Barry’s Story

Site created on November 27, 2019

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Newest Update

Journal entry by Barry Peterson

Hi, all. I’m still overcoming the fungal pneumonia. A recent MRI of just my brain showed that the lesion they suspect being a fungal infection from my lungs, is reduced in size slightly. I have another MRI scheduled April 13 to follow that lesion. 
I’m still getting lots of antifungal and antibacterial meds, including an anti fungal IV. three days each week. 
On Monday my oncologist suggested I could return to Amarillo to finish up new cancer chemo I am to start in about a week, as well as my IV meds and blood transfusions. He called my Amarillo doctor while Tisha and I were in the office to ask about the Corona virus in Amarillo.  So far there are no confirmed cases in Amarillo.  My Houston Doctor is VERY concerned about me getting the Corona virus. He said that would be “the end of me” on top of all I’ve been through. He thought Amarillo would be safer than Houston. Tisha thought about going home for about five seconds and said no. She did not want us to be in the airports or on a plane. 
We are in a Westin Hotel which only opened two weeks ago. We have a small suite and are very comfortable there; Ten minute walk to MD Anderson. William Ware arraigned the financing for the owner, so all the staff has been very good to us.  The hotel is presently very quiet. They have furloughed a number of the staff.  You can pick up orders in the restaurant or have room service but no seated dinning; the same for the other restaurants in the neighborhood.  The hotel was on the news yesterday.  It has a robot which utilizes ultraviolet light to sterilize the rooms when they clean, so we feel very safe there. They put the device in the room, turn it on and a monitor in the hall turns it off when
I watch my distance from people when I walk to and from the hospital. 
Today I asked the doctor what about the stem cell transplant. He said they need to get a better feel for the brain lesion. They have not seen that before.  The concern of my oncologist and the infectious disease doctor is that the massive chemo for the transplant could allow the lesion to go wild which would be fatal.  The lesion has them puzzled because I have not had any neuro manifestations from it. They now have me on an anti seizure med as a precaution. But this has them confused because I have not had any affects from it. I told the doctor to just have the neurosurgeon go in and scoop it out. He said they can’t do that because of my low platelet count, I could bleed to death.  He said it would be like trying to scrape the mold off bread; how do you get it all and not know you have left a few spores. 
They have inquired about my gardening experience, foreign countries we have visited, and last week my infectious disease doctor even asked how much golf I have played (I told him not much because I was never very good and did not have five hours to spend), all trying to learn where I was exposed to the fungus. Apparently the spores are in all of our bodies and our immune systems keep it in check. When my leukemia and the chemo suppressed my immune system is when it took off in my body and I got the pneumonia. 
That’s all I know for now. Waiting to get IV anti fungal med and trying to avoid getting Corona virus.  Stay healthy.  
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