chemo isn’t pretty

Gloria is on fire. She has a 103 degree temperature & we don’t know why. It’s possible an infection has invaded but until the lab reports come back in a couple of days we don’t know what we’re dealing with. The nurses took more blood and have given her a couple of Tylenol. The doctor is due here any minute, but that’s what they said two hours ago. She also has a rash beginning to appear on her chest, shoulder and arms. Her face is blotchy and puffy with redness. She’s cold but her skin is hot to the touch. Things could get ugly from here.

Right now we’ve got welcomed diversion on the TV – a stand up comedy routine. I bought her a small TV with a built in DVD player and signed up for Netflix. They’re sending movies to our hotel so we can bring them to her and keep her mind off the constant clamor of the medical machines. "Beeeeeeep Beeeeeeep" when she bends her arm or "beep beep" when an IV bag runs out, the whir of the air pump inflating and deflating her bed and the blood pressure machine pulsating as it monitors her pulse. The TV was a small investment for a large return.

Tomorrow we look forward to ending the chemo treatment and starting recovery. She’ll be pretty sick thru the weekend, worse than we are now, but they did let us know to expect a dip toward the end. So we’ve hit a little speed bump along the way, but we’ll keep the fighting. It’s all she and you and I and everyone can do -- keep your love alive. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers & the occasional phone calls. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Look for another post on Wednesday, August 27, 2008, no later than 5pm. Until then, I leave you with a quote Don says to her every day: Be patient enough to live one day at a time, let yesterday go and leave tomorrow until it arrives.