Feverish Friday

So dangerous, yet so beautiful!

 The dreaded fever arrived today.  We awoke at 5 AM when the nurse came in to draw blood and take Will's vitals.  He was running a tiny temperate of 100.5 degrees.  There are thresholds for everything here and the threshold for doing something about a fever is 100.5 degrees.  Since he was sitting right on the line, the nurse wasn't sure if she should medicate or not.  She decided to take his temperature again and this time she inserted the thermometer deeper into Will's mouth, just to be sure the reading was accurate.
It was kind of funny to watch.  The thermometer is usually inserted just below the tongue and most of the metal rod is out of the mouth.  The second time she took his temp, the entire rod disappeared into Will's mouth.  He said it was like she was trying to have him swallow the entire thing.  She stood there, holding the rod in his mouth while he looked like he was about to gag.  The result from the second time was the same: 100.5 degrees.
She decided it would be best to follow the protocol for fevers and had him on an antibiotic IV drip in no time.  It was 6:30 at this point and we were both wide awake.  I decided to walk over to the gym to shower.  The walk was lovely this morning and the air was crisp and refreshing.  There is a large park with walking trials that spans between the hospital and the gym.  This morning I stopped to observe the cactus garden that spans an impressive distance of the park.  I've never seen so many prickly plants in lone location. I was excited to see it again on my walk home, but somehow ended up taking a wrong turn and ended up lost on campus.  Thanks to google maps I found my way back to the hospital.  I don't know how I ever lived without an iphone!

The original PICC line dressing with nasty bruise

Today marks two weeks we have been at Stanford.  Hospital time is a funny thing.  Sometimes it feels like we just got here, and other times it feels like we've been here forever.  There is really nothing to gauge your time by when you're in the hospital.  In regular life we would pass the week away with work and scheduled weekly activities like going to the gym, events with friends, family dinners, and watching our favorite shows.  We both have businesses that keep us busy all day (and night!) and there is rarely a time where we simply sit and do nothing.  Which is exactly what we've been doing here!  I'm still adjusting to not having to plan meals or set aside time to cook.  Cooking is one of my passions so I am eagerly anticipating the return to our kitchen! 
I'm finding myself forgetting what day of the week it is, and not really even caring.  In the hospital it doesn't make any difference whether it's Monday or Wednesday, the schedule will still be the same.  We are now counting our time here by the number of bandage changes Will receives on his PICC line.  He had the PICC line inserted two weeks ago by the cute Korean woman who we still talk about.  She placed a dressing over the line at that time and we thought it would be on there forever.  Last week the nurse advised us that he needs to have this dressing changed weekly so she changed it out and wrote the date on the bandage.  That date expired today so he had his second changing this afternoon.
Two picc line dressing changes=two weeks since we've been here.

New dressing with today's date and fancy signature!

We hope we are not here more than three picc line dressing changes!
Willie had a hard day today.  He was wiped out after the IV Antibiotic and took a few cap naps before the team showed up for morning rounds about 10 AM.  We learned today that the team is changing AGAIN and we are getting yet another attending physician.  We were also sad to learn that Dr. Mitra, who has been with us from the beginning, will be rotating out of the unit.  He was a fabulous doctor and we're sad to see him go.  We do get to keep Noura, who is the dark haired resident with the good sense of humor.  She has been the one checking in with us each morning before the team arrives and we really like her.  She takes her time to explain things to us and answer our questions without making us feel like she has somewhere else she would rather be.  This morning she spent some time going over Will's labs with us.  His red count has dropped again after the infusion and is back down to 7.6.  He will probably need another infusion this weekend, but the real concern is his platelet count which has fallen to 14.  It was in the 150's a few days ago and has been cutting in half each day.  The threshold for infusing platelets is 10 so he will most likely get a platelet infusion tomorrow. 
The body needs platelets in order to clot and keep from bleeding.  One of the risks of low platelet counts after chemo is a bloody nose that can't be stopped.  This is the main thing they are concerned about and she assured us that if that does happen, they can administer platelets immediately to stop the problem.  Other than that, she said we are going to keep doing as we're doing and hang out.  
We're really getting really good at hanging out!  In fact, if there was an award for hanging out, I think Willie would have it!
He had no energy today and spent the most day resting.  We had been warned about these kinds of days from Dr. Mitra.  He said these days were going to happen and Will wouldn't feel like getting out of bed.  He was right.  I don't think anything could have talked him out of that bed.
My brother was in town for business and came to visit in the afternoon.  He brought Willie a Giants Jersey, and some other Giants souvenirs.  That brightened our day!  We had a nice visit with him and were happy to have him here, even though it was only for a few short hours.
Tammy called in the afternoon to report that the community is providing an overwhelming amount of support.  Our good friend from the gym put together a fund raiser/raffle for some gym passes and that has turned into people donating all sorts of other things to raffle.  Tammy named off about 10 things that people have donated and said she has received phone calls for plenty more.  They will have the raffle baskets down at our shop, Health Habit, if anyone wants to get a raffle ticket stop by and get in on the fun!  I'm kind of sad we're missing all this.  I LOVE raffles! 
We couldn't believe the amount of quality things people have donated to our cause.  Tammy's good friend purchased wrist bands that say "Strength for Willie" on them and they are being sold at the shop for $5.  We will also be selling "Strength for Willie" shirts at the shop next week.  Another friend is selling orange lanyards that say "find the cure". 
We are so humbled by the support we are receiving.  It inspires us to be better people and to get Willie back to health real soon so we can thank you all in person.  This weekend is the Relay For Life which is an event that is done each year to celebrate cancer survivors and earn money for the cause.  We hope everyone has a wonderful time and are looking forward to being there next year to celebrate Willie's remission! 
Happy Friday to all!  And may the Giants win tonight!