Sunday, April 13, 2014

Writing Challenge day 8 - Wednesday

It's  8:25 am


What is it like finding out that your soulmate is this sick?



Wednesday......

April 9, 2011 at 1:10am
 Its 12:26 am
Back home tonight....it was a long day. My armor showed its first cracks....
Had a good day today...got to the hospital and went into my wife's room...except she isn't there...she is out motoring on her own,taking a walk about around her floor. She comes back in and we catch up on her night....progress is being made at a rapid pace...her MS (morphine) drip is pulled,her last two EKG tabs are pulled and she is able to take a shower.
   That said,that is what is done....afterwards in her own PJs and feeling refreshed,her spirits are much improved. The diet is upgraded slightly to toast and popsicles w/lukewarm tea and orange juice.
   The day started out cloudy and rainy but it cleared up in time to watch the Tiger's Opening Day game against the Royals.
We enjoyed watching the pre-game ceremonies and seeing the sell-out crowd cheering away. The game itself was okay,the Tigers put a 4 spot on the board in the 1st inning to go up 4-0. At the same time the Yankees are getting drilled by Boston...makes for a long afternoon indeed.
   With the Tigers ahead,my wife dozes off for a few...her face is peaceful....
3:30 PM....the nursing staff changes over. We meet Diana,our NA for the evening...the Tigers are still winning and the Yanks are still losing,Hughes is getting bombed.
  My wife places a order for toast and a popsicle at 5 pm. We finish watching the Tigers win,5-2,a patient cheered when the final out was made.
5:30 pm....no toast
5:45 pm....no toast
6:00 pm....the doctors make rounds,see how well my wife is recovering and upgrade her meal to solid food. As we are waiting for a menu,we make another lap around the floor....
6:25 pm.....we come back to find......a single slice of toast.
6:30 PM....We meet Jaime,my wife's RN for the night,he places a fish dinner order for her...and when we asked about bladder lift,he brings up her treatment profile and tells us exactly what took place on Tuesday morning.
  As he is explaining it,he mentions something that finally cracked my armor...something Dr. Johnston didn't tell us. They found cancer very close to the colon...and it hits me....what was originally a stage 2 cancer now has been elevated...I can taste the fear for the first time and I'm not liking this at all...
The kitchen rolls in my wife's dinner...meat loaf! Since she is observing Lent,she doesn't eat meat on Fridays plus she had ordered fish....so the order is regiven and at 7:30,I head on home...I have to hurry because I can feel my tears coming,she can't see me cry,can she? We kiss and I head out...get my parking stamped and lose it in hallway. First time since this whole fucking hell has started in September and I am losing it....I ask,are we in a stage 3 arena now? The nurses don't but say Jaime might know....we walk down the hall and I want an honest answer...he can't say for sure but does admit this cancer has caught everyone by surprise with its speed. But as far as stage 3 goes,we have to wait for Wednesday to see what the pathology says. What we don't want to see is this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uterine_papillary_serous_carcinoma
As you can see,this is a very aggressive form of cancer and it can invade other parts of the body,including the bowels.
And this is what is really bothering me....how fast it progressed from a self-contained uterine cancer with a 87% cure rate to the unknown.
I'm going to offer once again my bone marrow...there has to be a way to slow this beast down...
All eyes are on Wednesday.
keep us in your prayers.

2 comments:

  1. Michael, I appreciate you sharing this particular post again with your readers. My husband and I have been fortunate- I only know what it is like to walk the cancer journey with friends, most recently my best friend and her husband both. May you continue to find healing for yourself in the coming months and I will continue to keep you in my thoughts. Alana

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  2. Thank you for sharing your story an helping others. :)

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