Day 7b, 8

As exciting as Day 7 started, I was quickly reminded why I'm here. Nausea, more aftereffects from the chemo, returned with full force. :( Fortunately, the wonder drug Regalin came to the rescue, but also brought extreme drowsiness...which definitely wins over nausea. Later in the afternoon, the nausea again returned. This time it had to face the more powerful Attivan, which causes drowsiness squared! Mother had been with me that day, and Paul had come up after work. He had been here 1.5 hours before I ever knew it! The good news was that I slept like a baby that night, and the nausea was kept at bay.

Day 8 started with a phone call from my mom. I knew at the sound of her voice that something was wrong. She asked if Paul was already here, and if not could he stop by her house on his way. That was about 8am. All she said was that she thought she had hurt herself in a fall the previous night! I called Paul, Ron, Aunt Polly and mom's neighbor Maxine.

Long story short, Paul and Ron got her to the ER where she had a CT and x-rays. She had a cut on the back of her head, bloody scrapes on her frail-skinned arm, a very sore backside, and a horrible headache. They were concerned she might have a concussion, but that was cleared. After tests, being cleaned up, some pain meds, and some rest, Ron brought her home. Paul had already come back to meet Aunt Polly and cleaned the blood from her sheets, washed them, and remade the bed. The first phone call Mother had made that morning was to cancel the cleaning lady who she hired to get the house extra clean before I was discharged. I called to get her back since Aunt Polly and Paul were there. Aunt Polly went and bought ingredients to make chicken soup, which makes anything better!

Paul got here early evening. Ron stayed the night with mom and is taking her to her regular doctor this morning. Please pray that they can determine what has been causing her dizziness. Please pray for quick healing. Praise that no bones were broken, which was a surprise considering the current state of her osteoporosis and RA. Please pray for all of us as I prepare to go home to mother's on Monday. We will BOTH need a caregiver for a while. Praise that Bethany is coming for the weekend.

So Day 8 held the worry and prayers for my mom on one side, and the joy of another visit from Renee on the other side. After a sweet visit, she presented me with another present. (She brought me a beautiful pewter angel on last visit.) I opened the large gift bag to discover a handmade prayer blanket, one side covered with almost all the verses that I have shared on my blog! Tears of appreciation for her love, kindness, and hard work wet my eyes. Thank you, Renee! (I will add pictures here once I figure out how to do that on my iPad!) I continue to be amazed by the loving kindness of you all.

Day 8 was also my last day of Rituxan. It is one of the meds that tends to get bubbled up going through the IV tube. Most times, it's manageable and only slightly irritating. But today's batch was extra bubbly, and the IV alarm must have gone off a minimum of 3,000 times over a seven hour stretch! The staff was impressed that I didn't get annoyed. I was impressed that thet didn't!

More joy was added by spending time with my sweet Paul. We are now counting the days until my release. Just to be in mother's home with no IV pole, no requirements to measure and track fluid in and outtake, no ordering off the special menu (which hasn't been too bad), no being awakened throughout the night, no restraint from sitting outside, no more sleeping alone. I am so thankful that my body, through God's grace, has responded this well to the treatment. While I know this is far from over, we never expected to be moving to the next phase so quickly. I credit that to the faithful prayers of my family and friends. God has heard us all loud and clear.

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!". 2 Corinthians 9:15