our day didn't really go as planned....

Lilly woke up this morning with severe stomach pains. She had a hard time getting out of bed this morning and she didn't want to go to clinic. She kept crying out that her tummy hurt. I gave her Zofran and said a little prayer that she wouldn't throw up everywhere in the car on our way up to the hospital. Lilly is usually a pretty happy person and loves to talk to anyone that will listen. But when we got to clinic she didn't want to talk to anyone... That's when you know something's up. Even when the beloved Dr. Doug came in to see her, he could tell she was not feeling well. This is "out of the norm" for Lilly. Dr. Lemmons came in and was pressing on her tummy a little which was causing Lilly severe discomfort! He asked if she would drink contrast if he ordered a CT scan, but I told him no. If it doesn't taste good she won't drink it - and contrast is NASTY!! So, he scheduled an X-ray and ultrasound instead. 

It was confirmed that Lilly has pancreatitis. Her pancreas is HUGE! I told Lilly the good news was we didn't have to get her last Erwenia shot because that chemo tends to hurt the pancreas... She was SO EXCITED! Then I told her the bad news... We were being admitted. :( She's on a clear liquid diet until who knows when? They've already given her two doses of morphine for the pain. I haven't seen her in pain like this for a long long time. Poor girl. She's such a "delicate flower" and has had more than her fair share of struggles through this cancer journey. But, we take it a day @ a time. I'm grateful for the doctors and nurses who take such good care of my Lilly. And for my parents who always take Emery and love her to pieces. It takes a village to raise kids these days. We may stay overnight. We may stay a week. We don't know. Lilly will get another blood test in the morning to test her amylase and lipase which are the enzymes her pancreas secretes. Until then, we manage Lilly's pain, keep her hydrated, and wait...