April 3, 2013

• A Stint for a Stent

  Tom took a 'chemo break' early this year. I had almost forgotten- I did a blog post about that already. 

  As a reference point, he had his last chemo treatment in December, then the radiation. His next appointment was at the end of March for a CT scan and bone scan, then a follow-up appointment for beginning a new regimen of chemo.  

  At the appointment with his chemo doctor, she said that we would have to delay it for a week, and try to get Tom built up- he had lost about 20 pounds since December. We attributed that to the pain in his back, and a couple of weeks he was battling a virus which landed him in the emergency room. Because of the pain in his back, he had been taking some big-time painkillers. His appetite was very poor- he would drink lots of tea with honey- crackers, soup, juice. But never very much at a time, and sometimes he would only eat once a day. 

  In response to the doctor's instruction to get some more meat on him, I went to Walmart and loaded up the grocery cart with all kinds of tempting, high-calorie foods. That was on Tuesday evening after the appointment. Wednesday- he really ate a lot, and I thought we were back on track. We went to church, and Tom felt good, and enjoyed being there and visited for a long time after services.

  Thursday found him without an appetite, which was disappointing. And on Friday, he was the same, if not some worse. I called Billy Meek, of the White Oak congregation and told him that we wouldn't be able to make it. I thought we had a bug- my innards were not feeling all that great either so we thought it was a bug. Later, I found out that Tom had vomited that night. Saturday, he was in bed most of the day, sick to his stomach. Sunday morning, I checked on him, and could tell that he was really very ill. I asked him if he wanted me to take him to the hospital, and he indicated, "yes."

  Our phone has been having some issues over the last month- our land line. There had been a LOT of static on it, so much, that I unplugged our cordless phone and plugged in our phone that we save for power outage emergencies. the kind that has the coiled cord, and you have to stand in place and talk. It sounded better, or at least it had until the morning that I really needed it to behave. I called the oncologist's number, which then directed me to the answering service. I left a message, then a Dr. Christopher talked to me, or tried to talk to me through the buzzing phone line. I finally gave him my cell phone number. But that wasn't much better, because the only good place at our house to talk on our cell is if we go outside. So I threw on my coat over my robe and jammies and was standing out in the yard talking to him. He told me that he had arranged a bed at Barnes. I asked him if it would be possible for us to go to Barnes West. Barnes West is much smaller, we were used to it- that is where Tom gets scans and his cancer center is adjacent to it. And parking is not a hassle, either. He reluctantly agreed that we could go there, so I packed Tom into the car, and off we went. I called Wendy and told her what was going on, so she could phone tree her siblings. She advised us to go to what I call "Big Barnes"; they would have everything Tom needs. It was possible if we had gone to Barnes West, that he might have to transfer anyway, so it just made more sense to go with the bigger hospital. I called Dr. Christopher back and told him that we had changed our minds. He should get an award for his patience with us. He said that he would call back and let us know if a bed was still available; which there was. So off to "Big Barnes" we headed. Well, I should mention that I am driving on I-270 when I am conversing with the doctor. Tom was not really 'there' with his misery and all. The doctor was giving me directions to where we should go, what streets to look for. He said there would be valet parking, and that I should go in, turn left, then look for this set of elevators and the Shoenberg Pavilion and go to the seventh floor. I repeated everything he said to Tom, because I had no faith at all in my memory. I got to the street by the hospital, then Tom came out of his stupor enough to tell me to turn right at a street. It wasn't the street the doctor told me, but turns out it was an even better way to go.

  And this is when it got really surreal. When I say, "Big Barnes", it is not only the main hospital, which is unbelievably huge- there are several other really big buildings that take up several blocks. We got to the Advanced Medicine Building, and turned in. There were NO cars there at all. I pulled into a valet parking lane- one of three or four marked that way. And I waited for someone to come out and valet our car- but there was NOBODY. Next to our car was a row of wheelchairs. I thought that I would just let the car sit, since no one was around and just take Tom in myself. I went to back up a wheelchair and it wouldn't budge. The wheels were locked, and I had no idea how to unlock them. So, I thinks to myself that I will go in and find someone to help me. The entrance to this huge, modern building has a huge revolving door, with three sections in the door. Each section would accommodate a person pushing a wheelchair. I entered the building through one of those and found myself in a huge, HUGE atrium- empty and echoing. I went over to the unmanned information desk and saw a sign that told me that no one was there that day, and to use the phone. At this point in time, I decided to use some old-fashioned 'hollers', and called out, "Hellloooooooo'', "Hellllloooooo", and looked all around the vast waiting area and staircases to see if ANYONE was there. 

  God always provides, of course. Down a distant set of stairs, came a very nice orderly in a blue uniform. I asked him if he could help us, and when I remarked on there not being anyone there for anything, he said that it was not only Sunday, but Easter Sunday. Which explained a lot. I told him what the doctor had told me about where they wanted Tom to be. (Poor Tom- he was still sitting out in the car all this time). The orderly came out and with no problem at all, got Tom loaded up and into the building. I sure was hoping that we were on the same page when I gave him the directions for Tom's destination.

  There is a parking garage next to that building- that turned out beautifully, as well, also. I got a primo parking space, since I was essentially the only person there besides the skeleton crew working that day. By the grace of God, I was able to wander through the building and managed to find the right hallways, elevator, and eventually room, where Tom was getting settled in. 

  I won't go into all the details of what Tom went through. He was sick, sick, sick, and getting dangerously ill. He was so dehydrated from vomiting that it affected his kidney function, and since he pretty much just has one that works, we were concerned about that. He was so nauseous that they put a tube down his nose into his stomach and connected it to a vacuum device. We were absolutely shocked at how much that pulled out of him. At that point in time, we didn't know what was the matter with him. Turns out that his small intestine was blocked completely. 

  But we didn't know that until Monday. On Sunday, Wendy came to the hospital to be with Tom and I. It was nice to spend time with her. We couldn't locate the cafeteria at lunchtime, so went across the street from the building and ate at Applebees. I felt guilty enjoying really delicious food, while Tom was having gastrointestinal issues, but hope that we can go out to eat sometime in the near future. When we came back to the building Wendy and I had a good laugh- we had walked right by the cafeteria. If we had just looked to our left we would have seen it- but their food isn't as nice as Applebees anyway.

  Wendy left, and it wasn't long until Candace came by. She had just finished her shift at the hospital she works with, which is affiliated with Barnes. This was about 8 pm, and she decided that she too, would spend the night. Hospital staff had already brought in a rollaway bed for me; there was also a recliner. We settled in for the night at about 10 pm. Candace was in the recliner, I was on the rollaway- neither promised a really restful night, but we wanted to take care of Tom. Candace and I restlessly 'slept' for about four hours, then switched. She got some sleep, and I just got up and worked on newspaper stuff on the laptop for a couple of hours, then literally passed out in the recliner after that. Poor Tom had a bad night- he was up and down and up and down and in so much discomfort- he would sit on his bed and rock back and forth. He never complained or moaned, but we could tell that he was in a lot of pain.

  I think I will take a break for now- maybe I will add more later. I am not really thinking of this as a public post, but as a journal entry.

   

  • 3:14 pm
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