March 28, 2010 – Hospital adventures, take two

I really thought I was feeling fine on Friday; yes fatigued, but I was entering the peak impact of the chemotherapy side effects.  Woke up from another nap around 4:30 pm, and felt ok but a bit flushed.  Ann used her time-trusted thermometer – her forehead to mine – then grabbed the digital one – 100.7, above the 100.5 cutoff to head to the E/R.  I put together a hospital kit while Ann called doctors.  Adam took care of the dogs and called Dan who was driving in from Cambridge for a weekend visit. 

Ann, Ad, & I piled into the car and made the short ride to Saint Vincent’s Hospital.  Our experience last month proved invaluable.  We knew how to present my symptoms in the way that highlighted both chemo and a very low white blood cell count.  I was triaged and then isolated in the triage area.  A nurse took vitals, blood, gave me some meds and then moved me into an isolated room in the E/R.  A chest x-ray, urine sample, and port activation later, they were moving me up to a private room with a “gloves and masks” restriction.  Dr. Deb was not on call this weekend, but we were happy with Dr. J., the doctor assigned to me.  The first consult was to the oncologist on call.  We were headed in the right direction.

I was very happy with my care at St.V’s this time around.  The nurses were wonderful and caring.  The doctors prescribed a course of action that made sense for a patient undergoing chemotherapy.   Dr. J. listened well and explained the purpose behind the treatments clearly.  He has a trait I admire in all professionals; when encountering a problem that is outside of his field of specialization, he says so and consults an expert.  Basically, the plan was to check the usual list of suspects for infection while starting IV fluids and antibiotics.  In the end, the conclusion was that the infection was caused by an unidentified source, exasperated by the low white cell blood count from chemotherapy.

During the three days and two nights I was in the hospital, I was constantly hydrated.  The fluids made me stronger.  Dr. S.’s partner Dr. D. came in daily as the oncology consult.  Like everyone in her and Dr. S.’s, practice, she made me feel cared for and in good hands.

I returned home today a little after noon and collapsed with Rudy Dog on the couch.  The rest of the family watched me sleep while reading, computing, and watching TV.  This evening, Dan drove back to Cambridge to be ready for tomorrow, a workday.  Ann, Ad, & I are sitting around, taking it easy.

This was not the family weekend we hoped for, but we certainly spent a lot of time together!  Adam & Dan were both here to help in any way needed.  That took pressure off of Ann.

Passover starts tomorrow night.  Don’t think I’ll be eating much Matzo with my mouth sores!

Thanks everyone for your support and notes of concern.  With your help, I move forward.  For now, I nap again!

Love...

Richard