Fever! (Monday, Mar. 20, 2006)

Ten days after Laurie's second chemo treatment and all appeared well. The entire family had spring break at the same time this year (a first in recent memory), and we spent the first few days of it at Laurie's parents' lake house. Laurie was starting to feel better from her treatments, although she was still a little achey.

We arrived back home early Monday evening and Jim started fixing dinner (well, anyone can open a can of baked beans, grill hamburbers, and throw a Marie Calendar cobbler in the oven). Laurie was feeling a little warm and tired so she took her temperature. The thermometer read 99.6 degrees, a little high, but nothing to be concerned about. Jim kept cooking. A few minutes later, Laurie checked her temperature again. This time it was about 100.3. We both perked up, remembering we'd been told that if her temperature ever hit 100.5, we'd need to call the doctor and probably high-tail it for the hospital.

Jim kept cooking. Laurie kept heating up. She checked her temperature again a few minutes later--101.3 degrees. She really wasn't feeling that bad, but Jim went to get the number to call the doctor. In the meantime, Laurie changed from the digital thermometer to a regular mercury thermometer. She took her temperature again--101.7. Jim called the doctor but got the anwering service. The lady who answered took our number. "The doctor on call will get right back to you," she said.

Laurie checked her temperature again. This time it read 101.9 degrees. Her temperature had risen from 99.6 to 101.9 in less than thirty minutes. The phone rang. While Jim talked to the doctor on call, Laurie got a few things together in case her visit to the hopital turned into a stay. She and the girls grabbed a hamburger (Jim had managed to get those cooked).

Fortunately the doctor did not seem overly concerned, but confirmed we needed to head to the emergency room. "Any one will do," she said. "Just make sure you tell them your wife is undergoing chemotherapy. They will draw some blood and check her blood counts. Depending on her vitals, they might keep her overnight. Have the ER doctor call if necessary."

Jim managed to grab a quick bite and put the food away after he got off the phone. Meanwhile Laurie checked her temp again. It was holding at 101.9, a good sign if only because it hadn't gone up any higher. Finally all of us piled into the car and headed down to Baylor. It was a little after 8:00.

When we got to the emergency room and told them why we were there, they immediately handed Laurie a surgical mask to protect her from all the wheezing and coughing going on in the waiting room. A nurse then escorted Laurie and Jim into a small triage room where she checked Laurie's vitals. Her temp was still over 101, but everthing else seemed OK. The nurse asked if Laurie had taken anything for her fever. "Not yet," we said, so they gave her some Tylenol. We then sat down to wait. It was a little after 8:30.

We found out later that Laurie was waiting for a bed in the ER to clear. The hospital staff kept her in triage rather than have her sit out in the main waiting area. They wanted to avoid exposure to whatever illnesses and bacteria lurked out there.

During the time Jim and Laurie were in the triage room, Steffi and Abby were sitting out in the main waiting area reading. Policy allowed only one guest per patient in the back. Jim went out to register Laurie and let each of the girls go in and see Mom one at a time. When Jim went back to sit with Laurie, her temperature had already dropped a little, but she was still waiting for a bed to clear so she could get her blood drawn. We both tried to read a little, but mostly just sat and waited. Jim let the girls rotate in one more time to sit with Laurie before going back in to sit with her himself.

We were still waiting at 10:30. Steff and Abby had finished all their reading for school (small blessings occur in the least expected places), but they were getting tired. We decided they'd be better off at home so Jim drove the girls back to the house, thinking that at the rate things were progressing, Laurie would still be waiting by the time he got back. But, just as it rains when you wash your car, so also the minute you leave your wife, she gets taken back to a bed. By the time Jim got back from taking the girls home, Laurie had had a chest x-ray and her blood drawn. The x-ray was negative. They were just finishing a second draw of blood for a culture when Jim finally found them. We started waiting again.

When the clock struck 1:00, the emergency room doctor walked in. Laurie's blood counts were fine and no bacterial infection was evident. Laurie's temperature had dropped back down to 99.3 and the doctor concluded that the reason for the spike was likely a virus. Laur had been given an injection of antibiotics earlier, so he saw no reason for us to stay, but he did confirm that we'd done the right thing by coming in.

We were on the way home by 1:30 a.m. and found two sleeping girls lying on couches in the living room, with a movie droning on in the background.

With the girls, Laurie, and Jim finally in bed, the clock read 2:30 a.m. We were really glad we were still on spring break!

