Update

Bow had his PET Scan (5/9) and also had biopsy of his abdomen (5/10). Where to begin? The biopsy for the growth in his abdomen was pretty intense. They had to drain 700ccs of fluid. They went through his back and it left him with a lot of discomfort and pain. It was a lot more intense than he and Rosa were anticipating. They left for the hospital at 5 am and didn’t get home until after 4 in the afternoon. 

Last Thursday (5/11) Rosa received a message from his doctor that they are going to schedule him for a thoracentesis procedure due to a pleural effusion seen during the PET scan. Pleural Effusion is an abnormal buildup of fluid between the layers of tissue that line the lungs and chest cavity. The fluid build up can cause the lung(s) to collapse if not treated.  This procedure was done today (5/15) and entailed putting a needle through the chest wall to drain the fluid. They removed 800 ml of fluid! He already feels some relief and can take a deep breath that he hasn’t been able to do. 

He also has to have a Paracentesis. They have found excess fluid in the abdomen as well. Next up is labs and dr visit on Thursday (5/18) , infusion on Saturday (5/20) and the paracentesis the following Tuesday (5/23).