The C Word – A New Battle Day 3 - Baby step progress

Slept pretty good last night - - at least I did.  I turned lights out early (for this place) in order to try to get some good zz’s.  George woke up at 4AM to go to the bathroom so I called the nurse/CNA in for assistance and right away said, “While we’ve got him up, let’s get him weighed so we don’t have to worry about that later.”  “Good idea!”, she said!!  He has lost only a pound.  He is in the range of where he was before this whole obstruction occurred – but is about 18 pounds up from where he was on Wednesday morning. 

Went back to sleep and made it until 7 when he had to go again… I guess that’s progress because it is more than yesterday.  So it is good that he is expelling some extra fluids. 

It think it was around 8:30 when we got him up to sit in a chair by his bed.  Shortly after that, PT Nina came in and they were able to walk half way down the long hallway and back.  She was pleased with that.  He sat up for a short while longer and then crashed for a few hours.  Since he seemed particularly grumpy this morning, I was glad he was getting some sleep. 

One of the discussions with the morning nurse this morning was the fact that he needs to walk but because he gets dizzy he has difficulty even attempting to do so.  She told us that while it could be the dilaudid, it might also be because some of his blood counts were low today. We thought Dr. B was on call today and we could ask him when he came in, but it was another doctor on call today.  She said if we wanted to contact Dr. B that we could do so, but as a nurse on staff, she could not since he was not the on-call doctor.  So I text messaged Dr. B and told him the circumstance and gave him the low counts, etc.  He responded with a couple of questions and I sent him pictures and answers.  He said he would order up a few things to see if they would help.  One thing was extra IV fluids.  Also some X-rays. 

This afternoon they came to get him for X-rays.  Let me tell you, that was a huge feat!  His TPN line is very short and cannot be too far from the bed or it will yank out, as well as his central lines.  So he had a tight grip on those so they wouldn’t pull out during the ride.  Trying to get “Chromium Chrissy” and the bed out the door was very difficult.  Then we tried an elevator that was too narrow and had to back out of it and try another one wide enough for the bed and the pole.  Then, we got down to the X-ray room and had to maneuver into it.  They had to use two different machines and techniques to get the pictures they needed! 

Shortly coming back upstairs, PT Nina arrived and George actually was feeling pretty good and made a trip ALL the way to the other end of the hallway and back and sat in a chair for a short while afterward.  That is progress.  I think the extra fluids are helping!  Hurrah!  He actually looks and feels better and hasn’t been continually pushing the dilaudid button. 

For the first time in a long time, George feels hunger.  Unfortunately, he is restricted to 750ml of fluids a day (broth, jello, popsicle, tea, juice) for now. They bring up about ½ cup of broth for a “meal”.  But the fact he feels hunger is something to behold!!  He drank his broth and settled in for a nap until Dr. Bastidas arrives to see how things are going.

This evening George tried to watch a little TV (first time all week) but nothing really on.  So I offered to pull out his iPad so he could entertain himself.  He tried to do so from sitting in the bed with the tray in front of him but soon decided to sit in his chair for a bit.  So he’s been sitting up for a while. 

Dr. Bastidas came in to let us know how the tests looked and to see how George was doing.  Was glad to see him sitting up.  Xray showed that there are gas bubbles making their way down the intestinal tract so he is encouraged and feels that it won’t be too long before the milestone of passing gas is behind us.  It’s a good sign.  Once that happens they will cap off the GI tube which is draining the stomach and see how things go.  If all goes well, then he will be off the liquid diet and can order anything off the menu.  Not sure a cheeseburger will be the first thing he orders.

Since George had been up and catching up on his iPad he read my blogs for the past few days.  He asked Dr. B about the surgery and so forth because he realized he did not fully comprehend what we had told him yesterday.  I knew that it had not yet registered, so now that he is slowly coming around he is having to come to terms with the scope of things.

He asked Dr. B about what we all have been thinking, “if this is still considered low grade then how to it spread so quickly?”  Dr. B said that’s why he did a frozen sample for testing.  However, we need to wait for the full report.  I mentioned that we had not yet heard from the oncologist and he said that we won’t until after pathology comes out. 

So, today had it’s ups and its down, but certainly forward progress has been made.  It has taken me a while to write this final bit (I worked on it off and on during the day) because, just like last time, often as I just sit down and get situated George needs something, i.e. adjust the head of the bed up or down, cover him, uncover him, give him CPAP and turn it on or off, get a sip of water, etc., etc., etc.  Up and down, I get a lot of exercise!!  He keeps me hopping that is for sure!! 

We had only one visitor today, Bonnie.  Nice time catching up with her.  She and Keith will be back tomorrow to spot me so I can go home, take a shower, check my mail, etc.  I don’t want to be in competition with George for who can go the longest without taking a shower!  Haha!!

Side note:  I forgot to mention something very touching that occurred on Wednesday afternoon.  After I met with Dr. Bastidas post surgery and went to deliver the news to those waiting with me, I was visibly upset.  A man in the waiting room, dressed in biker-like clothes (sorry to classify – but most know what I mean), came over to us and asked if he could pray with and for us.  He knelt in front of me and took my hands and Victoria and Cathy also put their hands out.  He proceeded to ask for healing for whomever we were upset about.  He spent a few minutes in prayer.  We thanked him and he went back and took his seat.  What a phenomenal gesture from a complete stranger.  I asked his name but cannot remember it now.  But this is an example of what we should be doing for others - - Note to self:  Don’t be afraid to ask to pray for and with others?!?!