Posted 8/8/2021 1:17 AM (GMT 0)
I just don’t have the heart to retype/edit an update. Please forgive my “family version” dialogue:
After a painfully long and concerning wait dealing with insurance issues, Jeff finally received his cancer fighting drug, Zytiga. He started taking the Zytiga/Prednisone combo Friday, August 6th.
The effects seemed immediate and severe. We knew to expect fatigue, but Jeff was so profoundly tired that he struggled to keep his eyes open, even while at work.
He managed to finish his work day and after getting home he drifted off to sleep around 5:30. At 7:30 he was startled awake by his phone. He found himself a bit disoriented and his vision was blurred. He reported to Channing that he felt “off”.
Although his symptoms resolved in approximately 20 minutes we worried he was having a reaction to the Zytiga. Erring on the side of caution, we contacted the on call oncologist who in turn sent us directly to the ER for an “emergency” CT scan.
The oncologist suspected Jeff experienced a transitional brain bleed. This means the bleed would have come and gone, however they needed to ensure all was ok.
After waiting over 3 hours in the ER waiting room, I questioned staff how emergent Jeff was. If he had a brain bleed, seemed we were wasting critical time. Admittedly though we had a false sense of comfort as Jeff was acting totally “normal”, his vitals checked good, and he easily passed every basic neurological test.
Nonetheless, my expressed concern got the ball rolling. Shortly after, they came and got Jeff for the CT scan and then followed with doing blood work. It would be a total of about 12 hours before we got a room back in the ER.
Once we were taken back and finally met with a doctor, we were given the devastating news that they feared Jeff’s cancer had metastasized to his brain. Not his skull, his brain.
A repeat CT scan and an MRI confirmed the awful news.
Additionally, Jeff could not maintain his oxygen levels unless on oxygen. He was admitted to the hospital.
Monday/Tuesday Jeff will follow up with neurology and/or radiation to discuss possible treatment options.
Despite everything, Jeff is hanging in there. He’s grossly disappointed to be in the hospital and annoyed at the hospital imposed low carb diet, however, thus far he remains in fairly good spirits.
Drake and Brittany were wonderful and in between working overnight shifts, dropped things at the hospital and helped care for the dogs, CJ and Bella.
Please continue to keep Jeff and our beautiful children in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers.
#teamjeffgallagher ❤️