A new problem has arisen this morning. It’s something that should have been expected, but it kinda snuck up on me. While the medical team assures me it will be ok, I think the fact that it happens so infrequently gives reason for pause (I’m one of only a handful of patients on the unit that have this issue the entire year). As I’ve said before, so far I’ve done really well. There are things you can do to help keep problems at bay like brush your teeth, eat ice chips, eat things that are easy on your throat, but this problem doesn’t have prevention. So here I sit staring at the walls, wondering if a solution will just appear. Wondering if there is indeed nothing I could have done about this. Wondering how this will work out, because you see my problem is that it’s Christmas Eve and there is no chimney in my room. How in the world will Santa deliver my presents???
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From the Wifey
Rob is not feeling up to writing tonight, so he wanted me to update for him.
Numbers for today…
W 0.3
H 8
P 21
His hemoglobin and platelets were both up today without him receiving any blood products. The nurse said usually these would drop with a fever, so this was a little surprising. Hopefully his bone marrow is starting to recover and this wasn’t just a fluke. Guess we’ll see tomorrow!:)
Naptime…
I got to spend some time with Rob this afternoon. We “watched” football. By watched I mean he laid in the bed and I laid on the couch and we rested our eyes while football was on the TV;). Rob is getting IV dilaudid for his throat, so he is in and out of “consciousness”;). They think he has sores in his throat from his chemo. His nurse told me the pain can get bad enough that people end up on PCA pumps(where the pt has a button to push and the pump gives him pain medicine). Luckily Rob’s isn’t that bad yet and is being controlled by the dilaudid. He’s been getting it along with a lidocaine “drink” before meals and has still been able to eat and drink. It is painful to talk though, so it didn’t bother him that I rested my eyes a lot today:).
Fever….
They have been keeping a really close eye on his temp today since he had a fever last night. While I was there it was starting to go up a little, so they were staying on top of it with Tylenol.
I can’t think of anything else that happened today. So I’ll try to end with a duck dynasty prayer….
God, thank you for baby Jesus. Help us to focus on him this holiday season. Be with the people who are hurting. May they find peace and strength in you. Thank you for my husband who is so strong and inspiring to us all. Please kill that cancer. DIE CANCER DIE!!! Thank you for another day. Amen.
No More Pants
As goes my overall well being, so go my pants.
– Rob Culross
Neutropenic Fever
Last night I got my first fever. They have been telling me for awhile now that when my counts get so low, I will spike a fever. I think I got up to 102.7. They started a worked up that includes blood cultures, urine cultures, broad spectrum anitbiotics, and tylenol. While I had the fever for most of the night, it has broken now. I’m feeling tired and run down. While all that sounds bad, it’s actually quite normal. Not fun at all, but at least I’m still on track.
My New Career
I’ve decided to become a mime. No facepaint or any freaky stuff like that, but it hurts to swallow and it hurts to talk. I’m trying to choose my words carefully and not say too much. The doc said my soreness is specific to one spot, and I thankfully don’t have bad mouth sores. Still, it seems to be getting worse. Because of the chemo the lining in my throat can’t recover like it normally would. I’m sucking on throat losanges and swishing lidocaine in the back of my throat to help. Even with the lidocaine it hurts to swallow. They might start me on some pain meds to help, as it is very important I keep eating and drinking.
Back in My Gown
Because of the fever and sweating, I’ve returned to my hospital gown. I’m also hooked up to the pump now, which doesn’t work well with a t-shirt on. So far I think I’ve worn pants a total of 3 days. I’m looking forward to when I can wear them again.
Thank You For Another Day 