2/5/2020 – 2/9/2020: A few hours after mom came home from her last outpatient chemo session, she was readmitted to the ER. This was unexpected because she had been doing so well the last few weeks. She came home feeling tired with no appetite (not a surprise). We thought it might’ve been a side affect from the chemo making it difficult for her. All she wanted to do was sleep, so we brought her to her room. A few moments later, she started shivering. The shivering turned into uncontrollable shaking and then a fever of almost 103 degrees Fahrenheit. We quickly called the oncologist’s office and the on-call doctor recommended that we take her to the ER right away. This was a setback for mom. She dreaded the hospital and we don’t blame her. We spent the night restless wondering what had happened. She was transferred to the oncology floor for more x-rays and blood tests. That lasted about a few hours before she was promptly moved to the ICU. Her blood pressure was dropping, she had trouble breathing, and she was running a fever of 104! Brandon (her son), worried, contacted the rest of the family to come to the hospital. That night was filled with x-rays, blood cultures, antibiotics, and a laundry list of medication to help her blood pressure, oxygen levels and fever.
Turns out, she has a viral and bacterial infection – as if we needed more problems to worry about. Even the oncologist was surprised to hear that she was in the ICU. Here are a few symptoms mom has been going through in last few days:
- Fever ranging from 100-104
- Acid Reflux / GERD
- Trouble breathing / Lung weakness
- Unstable blood pressure and heart rate
- Insomnia
- Numbing sensation on her tongue, hands, and feet
On the positive side, her blood cultures show improvement! She’s stronger today than she was yesterday and that’s all we could ever ask for. Thank you to all of mom’s visitors – she cannot express it now but she feels your love and support. Also, thank you to our extended family (you know who you are) for cooking great meals for us – we are so grateful to have you in our lives.
