We had a very lazy day and pretty much just hung out around the house. Bill slept until about 3:30 this afternoon, but got up just in time to eat. Tyler didn't nap (and needed it) so they were both in bed by 7:00 tonight. Luckily, he fell asleep right before I was going to put him up for sale on e-bay (with free shipping, of course). An over-tired child does not make a relaxing evening. Tomorrow doesn't prove itself to be very exciting, at least not at the moment, and I have probably jinxed myself since moments change rapidly around here. One thing I MUST do is go grocery shopping. With our run of recent events, I haven't done "big shopping" in a few weeks. Literally, we have one piece of fruit in our house... and it is a lemon. When life gives you lemons...
Bill is home! Tyler and I were on our way to visit him this evening and he called to tell me that he would be able to go home with us. I went to the hospital this morning, sat with him the majority of the day, came back home to pick up Tyler (stopped at my work end-of-the-year party), and then headed back to the hospital so Tyler could see him. Just to recap... He had his right lung drained yesterday and they were able to get 2 liters out! That is quite a bit for only one side. He doesn't have anything scheduled for the other side, although he is going to need it pretty soon. I can still hear wheezing as he breathes. They took him in today to fix his catheter. It ended up being the tip and they easily replaced it. He also was able to drain which instantly makes him feel better. They removed his PICC line before we left, and he was given oral antibiotics for seven days to help combat the infection. I hope this one works!He will go back to his regular doctor in a week for a check-up and will probably get another referral to have the other lung drained. Before leaving the hospital, Bill was given a prescription for a "rapid release" pain medication for emergencies, such as the one we had the other night. He also got an under the tongue anti-nausea drug that works wonders in a pinch. It's incredible to see the difference in his appearance from yesterday to today. He looks so much better and actually has a little color on his face. He even commented that he felt badly for taking up a bed in the hospital because he thought he was well enough to go home. Hopefully this feeling stays with us a little longer this time!
Bill is back in the hospital and he is resting comfortably. Thank goodness they ended up admitting him. He had blood work done yesterday and his regular doctor called last night (on his cell phone and we missed the call) to tell him to go to the ER because his white blood cell count was again too high. Not a huge surprise since he was in so much pain last night. They are flushing him with a different antibiotic to hopefully wipe out the infection. He'll miss the scans tomorrow and I'll need to reschedule his appointment at the City of Hope. Hopefully things won't be too delayed. I am headed to the hospital tomorrow morning to wrap my head around all of this. I promise to keep posting!!
We have had (are having) a rough night so far. I got Bill his trusty Chinese chicken salad, and it came back up almost immediately, which is also when the pain started. Although he was able to drain when Christina came over, he hasn't been able to drain since, which is probably the cause of the extreme agony he's in tonight. We tried everything to get the catheter top apart, and the dents in my fingers prove we were unsuccessful. We had the heating pad, ice, and three different pain medications in our attempt to ease the pain. He was groaning, rocking, and literally could not stay in one spot. It has been two hours of intense stomach pain for him. Thankfully, the last set of medications have done the trick and he's lying down (somewhat) comfortably, and I would anticipate he'll doze off rather shortly. These bouts of hardcore pain are not good for his strength, will, or motivation. Tomorrow he goes in for his lung draining, and hopefully they can fix his catheter. He also mentioned that he would gladly welcome a few days back in the hospital. His scans are scheduled for Friday, and we are supposed to go back to the City of Hope for results on Monday. A hospital stay may change the plans, but that is really the least of my worries at this point. I just want him to be out of pain. Cancer is bad enough, why must it be so painful?
It is always comforting to post about a problem that has already been solved. Today, the skies opened up and and sent us an angel... her name is Christina and she is a nurse at the City of Hope (but coincidentally, lives on the same street as one of my past students and a current one, too... long story... see past posts). She texted me today asking how we were doing, and I told her that along with needing his lungs drained, Bill had some sort of blockage in his peritoneal catheter. It seemed like it stopped right at the exit point, which meant he was uncomfortable because this was day two of NOT draining. *Disclaimer - I tried everything to try to get it unclogged. I even tried to take the tip connector apart, but was afraid to open it completely which would result in turning my husband into a fountain.*We went to my parents' house for a Memorial Day BBQ and was thrilled that Bill was able and really wanted to go with us. It was so nice to have him there. The hard part was trying to coordinate having Christina come by to look at his catheter while we were still at home. Since that would mean he'd have to wait until nighttime, she didn't hesitate to drive all the way to their house for a quick home visit. She was able to get the tip opened and "unblocked" so he could drain and relieve the immense pressure he was feeling. Thank you to Christina, who is the savior of the day!!
Tyler was "getting ready" this morning in our bathroom, and after brushing his teeth he was wetting a cotton ball. (I have no idea why, but I wasn't about to argue over a cotton ball.) He put it in his hand and said, "Look Mommy, oxy-cotton!" Obviously he's heard that word when we talk about Bill's pain medicine, Oxycontin. It goes to show that he really does absorb more than we assume. I can only pray at this point that all of this advanced education is a precursor for medical school. I am already saving for his therapy... what's one more thing? :)
I finally bit the bullet and bought a new computer yesterday. It was a long time coming. Our old one was... well, old and slow. I have been searching and comparing prices for about three months now, so it felt good to finally make the purchase. (For the techies - I got an HP laptop.)Yesterday was pretty uneventful on the cancer front. I think Bill was feeling better, but was afraid to come out and say it for fear of jinxing his luck. He had a few extremely painful days that were a wake-up call. It was the first time I have heard him say that he was "done", the pain was just too great. We had a long talk yesterday about the severity, and our next steps. Although I don't feel he is at this point, we had very difficult discussion about hospice and what they offer. It will really depend on the results of the scans next week. I know that the pain is excruciating, but having to watch him deal with this is so hard on my heart. I just want him to be comfortable, and right now he is far from it. I'll have to update more later... this is all too sad for me to handle at 4:00 in the afternoon... this is more of a 10pm topic when Tyler is asleep.
