Day 24.

Hair is almost gone!

We go to the Stanford Cancer Center every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at noon.  They have been ridiculously busy lately as it seems EVERY cancer patient has contracted the flu.  There is a giant sign stating that everyone who enters the cancer center must wear a yellow mask and the waiting room has the feel of a hazmat area.  For some reason they had Willie listed as contagious so the past few times we have visited they have quickly escorted us into a private room with sliding glass doors. 
When we checked in on Wednesday, the front desk lady asked his name and typed it into the computer.
Her eyes grew wide and she jumped up and came around the desk.
"We'll take you right back Mr. Beavers." She said, pushing us down the hall.
We didn't argue with her because it's unusual to not have to wait at 10-15 minutes for a room.
"I have Mr. Beavers." She announced as we came down the hall.
I watched with interest as the crowds of nurses parted to let us through.  She took us back to the doors of a private room, but a housekeeping lady was inside sanitizing the room.  She wore a full yellow gown and my nose burned at the smell of bleach.
The lady helping us seemed antsy and she watched Willie's every move as if he was infecting the entire building by standing still. I noticed a sign on the door that read something about contact precautions for infectious disease.
"He doesn't have anything infectious." I said to the woman.
"He's listed as isolation in the computer so we have to treat him like he does." She replied, obviously not trusting me.
As soon as the room was clean she practically pushed us inside and slid the door shut quickly behind us.  The entire scene was a bit comical to me.
The nurse practitioner came in a bit later.  Her name is Amy and she is a cute, blond, 30 something doctor who is about 8 months pregnant.  We have been seeing her since Willie was released from the hospital and we really like her.
She came in wearing a full yellow gown and mask.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, sounding concerned.
Willie reported that he is doing OK with the exception of the hemorrhoid that is ruining his life.  She relaxed as we talked then explained that she thought he had contacted some sort of virus because of the room he is in.  We tried to trace back the origins of the mistake and she discovered it dated back to the day after he was released from the hospital when we asked for a room with a bathroom in case he needed to go.
This request somehow translated into the need for a private room because he is contagious!
She changed that in the computer for us so we wouldn't be treated like a disease.
Today when we arrived no one even batted an eye.  We waited a good 20 minutes before we were led back to the common room to choose from one of the many recliners in the open room.  Willie was feeling nauseous and requested a private room to be away from others.  There were no rooms available so we ended up sitting in the corner next to the window.  Across the aisle there was a man receiving an IV treatment.  Moments after we sat down his wife arrived with lunch and the pair sat together and ate the most aromatic Chinese food I have ever smelled.  The stench made Willie gag and I was sure he was going to yak all over them. 
I don't understand why anyone would eat anything stinky in a cancer ward.  It seems there should be some sort of sign that prohits anything that has a greater aroma than saltine crackers and apple juice.
We were able to move to a different chair, but it was in the same room and the smell seemed to follow us.  He got some meds for nausea then slept in the chair for an hour while we waited for the labs to return.  His counts are doing great!  His white count jumped to normal reading of 6.5, his reds are still low at 9.0 and his platelets are in the normal range at 215. 
The haemorrhoid seems to be healing and he is having less pain which is good, but it seems he has traded that for nausea today.  I hope tomorrow he will get his first day free from both.
His hair has been falling like confetti this week.  There is a trail of dark hair slivers left behind wherever he sits or lays.  I've been running through silly amounts of lint roller tape to keep up with the hair fall, but it is too fast for me.  Today we buzzed his hair again to get a bit closer to the scalp. The hair that falls now looks like sprinklings of pepper.
We don't have any schedule appointments this weekend at the cancer center so we are looking forward to a few days of rest.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
See you all Monday!