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Dip In The Road (May 6, 2002)We had a bit of excitement over the weekend. On Saturday, after being in bed for 7 days, Kent was really looking forward to starting physical therapy and getting things moving. Unfortunately, PT moved too fast for the state Kent was in. They got him up and into a wheelchair and sat him out on the hot patio for a while. After encountering some other problems, he got back into bed but wasn't feeling quite himself. His blood pressure was low when they checked on him at shift change, but they thought it was just from the exertion of the therapy. They said they would keep an eye on him. He was resting quietly and he suggested I go home to get my own rest. At 8:00, I had just finished transcribing his post of May 4 and writing my own post. I received a panicky phone call. His blood pressure had dropped some more and I rushed back to the hospital. They had just finished an EKG and had decided to move him to Cardiac Intensive Care for monitoring when I arrived. Turns out he was severely dehydrated, despite the IV fluids they gave him throughout the day and all the water he was drinking. They pumped lots more IV fluids but were concerned that he was not outputting as much as he was taking in. They didn't know if his kidneys had shut down and were working to make sure they hadn't. This was a pretty scary time for both of us. I stayed with him until midnight when his blood pressure stabilized and he felt safe enough to send me home. Sunday, he was doing well enough that they moved him back to the oncology ward. When I arrived in the morning, the physical therapist was working with him, but just dangling his feet over the side of the bed. I went there early to make sure we didn't have a recurrence of Saturday. After just 3 days of chemotherapy, they have noticed a dramatic difference in the size of the tumor in his breast. We are so thankful for this. It means that they are using the right stuff and it is working. After the morning chemo treatment, the doctor said to take it easy, which we were glad to hear. Linda Silva and her daughter Kathy came to visit and then daughter Sherri and her husband Rich arrived later in the afternoon. Our grandsons got Kent a baseball cap inscribed with Bionic Grandpa on it to protect his head when he loses his hair. Back to taking it easy, that only lasted until they arrived with an air mattress to avoid pressure sores. They had to move Kent onto a gurney when the guy arrived to install it. Of course nothing goes right the first time so it took 2 trips for the bed guy and an hour on the gurney to get this 5 minute job done. So much for a restful Sunday afternoon. We were all exhausted and said our good byes when dinner arrived. Monday was a much better day. The bed is comfortable. The physical therapist (a new one, yeah!) is working with Kent on range of motion and resistance from the edge of the bed. They'll be working him up to a wheelchair when the time is right. The regular oncologist was back and he noticed that things had been exciting over the weekend. He said that he doesn't like excitement like that. So his prescription for Kent is boring. Kent should have a boring time, so the doctor can have a boring time. So for now, BORING IS GOOD! During some of our philosophical discussions over the years, we often talked about our fears. One of the reasons we tend to keep so busy is that one of Kent's greatest fears is to be bored. So for now, we will accept medical boredom. It is much better than the alternative. Here's to many more boring days. |