A Second Day of Killer Tests

The Site of the CAR-T Trial

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is the largest academic health center in the Rocky Mountain region. It spans 256 acres and consists of three zones: an education zone with facilities for training in medical and health-related fields, a research zone that houses graduate programs, and a clinical care zone including the 400 bed Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion, the Anschutz Outpatient Pavilion, the Anschutz Cancer Pavilion, The Anschutz Health Sciences Building, Children's Hospital Colorado, the Rocky Mountain VA hospital and a slew of other smaller buildings for all kinds of specialized health care. The campus employs 25,000 faculty, employees, and support staff. It is HUGE!

One Small Part of the Anschutz Medical Campus Taken From My Hotel Room Window

Preparing for Apheresis

On Wednesday, I didn't have to be at the hospital for my first appointment until 11 am, so I slept until 8 am and ate breakfast in the hotel. My tests on Tuesday all took place in the Outpatient Pavillion. Today I would start out in the Cancer Pavilion in the Apheresis Center. Once again, Monica picked me up and accompanied me to all of my appointments. The staff there examined both of my arms to locate viable veins to use for the collection of my blood and the return of components of my blood not collected back into my body.

Dr Draper, joined us, pushing her rolling stool up close to me to explain the details of the apheresis procedure. In one week they will collect about a soda can's worth of blood over a period of about four hours, running it through tubing into a centrifuge type machine that will spin the blood into three layers. The layer they'll remove from my blood is about two percent of the collected volume. The rest gets warmed to body temperature before reentering my body. Since I next had to find the Health Sciences Building for my other appointments, Dr Draper walked (while I Zingered) with us to that building so we wouldn't get lost. (These are amazing doctors!)

A Physical Therapy Workout

There we met Timber, a youthful researcher with beautiful, long, curly red hair, who will help to coordinate my case. She went through a questionnaire of several pages, while we waited for Robert, a Physical Therapist to arrive. His work-up was the first of my tests for the day. He set up cones and marked the hallway with blue tape to mark my walking course. First, he explained he wanted me to walk 25 feet with no assistive aids as fast as I could go safely. To be sure I wouldn't fall, he attached a thick canvas belt around my waist, which he held onto while I walked. This was not an easy task for me since my balance is horrible and I shuffle rather than walk.

Physical Therapist Robert Timing My 25 ft Walk

Then the real fun began. I got to rest a bit and Robert gave me back my cane. My next task was to walk as far as I could go in six minutes. Hah! He told me if I needed to rest I could stop, but I couldn't sit or lean against the wall for support. I could lean on my cane, but I find walking and standing equally painful. He also said he couldn't encourage me, (though it went against his training as a PT). We set off down the hallway, shuffling at a moderate clip. He announced when a minute had elapsed.

Already my muscles were burning. After two minutes, I stopped to rest and catch my breath for 15 seconds. I went on as my leg muscles tightened and my lower back muscles began to stiffen. I stopped again just before he announced 4 minutes, realizing at this point I probably wouldn't make it to six minutes. Walking another half the length of the hallway caused both my legs and back muscles to scream, my heart to pound, my mouth to parch and my lungs to gasp for air. I called it quits and headed for the nearest place to sit.

Electrodes and Specimen Vials

After gulping down a large glass of water, Timber had me lie on a bed and rest for 10 minutes before an EKG technician came in, stickered me with electrodes and recorded my electrical measurements. Next, a nurse arrived to draw more blood. When she told me it was just 30 vials, I wondered if she might be a vampire in nurse's scrubs. She, too, opted to use my port again for the draw. Unfortunately, she missed the mark when sticking the needle into my port, so when she started to flush the port with saline solution, it stung my surrounding tissue. Not wanting to hurt me, she left to find another expert to access my port.

The expert nurse also missed on her first try. I showed her hard she need to push on the port to anchor it in the best spot, and her second try succeeded. It took twenty minutes to fill all thirty vials. Meanwhile, I drank another large glass of water. Cumulative total of vials filled so far-41!

Twenty of the Thirty Vials of blood drawn

Echocardiagram

They hustled me directly down the hall for an echocardiagram. That meant more sticky electrodes placed on my chest and goopy gel to allow the scanning wand to glide across my chest and into dark recesses. The room was dimly lit perfect for a cat nap except the annoying prodding made that impossible. Number of scans recorded-41. I couldn't wait to get the cold gel wiped off, but she had also smeared some on my gown. I zingered back to the exam room where Monica and Timber waited and quickly put on my clothes. Monica left to retrieve her car while I discussed scheduling and asked questions about future trial logistics. The clock read 4pm when I left the exam room.

A Just Reward

Both Monica and I were famished. Rush hour had already begun, so Monica decided we should get something to eat close by. We went to a place called The Stanley Marketplace, an airy warehouse hangout housing multiple food vendors and retail shops. We ate perfectly cooked melt in your mouth baby back ribs at one of their food vendors called Rolling Smoke, one of Monica's favorite BBQ places, followed by a taste of Sweet Cow Ice Cream. What a perfect ending to a physically tiring day!

Monica in Front of Rolling Smoke BBQ