My Alzheimer's Journey
Part 26 - So far, so good!
Rainy, dreary day in Durham.
Parking at the Duke Clinic was a nightmare.
We got a tad lost finding Clinic 2A.
My nurse, Gerado, put us at ease. He is the perfect combination of smart, professional, compassionate, and friendly.
He checked my vitals and inserted the IV port. (the port insertion hurt like hell)
About thirty minutes later, Gerado brought the Lencanemab to our room (we were in a somewhat private room today). The infusion room is huge, with about fifty infusion chairs side by side. There are also about a dozen somewhat private areas around the perimeter of the room. There is a curtain providing privacy to the large room. The somewhat private rooms also have their own bathroom. Every infusion chair and every somewhat private room has a television with almost any cable channel you can imagine.
Soon, the Lecanemab was flowing into my body, getting cozy with my blood, while it searched for my brain.
An hour later, the IV bag was empty. I had about $1200 of risky drug in my body.
Now, we waited to see what happens.
In my mind, I was hoping my buddy, Lencanemeb, was fighting the amyloid brain plaque in my brain. Of course, I was also hoping I would not get sick or have the dreaded brain swelling.
After an hour and a half, I developed a mild headache. Geraldo brought me two Tylenol and a big cup of water.
Linda went to the pantry and got peanut butter and saltine crackers. The infusion clinic has a well-stocked pantry full of all sorts of sweet and savory snacks, coffee, tea, etc.
Geraldo checked my vitals and everything seemed to be alright.
A bit later, I developed a slight muscle ache in my right leg. We decided to extend our observation time from two hours to three hours.
About 5:30, I was feeling good and Geraldo gave the green light for me to hit the road.
A quick stop at Harris Teeter for a takeaway dinner and we were home at about 6:30.
I feel fine. Side effects after the first infusion did not start until later, so I am still apprehensive that there will be no chills, muscle aches, headache, etc.
So far, so good.