Not much going on the past couple of days. No scheduled procedures and no chemo. The only thing to note is that Shannon has had a lingering headache. It’s worse when she sits up or stands up. We’re thinking it’s a spinal headache caused by CSF (Cerebrospinal Fluid) leakage. This happens sometimes when they do a spinal tap, Epidural or in Shannon’s case, the intrathecal chemo. The loss of spinal fluid can cause pressure changes within the CSF and it results in a headache.

They’ve ordered a spinal headache “cocktail” the past 2 nights which helps some. It consists of IV fluids, IV NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory), and an IV anti-nausea drug. If it doesn’t go away by Monday, they’re going to do a “blood patch.” They’ll use a small amount of her blood and inject it where they think the leak is in her lumbar spinal area. The blood will clot and seal off the leak.

Overall, we’ve had a quiet past 2 days. Nurses have been great and the doctors check on her daily. Her appetite is still fairly good too. Her WBC Count (white blood cells) is getting low. It’s to be expected from the chemotherapy, but we have to be more conscious of infection prevention since she’s more susceptible now. They’re also giving her a medication to help her make more WBCs so they don’t stay too low.