Sunday Update

Guess what? I'm sitting on a little stool in a too-cold room in...the ER (which, oddly, smells to me like Cold Stone Creamery. Is it the smell of AC or do they use the same disinfectant? Or, is there a secret stash of waffle cones and Oreo crumbs in the box we mark "linens only"?!). James is lying in the bed nearby with a too-high heart rate, a severe headache, aaaand...a cough. 

Chemo and radiation went GREAT this week. They really did! James had very few symptoms, other than a few annoying weird ones (like 72 hours of non-stop hiccups). He has been able to walk & even sometimes jog on the treadmill where he found symptom relief. He is eating great. (By the end of the week he was down a pound, though. Indicative of too much exercise, we think.) His oncologist called him Superman, and criticized him only for not giving the nurses enough grief. If we needed cause for a bit of optimism, by the end of the week James was able to sleep on his right side (where his tumors are), which doctors agreed was "a positive sign."

By Friday night though, he was unable to sleep. He spent most of yesterday bumming around, feeling not-so-great but not wanting to nap in case that would trigger another night of sleeplessness. Today, sadly, James has described as "hell." He has had horrendous head and neck pain (where even resting his head on a pillow hurts) and an unstoppable cough that has left him shaking, gasping for air. 

I was finally able to get him to agree to taking a Vicodin late this afternoon, before heading to the ER. And so, of course now, James feels much better and is actually sleeping soundly. The first rest he has had in a while. Before nodding off, he asked me how much pain medicine he has had today and looked incredulous when I said I offered it hourly but that he kept denying both pain and pain meds. He was so dumbfounded that I had to tell him a second time how today went. Just before falling asleep he said, "What an idiot (to refuse pain meds)." 

Now, sadly, since we are in an ER, we are captives until they check for pulmonary embolism. Apparently when you mix "recent" air travel with lung cancer, this is what could be threatening your life. Fun times! 

Thanks, as always, for the continued prayers. You all are fabulous! James has one last chemo treatment tomorrow (a six-hour infusion) before a two week break from chemo. His radiation will continue daily for the next several weeks. 

Have a great night and a good week!

love,

~kristen