The Reed Report - Phil's Medical Journey

After going through the process of being put in a room (when the nurse asks me if I wear dentures, etc.), I was finally able to go to sleep. I wanted to say, that since I was just in the hospital less than three weeks ago, please use my answers from last time. Ha. But I knew that would not happen. Denise was able to visit me from 1 to 3 every afternoon. We noticed how quickly two hours go by compared to the four hours we had previously. Many hospitals do not allow any visitors, so we are grateful that she could visit me at all! On Thanksgiving Day, her family waited to have dinner until after our visit was over, instead of at 1 PM as they had planned. We took a "selfie" for Thanksgiving When I saw the doctor on Thursday, I asked what the criteria were for me going home. She said that I needed to be fever free for 24-48 hours. Out of my control, but now I know what they are looking for. And I missed turkey dinner at the hospital. They served it for lunch and stopped serving it...

When we got to the ER about 6:15 PM, we were once again glad to see just a few people waiting. However, this time we waited three hours until about 9 PM for an ER room, even though they told us when they took my vitals shortly after we arrived that we would be next, barring an ambulance or air care (helicopter) coming in. I forgot to take Tylenol before we left home, so while we waited I had the chills and just wanted to sleep. If I had asked someone for some, they may have done so, but I was not expecting to wait nearly three hours. Once we did get into the room, they got busy right away. Blood tests, blood cultures, EKG, chest x-ray, and urinalysis (from my nephrostomy bag) - all this to determine what type of infection (or infections) I had, because normally an infection is the cause of the fever. The cultures are up to a 48-hour process (or sometimes longer). And they gave me some Tylenol. Once again I was neutropenic, a common problem with chemotherapy, which meant that I had a fe...

As usual, after chemo I felt pretty good. And it is always good to be home. Other than going out the next afternoon to get my Neulasta shot (to boost my white blood cells), my next planned visit to the hospital was on the 25th for labs and to change my PICC line dressing. Each and every day I was so grateful to be healthy and at home. This round brought with it more trouble with nausea than the time before and sooner than day four. Thankfully, the medicine they gave me takes care of that, though not always right away. Wednesday morning the 25th, day 6 after chemo, my temperature was slightly elevated (ranged from 99.6 to 100.0). I took some Tylenol because I also had a headache. My temperature dropped back to nearly normal before we went to the hospital for labs. And I felt good at that time - with no more headache. After we got home and had lunch, I took a nap for a couple of hours. And I did not want to wake up. Then I watched a movie on TV, "Free Birds", and fought sleep m...

Thursday morning the 19th, one week delayed from the original plan, we had to be at the hospital by 7:00 AM for labs, then to see the doctor about 8 AM, and start chemo after 9 AM. I find it difficult to get up so early on chemo day, but you do what you have to do! While I got my blood drawn for labs close to 7, everything else was delayed. M y vitals were good and later my blood work came back normal as well. My weight is increasing, so that is a good thing.  We waited to see the doctor well past 8 AM. Then we were ready to start chemo after 9:30 AM. Flexibility and patience are very important in these situations! Outpatient chemo is easier than inpatient chemo and includes the bonus of being at HOME! My outpatient chemo is just part of one day. They start out with some pills, then give me a series of different drugs intravenously - some are as small as a shot, others take just 5-10 minutes, and then there is the long one, which takes several hours and also causes baldness. I was ...

How glad and thankful I was to be home and no longer in the hospital. I started eating better almost right away and my recliner felt so good compared to the hospital bed. And with my white blood cell count back to normal and my hemoglobin improved, I was feeling much better. Of course, "better" does not yet mean that I am ready to go back to the gym and workout like I did earlier this year. It just means that I am more easily able to do the basic things of life - that is, take care of myself. I am so grateful that, other than following the first chemo treatment, when I was so weak and it was difficult to care for myself (even to get in and out of the recliner, or the hospital bed), that I have not had any trouble since then. When I am home, it is nice in the evenings to be able to watch something with Denise - a movie, TV show, or football. My breakfast at home consists of Cream of Wheat and a chocolate Carnation breakfast drink.  I normally read my Bible after that,  unless ...

The first few days in the hospital, I started feeling better than when we came to the ER on Sunday, though I lacked energy. I enjoyed my single room very much. They continued to try to determine the source of my infection(s). One blood culture came back positive for strep, so they decided to remove my PICC line, even though it showed no signs of infection. It was just a likely source, they said. And they continued to give me IV antibiotics. Because of the unknown infection(s), they were not sure when I would be able to go home. This was an ongoing problem throughout my stay in the hospital. I also had no energy because my hemoglobin was quite low several days (7.0-8.2). Had it been any lower, I would have required a blood transfusion. Wednesday the 4th was a rough day. (I tried not to be too graphic with this, and yet transparent.) I had been dealing with constipation even before coming to the hospital, and we were trying medications to help with that, but nothing was working. They cou...

When we got to the ER, we were glad to see just a few people waiting. However, we learned that this does not necessarily equate to getting in right away. We did get into an ER room just after 10 PM and decided that waiting for just over an hour was not too bad. I told them there that I was becoming a "frequent flyer" in the ER because it was my 4th time in a month and a half. We are so grateful for your prayers and encouragement, especially when things do not go as we would have wanted or desired! They confirmed my temperature of nearly 102. And they ran three sets of blood cultures to determine what type of infection (or infections) I had - which can be up to a 48-hour process. Once again I was neutropenic, a common problem with chemotherapy, which meant that I had a fever of more than 100.4 along with an extremely low white blood cell count. They started me on intravenous (IV) antibiotics almost immediately. Waiting in the ER room We knew that they would be admitting me, so...

As I mentioned in the previous blog post, my Neulasta On Body failed. Denise and I went in on Wednesday morning, so I could get the shot manually. Without it, my white blood cell count would take longer to recover. My uncle Larry shared with me the devotional from "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers for October 31st. It was very thought-provoking and deep. Matthew 17:20, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed...nothing will be impossible for you." "We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, and it may be so in the initial stages. But we do not earn anything through faith - faith brings us into the right relationship with God and gives Him His opportunity to work. Yet God frequently has to knock the bottom out of your experience as His saint to get you in direct contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith , not a life of emotional enjoyment of His blessings. The beginning of your life of faith was very ...