Laurie's temperature fluctuated a little for the next couple days, but without the same excitement. The temperature culprit was likely a virus after all. Once again God protected Laurie in a situation that might have been much worse. Thank you Father!

I Didn't Know Gold Came in a Syringe! (Mar. 4, 2006)

Because Laurie's blood counts had dropped so low after her first round of chemo, Dr. O'Shaughnessy decided to give her a shot of Neulasta today, the day after her second round. Neulasta is a wonder drug that stimulates the bone morrow to produce more blood cells. Even though the chemo is killing cells, so many new ones are being produced that it overwhelms the effects of the chemo. Basically the chemo can't keep up and the blood counts stay up, helping the body fight off infection.

When her blood counts fell as a result of the first round of chemo, Laurie was given an antibiotic. It helped her fight off infections in the interim and helped rebuild the blood counts, but the antibiotics spawned a few other problems we wanted to avoid, thus the Neulasta.

So we headed back down to Baylor. Laurie was feeling much better, even if only a little chagrinned when I told her about her behavior the day before. Of course, she was able to explain exactly what she meant about the toilet seat lids. . . . Yeah, right!

The bone-marrow lab seemed deserted when we arrived for the miracle shot. We finally found where to go, but still hadn't seen anyone yet. We'd just finished signing in when we noticed a young lady exit one of the lab rooms. She pleasantly asked if she could help us. We explained why we were there.

"Oh," she said with a smile, "you must be Laurie." (they are just so smart down there!).

She led us back into the lab, sat Laurie down, and picked up a small box not much bigger than two packs of cigarettes end to end (don't ask how I know that!). In the box was a small syringe with a few milliliters of clear liquid inside.

"I hear that stuff is pretty expensive," I said as the tech put on her gloves and picked up the syringe.

"I think it's the most expensive drug on the market," she replied.

I tried to pay attention, but kept wondering who would pay for the stuff if she accidently dropped it on the floor! I snapped back to reality as she continued.

"I sure hope they funnel the money they get for this back into research," she quipped as she finished the injection. We all chuckled.

From start to finish we were in the building for barely ten minutes. I was trying to think how much that one shot cost us per hour! :-) In case you're wondering, with the shot she'd just taken and the chemotherapy from the day before, we figured Laurie was walking around with enough money coursing through her veins to buy a nice new car! I decided then and there that pharmaceuticals is the ticket if I ever want to get rich! Thank the Lord for insurance!

Now if we could only find a way to get to that money. I wonder if I could sell her . . .

Just kidding, Hon! :-)

Toilet Seat Lids! (Mar. 3, 2006)

Morning

Laurie received her second chemo treatment today. She began the day with a professional massage from her good friend, Carol Cromartie, who is in her fourth year of treatment for breast cancer herself. Carol has trained to become a professional masseuse, and she wanted to give Laurie a massage before treatment to help her relax. After the massage, Carol accompanied Laurie to Baylor and stayed with us the rest of the day. By the time Jim saw them, Laurie was definitely relaxed. (But not as relaxed as she was going to get!)

The first stop was the lab to get Laurie's blood drawn. We had prayed that her counts would go up so she could have her treatment today. God really answered that prayer, because her counts were sky high, mostly from the antibiotic she'd been on! She was chemo-ready! Next stop was Dr. O'Shaughnessy's office. Dr. O.' was very pleased with how Laurie handled the first round of chemo and planned to change her "cocktail" (prechemo IV for nausea, allergic reactions, etc.) a little.

After our meeting with Dr. O.', we went down to the Infusion Lab. Must have been a run on chemo, because the waiting room was packed. We got to the lab about noonish, and didn't begin the chemo treatments until a little after 2:00. Our chemo nurse this time was Pam R. We had asked for her the last time because we heard she was a believer and very good at her job, but she was unavailable. We got her this time. She was a hoot! She ushered us into the lab and parked us in one of the partitioned cubicles. While Laurie was away for a moment taking care of personal business, Jim noticed one of the private rooms a few feet away.

"Why not," he thought, so he asked Pam how one could get a room. It turns out that all one does is ask! When Laurie got back, Jim and Carol had already moved everything into a nice private room. Laurie got the bed. Jim got the recliner. Carol grabbed the other chair (I did offer!). Jim got the Apple iPod up and running (some friends from Scofield had given it to Laurie to use during her treatments). The afternoon looked to be on the fast track to going well.

