So I was just going to update everyone about how chemo went but now I get to write about the latest fever as well. Chris started gem-abraxane on Thursday and like always, was a total trooper. He didn't experience any side effects during or after, other than fatigue. The 'funny' part was that he was given his normal dosage of Ativan in case of nausea before his chemo actually started on Thursday and he ended up having to ride in a wheelchair down to the car. What we didn't realize was that this chemo treatment took only half the time that the past two chemo treatments took. So we were done in about 2 and a half hours instead of 5. The Ativan makes him very sleepy so right when it was peaking was when they were all done with him. When we got home, he went right to bed and had a great night's sleep. They upped his pain meds at night because he has a lot of back and stomach pain usually around the middle of the night. With the Ativan in his system and the new level of pain meds, he had the best night's sleep that he had had in a long time. Friday night's was good too.
He taught his class on Friday and had a good day though by the end of the day, he was pretty fatigued. He slept about 12 hours Friday night and woke up Saturday feeling pretty good. We had a low-key day and watched the Harry Potter movie marathon all together for a while.
About 5:30 I noticed he was running a bit hot so we took his temperature. It was around 101. I called the on-call oncologist as anytime his temperature is above 100.4 that is what we are supposed to do. Apparently lower-grade fevers can be just a by-product of the cancer. The oncologist called in a new prescription for the same antibiotic that Chris was on for seven days following his discharge from the hospital a week and a half ago. But he also said that we would need to go to the ER if Chris's fever hit 102. Unfortunately it did go up to 102 around 8pm so I called the doctor back and he did tell us to head to the ER. Chris and I are there now...he is getting the full work-up again. We were hoping they would just put him on the antibiotic again, send him home and see what happens. Chris didn't have a fever during the time on the antibiotic and just finished it yesterday so there is talk that he needs a refill. But just to be safe, which is a good thing though we were hoping it would be a quick visit, they did a chest x-ray and are doing blood work in the lab from two different draws tonight. We really hope we get to go home tonight but there is always the chance they will admit him just to watch him. We'll see in a couple of hours or so.
So what I thought would just be a quick update about how well the chemo went has turned into our second ER visit story. Hopefully all is well as can be with his gall bladder and I will keep you all updated as we progress. Thanks as always for your love and support, prayers and well wishes and comments on the blog for Chris. Even though he has failed miserably at updating the blog, he still reads every post and every comment. :)
With love,
Wendy
Love you Wendy!
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