Our kids were out of school on Friday. We thought it might be good for them to come and see where Rob's chemo will take place - make it less scary for them. Jacob ended up going to a friend's home to work on his science fair project. So it was only Gabrielle and Noah that accompanied us.
When we got to his appointment, Rob was looking a little (well a lot) awful. The nurse recorded his vitals. He had lost 3.5 pounds since last week, his oxygen levels were 95 (if I remember correctly), and his blood pressure was good. However, his temperature was 103. I didn't think that was too high - after all we don't get too concerned with children's being that high. The nurse let me know that a fever that high is never a good thing in adults.
They whisked him into the chemotherapy area and inserted an IV and doused him full of IV fluids and retrieved some blood to run some tests. We explained that his pneumonia really hasn't gone away since the beginning of December.
Rob's cycle of antibiotics:
- After the second day of antibiotics, he starts feeling better.
- Then about ten days after the last dose of antibiotics he starts feeling crummy again.
Anywhooo. The physician's assistant that saw Rob told us that something else is going and he was going to admit him. They would get some IV antibiotics and possibly start his chemotherapy early.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle and Noah are getting a little worried. It was close to the time when Rob's sister, Tarali, was leaving work (she works one floor below in the radiation therapy department). She took them home for us since we weren't sure how long things would take. She had to talk to them a bit as they were feeling distressed.
When I got back from the hand-off, the PA said, "Well, it looks like his white blood count isn't really any different than last week and the blood culture won't be back for a few days. We are going to give you some different antibiotics to see if these work better. We aren't going to admit you now, but if your fever doesn't go away, if you feel worse, or you have trouble breathing, you need to go to the emergency room immediately." We promised and went home.
Friday evening: coughing, fever
Saturday: coughing (surprised?), fever, up all night, fever, coughing
Sunday: exhausted from no sleeping and abdomen sore from all the coughing, looking pretty much terrible.
Rob stayed at home today instead of going to church. During the meeting, Noah was having a difficult time being still. He is very worried about Rob's state of health. I asked him if I were to text him, would that ease his mind. (Yes, I know that I shouldn't be using my phone to text in the middle of church, but, I think that this is a very good reason to do so.)
Noah was able to communicate with his dad and I was able to find out whether we needed to go the the ER or wait until tomorrow to see his oncologist. It was decided to go to the ER.
We got there and his heart rate was 130 and his oxygen level was 84 (levels 90 and lower is in the danger zone). The triage nurse quickly got some oxygen and a wheelchair and put his chart in the 'orange' zone (yellow=people can wait, orange=get 'em in quick, red=they are dying right now).
Long story short (or five hours later) - Rob had IV antibiotics, anti-nausea meds, an oral dose of antibiotics, an X-ray, a blood panel, and another blood culture. He is now on oxygen. We are not certain whether this will be a permanent fixture around the house, work, etc., but he sure looks cute, what with the clear tubing up his nose, around his ears, and around his neck like beautiful jewelry.
It was a little scary seeing the oxygen level so low. Generally, his is generally between 94-96.
Honestly, I know that both Rob & I are looking forward to sleep tonight (that is if his coughing will let up enough to do so).
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