Home At Last!

Grandma Charlotte came to the hospital yesterday to visit Vince. Jim got there shortly after she did, and the nurse came in an unhooked his I.V's and we were FREE to go and enjoy the fresh Santa Monica air! We walked a few blocks to a local Chinese food place and had a yummy rice and teriyaki chicken lunch and then walked to our favorite place to sit, just across the street from the hospital and had a nice chat for about 1 hr. and then we walked grandma to her car and then headed back upstairs to our suite...uh, I mean room:)

Mikemo and Veronica came to see Vince, too! It's always such a joy to hear Vince laugh when Mikemo comes to visit. They are the best of friends and with Mikemo being gone so much lately, and Vince being in the hospital so often, it really feels great to see them together. Of course, Veronica doesn't say much, but she is a darn good listener! LOL!

After everyone left, one of Vince's chemos started up at 11:00 pm and the other was to start at 1:00 a.m. BUT, his PH level was not where it was supposed to be, so his 2nd chemo didn't start until 4:00 a.m! He was NOT happy about that because that meant that it made it a later release time! He is always pushing them to speed things up, and who can blame him! Of course, neither one of us got any sleep because them pumps get air in them and ALL week long they would wake us up every 1/2 hr. beeping constantly! You have to call the nurse and then it takes them 20 mins. to get in the room to fix it SO needless to say, we are not very well rested.

The thing that we find frustrating is hearing different opinions from different nurses and doctors from every shift about the length of chemo time, or different medications he can have, or release times, blah, blah, blah. They change shifts every 12 hrs. starting at 7 a.m./7 p.m. so you get about 10 different doctors and nurses in that 24 hr. time period.

We are just now starting to figure things out, like how long the chemos run, where to go for the midnight Cranberry Juice and ice machine, where the linens are, the best bathroom to use in the hallway, how to order food that is not on the menu, and things like that. It's like Healthcare 101~LOL!

It makes me realize each time that you cannot let your guard down, you have to ask lots of questions and be aware of what they are doing to you and if it doesn't seem right to you, (you know that "red flag" kind of thing), don't let them do it until you are comfortable with the answers.

Every treatment on the last day, Vince always feels too full and then he throws up...poor guy, his body had it's limits and that's it. After he throws up he always feels so much better. We had about 3 hrs. to go and he was getting very agitated, fell asleep and then right around 11:40 the nurse came in, flushed his port and off we went! Of course we had to stop at McDonald's down the street from the hospital. Jim, Vince and I all got cheeseburgers to celebrate this VICTORY! It has become a ritual for Vince to crave McDonald's as we are leaving, which is a GREAT sign that he feels so much better just getting out of that place!

Doctor's appointment on Monday for the Nulasta shot to increase his white blood cells and then a follow up appointment on Friday for blood work, so until next week, prayers are always needed! I hope this post finds all those dads out there having a very HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! God bless!

Thank you to Chris O, Grandma Char and Cousin Jeanette for coming to visit during our long week:)

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10