Beth

I just talked to Mary (Beth's mom). They left Sunday for Loyola so that Beth could get a decent night's sleep before she started her treatment marathon. I will relay the medical info as best I can. Yesterday was rough as they struggled to insert a second port to begin the IV treatment. The drug (Interleukin-2) that she would be receiving can't be mixed with the usual saline solutions so they needed a second port. After being jabbed many times in her neck and feet, they couldn't get a second line to get the treatments started. This morning they decided that they really needed a second port in case the kidneys, liver, blood pressure, or bone marrow presented a problem, which is fairly common. If this happened they would need to have a second port available to treat it quickly. They sent her to a specialist that used an xray to do a pick line? I guess this went much better. The goal was to get 14 treatments in this week. 3 a day for 5 days, but they are already one behind because of yesterday's fiasco. After every treatment they monitor her blood pressure, bone marrow, kidneys, and liver. So far so good. They said she should start feeling the flu like symptoms soon so she won't be feeling so great. Ron, Tyson, and maybe Molly (Beth's sister) are headed up tomorrow to see her. As if this weren't enough for Mary to be dealing with, Katie is at OSF already 65% effaced at 32 weeks pregnant (with her first baby). Chances are she will be in the hospital on bed rest until she has the baby. Pretty scary to face without your mama! So keep not only Beth but the whole family in your prayers!!!!