Brad's last session was scheduled for Tuesday, June 8th and the session came and went as they normally do. This session was much more emotional than we expected not only for us, but for the Oncology staff as they wished Brad good luck in his recovery. There were tears shed by everybody (except Brad of course!) as he rang the bell at the end of the day, signifying that he was finished with this phase of treatment. Here are a couple of pics...
The picture above is Brad with the wonderful Oncology nurses that have truly been a wonderful support for our family during this journey. From left to right, we have: Linda, Susan, Brad, Roseanne and Teresa. Each of them have been INCREDIBLE!
Brad ringing the bell!!
The Sunday before chemo, Brad started feeling a little sick and on Monday he developed a fever that we were quite worried about. Thankfully, Blue Ridge Cancer Care called in an antibiotic, we were able to get his fever to come down by Tuesday and he was able to have his last chemo session as scheduled. Unfortunately, the combination of chemo and the illness that had set in prior to chemo, were not such a good mix. As Brad struggled through the week, although trying to maneuver bursts of energy from his excitement of his last session, his body became weaker and weaker despite the fact he had continued to take his antibiotic and some sinus/allergy medicine, along with his normal regimen of prescription drugs.
The morning of Monday, June 14th, Brad woke up with a rising temperature that went up to 100.8. For most folks, this wouldn't be a big deal, but we were told early on that if Brad ever had a fever that got to 101 degrees, he needed to immediately go to the emergency room because it could signify an infection that could easily get into his blood. Because of the worry, we went to the ER about 4:00am. Thankfully, it's pretty quiet that time of day and Brad got right in. Within 2 hours, because of Brad's low white blood cell count (which is expected after chemo), his obvious illness and him throwing up in the ER, he was immediately admitted for the next two and a half days.
Although I was somewhat relieved that he was at the hospital getting the care that he needed, Brad had a significant drop in his white blood cell count on Tuesday, nearly dropping his immune system to non-existent. He was raised in status as a "high risk patient" and was limited in the number of visitors. In the event that Brad left his hospital room, he had to wear a mask to limit his exposure to germs. Additionally, Brad couldn't have any plants or flowers in his room (or at home) and could not eat fresh fruits or vegetables due to the risk of exposure to toxins that could be harmful to him. Having a visit from an Infectious Disease Doc, was a new twist for us. Thankfully, Brad did not have a bacterial infection, rather just something viral that he needed plenty of time to recover.
On Wednesday, Brad's Dr. said that although his numbers were still low, he was going to release him from the hospital, but that he needed to be quarantined from groups of people through the remainder of the week and still avoid the fresh fruits and veggies. Although I was nervous about Brad coming home, he did better than I expected following Dr. Fintel's orders and checked work email from home, while getting lots of rest, etc...
Early this spring, Brad's parents gifted a week at one of their timeshares to us for a family vacation. We intentionally planned it a few weeks after Brad's last session, to give us something to look forward to. This Saturday, we will leave to go to St. Augustine, FL for a week and cannot wait. We have been more anxious than ever to get away and really spend some time as a family reconnecting and not thinking about cancer as one of our daily primary thoughts. Another wonderful surprise to our trip is that our really good friends Chad and Cathy were able to get us passes at Sea World! Brad, Avery and I are so excited, that I'm not kidding when I say most of our bags are already packed!
We have several more big days ahead of us. On July 13th, Brad will go back to the hospital for his PET scan so we can figure out whether the chemo worked (Brad says he can "feel that it did"). On July 16th, we meet with Dr. Fintel to get the results of the PET scan and hopefully schedule Brad's surgery to have his port removed from his chest.
Although we recognize that this will be a life long journey for us, we have faith that will help pull us through and the confidence in an incredible medical team. Without the support of family, friends, our new church and employers, I cannot imagine where our lives would be right now. Thanks to each of you who have kept us in your thoughts, prayers, cooked/brought us meals, and so much more. We love all of you tremendously.
We will definitely keep the blog going and will update especially when Brad gets a good report on July 16th! Thanks again to each and every one of you!
Love to you all,
Sandy
