The Longest Day

Warning Signs Outside the Door

Today has been a very looong day.  We were both startled awake at 3 AM when a flurry of nurses entered the room.  I shot of of bed, nervous that they had come in because something terrible had happened to Willie.  He awoke just as confused as I was, which was a relief to me.  We asked the nurses what was going on and they casually told us that it was time for Willie's second Chemo infusion. 
WHAT?!?
We were under the impression that he would receive an infusion one time a day.  The nurse told us we were mistaken and that he was to receive infusions every 12 hours.  We suddenly realized why the doctors wanted Willie to start his chemo treatment in the morning hours!  The nurses hurried around the room in the dim early morning light.  There is a TV channel here the plays soothing music all day and shows images of the ocean, wildlife the evening sky, etc.  The image was stuck on outer space and the glow from the tv joined with the glow from the computer offered the only light in the room.  I was still in a dream like state and it felt the nurses were multiplying and filling the room.  It felt like that scene from the matrix where the nemesis clones himself over and over again until there are hundreds of him in one room.  It seemed they were moving a hundred miles an hour as they rushed back and forth, preparing his IV lines.
There is a strict protocol that is be followed here whenever medication is administered.  The nurse first asks Willie his name and date of birth.  He responds as she checks to make sure his wrist bracelet matches.  She then reads the information from his bracelet to another nurse who is stationed at the computer to ensure that he is the same person listed on the computer file.  They then match that information with the information from the pharmacy to be sure that he is who he says he is and that the hospital and pharmacy agree.  After that, they read off the medication from the IV bag to make that that matches the order placed on the pharmacy file.  It's quite the process, but very reassuring.

IV Home Base with 4 Bags Dripping at Once!

Even after this process; however, we were not reassured that the infusion was supposed to be administered so soon.  We both asked questions about why it was that he was receiving the chemo again.  We hadn't been told that by our doctors and we worried that they were double dosing him.  The nurse assured us that all patients receive chemo twice a day as she hooked him up and started the drip.  We were still unconvinced.  I turned on the light and squinted my way through the pages of medication information the pharmacy had provided us.  It was there we discovered that the nurses were indeed right, he did receive treatment twice a day.
We both tried to go back to sleep and did so successfully for a few hours before the nurses returned to take more blood and change out IV bags.  There is no rest to be had in a hospital!  The social worker said it best yesterday when she said
"Being a patient in a hospital is a full time job!"
The morning passed slowly.  Our team of doctors popped in briefly to see how things were going.  They apologized for not being clear about the 12 hour doses.  They offered to move the dose up to 1PM and 1 AM, but in the end we decided it is better to receive a dose at 3 AM because then he can sleep through it.
We had a fabulous nurse today named Julie.  She is about the same age as my Mom who is also named Julie so I felt instantly connected to her.  We learned that she has only been a nurse for 4 years and that this her second career.  She left a life of tele-communications to become a nurse when her own daughter fought off cancer 10 years ago.  He daughter made a full recovery and is now leading a full, happy life.  I love hearing the personal stories of the staff and patients here.  It is all so inspiring!  When I look at a woman like Julie I think that it is never to late to lead the life you want.  You can always learn a new trade or develop a new skill.  There is no end to one's potential and it is refreshing to meet people who understand and exemplify that.
Things have been going well at the Health Habit, and we are grateful to all of the volunteers that have been helping us keep the doors open.  We are blessed to have supportive family and friends who have dropped everything and come running to help us.  We have had to reduce our hours and may be out of some of the products we usually carry, but we truly appreciate the understanding we have felt from the community and the support we have seen.  I am still placing orders from here and we will do the best we can to keep the store stalked with the things the community counts on us to carry. 
Willie also had a good friend and hard worker helping him with his business, Willows Plumbing.  We are grateful to him for his willingness to help.  We look forward to coming home and giving our volunteers a break very soon!
At 3 PM this afternoon Willie receive his third infusion.  He will receive a total of 8 infusions of a drug called Cytarabine over the next 4 days.  This one is administered by IV drip and takes about 3 hours to empty the bag.  The second drug he receives is called Idarubicin and he will receive 3 doses of this over three days.  Is administered by a fat syringe that a nurse slowly pushes through his IV line over a 10 minute period.  The nurse administering it dresses in a splash resistant gown and wears a face mask and goggles.  If that isn't enough to freak one out, she also wears two pairs of gloves.  TWO PAIRS!  You know it must be toxic if one pair of gloves can't do the trick!  Today, Julie told us about her 5 adopted dogs while she slowly pushed the Idarubicin in Will's IV.  We love dogs so it was a nice diversion to hear about her pack of outrageous personalities.  Her dogs all have people names which I thought was funny.
We miss our dog Kona desperately.  I'll tell you more about this quirky dog who we affectionately call "pig butt" another night.  For now I will leave you with a picture of our piggy pants who we love.