Ok, so one minute the sky's the limit, I am happy, things lookin' up, soldier's coming home, it's all good...then life rears it's ugly head and gives you the old gut check, the big round house Krav Maga kick to the head, the tap out choke hold of all choke holds. Today, around noon, my son and I got in the car to go to see an eye doctor. About one hour and one grim phone call later, he was hospitalized with a diagnosis of leukemia. How's that for some real ass kickin'? And now for the rest of the story....
Nick was admitted to John's Hopkins Hospital's, Weinberg Cancer Center. On a general note, anything with the word "cancer" in it...not good. We park the car, take the elevator to the fifth floor, cheery desk person greets us, "Oh you're here!" They basically "swoop and scoop" and Nick is in a room in like five minutes. That is world record kind of time for hospital admitting procedure. We just basically by-passed all that, you know, do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars being that his WBC's (that's white blood cell count) was hovering somewhere around 380 instead of the normal 4.3 to 10.8. His Hgb was 6 about half what it should have been. No sooner are we in the door, when the lights dim and the latest version of CirqDeSoleil erupts. There begins a parade of residents, fellows, attendings, nurses, clin specs and a host of other performers to take blood, sign papers, ask questions, obtain permissions, start IV's, take out IV's, ask more questions, go to CT scan, put in central line, CXR of said line (to check placement), hook up to monitors, take VS, ask more questions, order round 1 of chemotherapy (called cytoreduction) and to top it all off (for your reading enjoyment) some spiffy pamphlets explaining what the hell is going on and how to deal with it.
The cytoreduction process is basically getting Nick's WBC count down to something lower ASAP!
According to the doctors, this was imperative as such a high WBC can cause lots of problems and we don't want to go there. After this dose of medicine (which he received on night of admission), Nick will have to chill for a while in the hospital while they follow his "counts" (RBC, WBC, and platelets). He will have to receive transfussions of various blood products as needed based on set guidelines. Most likely, he will feel a lot better after he gets his first blood transfusion. They could not give that transfusion until they got his WBC's down. His CT scan was clear which was a good thing. He will have blood drawn at minimum 2x/day for a while. The good thing is he won't have to get stuck because they can take the blood off the central line. Bad thing about central lines is they can get infected, so they need to be watched carefully and pulled out at the first sign of any evil-doing.
The specific type of leukemia is still unknown, but, we should find out soon. This information will then determine what his treatment will be. Regardless, it is going to be a long process. The doctors and nurses tell us to be prepared for a 4-6 week stay at minimum.
I do not have his address right now, but, I will post it so people can send cards or notes. Just FYI, he cannot have any live flowers or plants. (Infection risk) I am sure most of Nick's friends will be able to communicate via myspace, facebook or email. He has internet access in his room, which is great. He really should not have a lot of visitors right now, due to the risk of infection. Nick's body cannot fight infection normally right now because the WBC's he has are not mature and cannot do their job. That's why we are firing all those bastards right now! Oh yeah, by the way, if you can't take the cursing, don 't read the blog. I have been unduly influenced by reading my soldier's milblogs and apparently cursing is something soldiers love to do regularly. And if you haven't figured it out, I am currently enamored of all things soldier due to the fact that they are over in Iraq putting themselves in harm's way to save all of our sorry butts. Sorry, got off on a tangent there for a minute.
Nick has been a trooper. The "most painful thing" award for today goes to getting the central line. Not a pleasant experience. Nick came through with flying colors. The most frustrating thing was getting bombarded with so much information. Being a nurse, I got most of it. But Nick does not have that advantage and his chemical engineer brain was trying to take it all in, but, that fastball was coming in high and tight at 98 mph; and nobody was cathcin' up with that thing today!! The medical people basically said, we can't wait for your brain to catch up with what is going on with your body right now. This is the first strike in a new kind of "shock and awe!" And while the doc's and nurse's were moving like a well-oiled machine, we were left standing in the dust with our mouths agape.
I know Nick is in shock right now, just like all of us. I don't think any of us have really processed this...I can't think about it too hard right now, day by day, is all I can do. And I know there are going to be some rough days ahead. When I think too much I cry and Nick doesn't want any "sappiness", at least for the moment. We have already brought him creature comforts from home, like his pillow, blankets, stuff to wear besides those fashion forward gowns, some of his favorite pictures that Sara painted and books. Right now he says "Emerson is going to be his bible." Now if I can only get him to use some deodorant!
Well it is 3AM...I need to go to bed. I don't think I will be able to sleep. Thank you to the teachers at RES who helped G get through this afternoon. And yes, he has already baked the nurse's cookies. Thank you to all Nick's nurses today - Iko, Heather, Whitney and Karen. You helped make the most horrible day of my life to date bearable. Thank you to everyone who has called and special props to everyone at the studio who is pitching in to help cover my classes and help Disco Babs until I can get back on board with things there. Thank you Jill, Sarah K., Sarah C. and all my apprentices! Keep on dancin'! And please keep your prayers and good thoughts coming Nick's way...peace.
P.S. - The picture is for Nick, I thought he would like it.
P.S.S. - Oh yeah, it's gonna be a fight and we ain't tappin' out!
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