Friday, June 18, 2010

Stupid throat sores

Clint has been in quite a bit of pain today. They had to switch over all his pills to IV meds because he can't swallow at all. He even has to spit his saliva/mucus out into a cup or tissue because it is just too painful to swallow at all. They put him on full IV nutrition which has made his blood sugar go up so they had to start giving him insulin shots. They also put him on a pain pump, which seemed like a great idea, but it doesn't seem to help his pain much :( and instead it makes him pretty nauseous. He has thrown up quite a few times which just makes his throat hurt that much worse. It just seems like a vicious cycle...throat hurts, need pain meds, get pain meds, but they make you nauseous, which makes you puke, which makes your throat hurt worse, so you need more pain meds, etc. etc. etc. I don't like it! And I'm pretty sure Clint likes it even less!
The worst part of this for me is that he can't talk. Well he can, but it hurts pretty bad, so he doesn't talk much at all. Luckily Grandma & Grandpa Jepperson brought Nik & Nate up to visit for a bit today (thank you), and Darren stopped by, or it would've been an extremely quiet day. I am just praying that his throat starts to feel better soon. The docs have said that as soon as his counts start to come up his throat should clear up quickly. So any extra prayers for quick (but healthy) counts would be appreciated!
Before I end this post I just want to give a huge thanks to a few friends.....Emily, thanks for coming up every week to go to dinner with me! It means so much and gives me a much needed break from reality :) Shanalee, thanks for lunch today. It was so great to see you, let's do it again soon! And Travis, Kevin, & Bryce, you have done so much for us. I know I speak for Clint too when I say that we will be forever grateful for your friendship! I also want to thank everyone who has sent messages, emails, etc. It is so nice to know how much we are loved. We are truly blessed!
Good Night

2 comments:

Jami said...

Ask if they can switch his pain pump over to a different medication - sometimes our kids do so much better on Dilaudid vs. Morphine, etc. Also, I know our kiddos with bad mouth sores use Magic Mouthwash, which is a swish and spit rinse with lidocaine, benadryl and maalox. That can really help with some of the pain. Ask the nurse give Clint a suction tubing with an attachment to suck out his saliva (similar to what they use at the dentist)...diminishing the need to spit in a cup. It is true what they say about the counts...I am praying for a quick bump in his counts soon! Thinking about you always and checing in on the blog frequently for updates. Love you guys!

Jami said...

Also, are they giving him anti nausea meds around the clock? Sorry...just the BMT nurse coming out in me!