You will recall I mentioned that Dr. O.' had changed Laurie's prechemo "cocktail." The biggest change was the 50-milligram IV injection of Benadryl, designed to prevent the same allergic reaction to the Taxotere Laurie had had the first time. Fifty milligrams is a lot it turns out! Pam started the IV, injected the Benadryl, and we waited. It wasn't long before Laurie's speech started sounding a little lazy. The Benadryl almost immediately made her legs jumpy. That was the most annoying part of the treatment, because it kept her from sleeping as much as the first time. Laurie began talking almost nonstop. I'm kind of glad, too, because we would never have enjoyed the following little discussion on toilet seat lids.

We're about an hour into the treatment. The cocktail is finished and the Taxotere is flowing. Carol is massaging Laurie's feet (what a treat for my wife, since I'm not so good at it!). Laurie has been rambling on about whatever pops into her head, and believe me lots of "popping" was going on. Unfortunately for Laurie, she's in the twilight zone, and what she says seems to be smattered with conscious and unconscious streams of thought. The most memorable conversation went something like this.

Jim (as Carol moves to rub Laurie's back): "How you feeling, Hon?"

Laur (rather sleepily): "OK." She pauses. "We can't forget to get the toilet seat lids."

Jim looks at Carol: "What about the toilet seat lids?"

Laur (a little more emphatically): "We can't forget them!"

Jim (looks again at Carol. She shrugs and smiles): "I don't understand. Do you want us to change the cloth covers for the toilets?"

Laur (this time definitely revealing her exasperation): "No! The lid that covers the part you sit on! (She drifts off for a moment while Jim and Carol try hard not to laugh out loud.)

Jim: "OK. I still don't understand. Why do we need to get new ones?"

Laur: "Because they're broken!"

Jim (in his most placating manner): "OK, Hon. Why don't we talk about it later."

Fortunately at this point, Laurie drifted off to sleep for a few minutes. Carol and I chuckled, wondering what topic the next conversation might be about and whether or not I could share it with anyone!

Evening

The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful. We took a couple walks around the lab to help Laur's legs, stopping only for a potty break (the IV fluids have to go somewhere!). We finished the chemo at about 6:15 p.m. and headed home. Because Laurie had not really slept during the treatment, mainly due to the Benadryl, she was pretty tired when we got home. I helped her into her recliner and got her a blanket. She managed to stay awake for a few minutes, but soon fell fast asleep. She didn't wake up until 10:00, even with the phone calls and friends dropping by. (I wonder if I should tell her that she has a really cute little snore? Nah! Somethings are best left alone.)

Thus went the second round of chemo. Only two more to go! Thanks, Lord, for making this day so interesting!

G.I. Laurie (Mar. 1, 2006)

Last Saturday Laurie noticed more hair than usual in her brush. We both knew what lurked around the corner. Dr. O'Shaughnessy had told us Laurie would lose her hair 17 to 18 days after the first round of chemo. The wig she had successfully hunted was mounted in the bathroom, waiting for its appointed task. We waited as well.

You'd be amazed how difficult it is to decide how you are going to handle the loss of your hair. Do you anticipate it and just shave your head before your hair starts coming out? Do you wait until you can't bear to look at yourself in the mirror? When is the best time? Well for Laurie, it was complicated by the fact that her kindergarten class pictures at Scofield were scheduled for today, March 1. She desperately wanted to have those pictures taken with her real hair. So our decision was to wait.

Each morning this week has been a test of wills. Laurie was not going to let her hair go until picture day. She babied it and tenderly handled it each day, and though it thinned a little more each time, she made it! Only a few of us could really notice the change.

But . . . pictures were done this morning. The reckoning had come and the deed could no longer be delayed. This afternoon, with two of her friends, Anne and Joan, in tow, Laurie headed up to see Lynn, her hair dresser for the last several years. Jim, as the dutiful husband, asked Laurie if she wanted him to go as well. Her answer took only a split second, "No!" She actually repented a little later, not having meant to be so abrupt, but Jim understood. No woman likes to have her hair cut off, especially in front of her husband.

Anyway, just before lunch, Laurie got her first-ever G.I. buzz cut. Jim has it on good authority that more than a few tears were shed by all involved. Even Lynn had a tough time.

Once that was done, and the wig dutifully in place, the girls went out for lunch. Undoubtedly no one noticed the change except Laurie and her friends. In fact, Jim hasn't even seen it yet. And if he doesn't quit writing this and get himself home quick, he's going to be in big trouble. So . . .

Later all! We love you!