Now I’m pretty sure neither of them have fleas, so I presume what Keith really meant by the term ‘itched’ was shorthand for ‘feels good to get itched’ which I know to be true for both of them.
The last couple of days have been like some wild theme park ride – high highs & low lows with lots of adrenalin thrown into the mix. The highs included being discharged from Stanford and returning home to Kirby, soon followed by the arrival of Annie and Don on Friday afternoon. The lows occurred later in the evening and night as Keith began to complain of increasing pain in his arm and shoulder. At first it was just a dull ache, but by 2am we were not able to control the pain with the medication we had at home and finally called the hospital to speak with the on-call oncologist. After a long discussion with the doctor, with no way to get more potent pain meds without being admitted, and with Keith still not able to cope at all we were left with no choice but to take him to the ER. The thought of retuning Keith to hospital again so soon after celebrating his return home (figure a 2 to 3 day admission minimum) was crushing to say the least and for Keith it was simply an unbearable thought. Just as we were getting dressed to leave the pain eased a bit and by 4am with another call to the hospital we mutually agreed that staying put at home would be best.
One theory offered by the on-call physician was that this might be a continued effect of the antibody treatment actively working. So despite the unfortunate pain, this would actually be a good event not a bad one. Keith quickly embraced this idea and calmed down enough to sleep through the rest of the night peacefully.
Saturday was mostly a quiet day at home with Keith feeling a whole lot better. He was essentially pain free throughout the day. He spent quite a bit of time challenging anyone in the house who dared to battle him in one of his favorite video games. To no surprise, he emerged victorious at the expense of each challenger, but we all shared lots of laughs and he seemed to be really enjoying himself as his character smashed, bashed and crushed all of our pathetic characters.
Had we actually made the trip to the ER the night before this day would have followed a completely different course and a much less pleasant one to be sure.
We’re still home and glad to be here.
4 comments:
Dear Keith,
Glad to hear that yesterday was a good day. Did you get Grandpa Don and Annie to play your video games? What kind of challenge are they?
We have arrived in Charlevoix, but it is really different because we have no kitchen! We're getting a new one, but right now we are eating out. I have had my share of John Cross white fish pate! However, eating out is not much fun when you have to do it. I will look forward to creating delectable dishes when the kitchen is completed.
Hope you have many more good days. Enjoy Grandpa Don and Annie, but we'll look forward to seeing them when they return and we can get a first hand report on you and your family.
Oh, yes, did you handily win over Scott with the video games?
God Bless,
Linda
Hi, Keith, glad you are feeling better. Since I cannot beat Ann in tennis, I hope you will give her a run for her money with the video games. She would beat me in those also. Keep feeling better and start thinking ahead to Michigan football. The season can't start too soon. Zingerman's had a huge write up in the New York Times several weeeks ago, and that brings back memories of AnnArbor fall week-ends. Uncle John is going to have withdrawal pains while in India. Keep getting better. The Big L
Hi Keith: Walloon Lake is still incredible and the weather has been outstanding. Our grandson, Ben, has been playing in a soccer tournament in Petoskey this weekend (think 600 teams from all over the midwest), so we have had Ben and a few of his friends here for the weekend. And, yesterday, we had the whole team (plus family, friends and hangers-on) here for dinner. It was great. The boys swam,waterskiied, and tubed...and I cooked 60 hamburgers and 60 hotdogs...and still, they ate and ate and ate. Whatever is it with you 10 year old boys? Great time. We are thinking of yu...and send our very best hugs and love. Barbara Hunting
Glad to hear Keith is still home :)
-Katherine in Orinda
Post a Comment