I'm glad we are approaching the Sabbath. It's been a long, painful week. However, the Lord has blessed me with doctors who care. On Monday, after waking up to the shocking site of my Hickman wound open, I scheduled an appointment with my hematologist. He knows that if I call or email him before a routine visit, then something serious has happened. I don't think there has been one time that I've contacted him where he delayed my appointment for several days. It's such an answer to prayer!
Dad took me to Monday's emergency appointment, which was a rare treat. Unfortunately, I vaguely remember the car ride and visit. I showed my hematologist the Hickman site and he promptly said, "Well, I can't let you go home without a plan. I'll have to admit you to the hospital unless you have a better idea". I suggested Home Health Care and he readily agreed. He also wanted to start the IV Rocephin in his office, in the infusion room, where normally chemotherapy is conducted. That is the last thing I remember about Monday. Somehow, Dad got me to the infusion room. And later on, Mom and Qavah met us there. The rest of the week was spent sleeping, having muscle spasms, adrenal issues, and attending to my wound sites. Like I've written before, any open sore feels like a million fire ants attacking my body. This week, I had the Hickman wound and a fever blister. Double whammy!
I updated My Bookshelf. About a year ago, I bought Emily Post's Etiquette from Amazon. When the book first arrived in the mail, I was so excited about it. Then, due to school and health, I was only able to skim the book. The other day, I decided to dust the book off and read it cover-to-cover. This 17th Edition is an updated version of Post's classic, which means the book contains Emily Post's advice as well as etiquette for the "21st Century". I found the section on e-mail and instant message quite helpful. Someday, I think it would be fun to host an Etiquette dinner or weekend for my girlfriends.
I did have one new, interesting experience this week. Mom had some serious dental work done yesterday morning. Thursday through today she has been in a lot of pain. Last night, neither Mom nor I could sleep because of our respective wounds. Thus, we quietly talked together in my room. I played "mommy," because I tried to comfort Mom in hopes of giving her enough relief that she would drift back to sleep. I gave her a back and foot massage. She slept a little, but unfortunately, the pampering didn't take her mind off of the dental work. Her pain was intense and sobering. As I tried to bless Mom, but without much success, I felt extremely helpless.
Dad took me to Monday's emergency appointment, which was a rare treat. Unfortunately, I vaguely remember the car ride and visit. I showed my hematologist the Hickman site and he promptly said, "Well, I can't let you go home without a plan. I'll have to admit you to the hospital unless you have a better idea". I suggested Home Health Care and he readily agreed. He also wanted to start the IV Rocephin in his office, in the infusion room, where normally chemotherapy is conducted. That is the last thing I remember about Monday. Somehow, Dad got me to the infusion room. And later on, Mom and Qavah met us there. The rest of the week was spent sleeping, having muscle spasms, adrenal issues, and attending to my wound sites. Like I've written before, any open sore feels like a million fire ants attacking my body. This week, I had the Hickman wound and a fever blister. Double whammy!
I updated My Bookshelf. About a year ago, I bought Emily Post's Etiquette from Amazon. When the book first arrived in the mail, I was so excited about it. Then, due to school and health, I was only able to skim the book. The other day, I decided to dust the book off and read it cover-to-cover. This 17th Edition is an updated version of Post's classic, which means the book contains Emily Post's advice as well as etiquette for the "21st Century". I found the section on e-mail and instant message quite helpful. Someday, I think it would be fun to host an Etiquette dinner or weekend for my girlfriends.
I did have one new, interesting experience this week. Mom had some serious dental work done yesterday morning. Thursday through today she has been in a lot of pain. Last night, neither Mom nor I could sleep because of our respective wounds. Thus, we quietly talked together in my room. I played "mommy," because I tried to comfort Mom in hopes of giving her enough relief that she would drift back to sleep. I gave her a back and foot massage. She slept a little, but unfortunately, the pampering didn't take her mind off of the dental work. Her pain was intense and sobering. As I tried to bless Mom, but without much success, I felt extremely helpless.
Today, I was talking to Mom about the emotions of last night's experience. She said empathetically, "Now you know how we have felt for the past two years. We see you suffer, and try as we might, we can't always relieve the misery." Last night, I thought I would burst into tears just from watching the agony Mom endured. It was heartbreaking! I am thankful for parents who have joined me on this tough health journey. And I'm also grateful there exists a Lord that can comfort us when all human attention and love fails.
