A Bump in the Road

The red dots have turned black now, and it turns out that they didn't mean Jerry needed a platelet transfusion after all. He did need the platelets, it's just that these particular red dots weren't the indicators. What they were indicating is that Jerry has a blood infection, which is bad. Turns out the joint pain isn't arthritis either. Yep. Blood infection. So, Jerry will now be treated with IV medication for four to six weeks to try to knock out the infection. This means that the bladder surgery has been postponed again, and there is a possibility that the cancer could grow back while we're treating the blood infection. If the tumor does come back, Jerry will not be a candidate for chemotherapy a second time. This is when the medical team used the words "long term care facility" and "hospice" to Mother. I don't think she heard anything after that. When Nolie called me, we didn't so much have a conversation, as I listened to a monologue. There were no pauses where traditionally the listener (or decoder in the basic Speech Com 101 communication model) can insert the occasional "uh-huh" or "yes." It was just a really really long run-on sentence punctuated only with tears. Being a person whose glass is generally half full, I would like to point out the following positive aspects regarding this latest development:

1. The surgery is still scheduled, it is not cancelled.
2. The blood infection is being treated with Vancomycin and Rifampin, and tomorrow will be the completion of week one, leaving only three to five weeks left of treatment.
3. While the tumor may grow back, it may also not.

Nolie's glass has never been half full, nor is it generally half empty. Nolie's glass is empty and shattered on the floor in a million tiny pieces. I am meeting with Jerry's Medical Team tomorrow to see if I can get a better feel for just how bad this is.

Dad had a PICC line installed today, and Mom has to attend two classes to learn how to care for it. I may go with her if my schedule allows. We watched the "Care of Your Central Venous Catheter" video on the patient room on-demand system today. There are lots of on-demand videos available. A few of my favorite titles are "How Your Bowel Works," "Cancer and the Hispanic Woman: Her Experiences in Sexuality" (en Espanol), and "Scarves: A Fashionable Alternative."

Dad just informed me that he is hungry, which I think is also a good thing, so we ordered milk shakes. Jerry is having vanilla and Nolie and I are having chocolate, which is weird, because Nolie is usually the vanilla one and Jerry is usually chocolate. Sometimes, Nolie is strawberry, but never chocolate. Anyway, Jerry's is free and Nolie's and mine are $3.00 each. How cool is that? They are real milkshakes too. Not those fake ones like at McDonalds, they're real, like at Earl's in Leaky, which is a restaurant we used to eat at when I was younger, and is also an Exxon station. The room service menu here is quite extensive. You can check it out here.

Hazel just arrived to begin another bag of medicine. Hazel is our R. N. today until 7:00 p.m. If I were Hazel, I would draw a little smile on my Cancer Mask. I am not Hazel though, and do not wear a Cancer Mask.