After the many tears and fears that we shared over our meeting with C's doctor, we did our best to rebound. C and I began to list our options and started by sending this week's scans to the team that treated us at NIH. Many friends have reached out with various offers of help and suggestions, we waded slowly through the avalanche of love, ideas, and support. We were looking forward to the weekend when we could take the time we needed to process it all.
The bloodwork they had taken had showed a dramatic drop in C's red blood cells, so we took him back yesterday for a transfusion. He has had so many in the last few months, it feels very routine. A very slow process, each unit takes about 2.5 hours. We decided that when he was done I would pick him up and we would take the girls out for ice cream.
When we came to pick him up, I had to bring the entourage in with me as I needed to deliver the antibiotics he was due for. The lovely woman at the front desk watched the three ladies as I went back into the treatment area and set up his antibiotic regimen. I went back out while Clint administered it to himself and we waited for him to come out. Overall the girls do really well in this waiting room, understanding that a lot of people are very sick and don't feel real well. I was ill prepared this time though, no snacks or drinks as we were only going to be 15min..... which they complained bitterly about. Fortunately the older two found their way to the puzzle table and began trying to fit pieces together while we waited. Daddy finally came out and the girls rushed to him excited that Daddy was done and eagerly anticipating ice cream.
As I looked up and focused on his face, my heart dropped. There are just certain facial expressions that C makes, that signal immediately to me that something is wrong. He came over to where I was sitting and sat down. He couldn't breathe, he laboredly asked me to check the paper work from the transfusion and sure enough that was one of the emergency symptoms. I ran to get the nurse, telling everyone who looked official on my way. By the time I returned with my own group of nurses, there was a group around him. His oncologist and his partner came out, trying to assess what was going on. I think someone grabbed Baby T out of the way, or was that me? They got him started on oxygen and called 911, then decided to wheel him back to a room while we waited for more help to arrive.
I stood there in the waiting room, torn completely in half. I desperately wanted to follow him, but needed to check on the girls. What had they seen? Were they upset? What was I going to say? Two of the nurses came over, one holding Baby T and said there was an ice cream truck outside and asked if they could take them out there and let them have some ice cream. I will forever be grateful for those ladies, I was such a mess I didn't know who to take care of first. But they made that decision for me, took that off my shoulders and I rushed back to C.
EMS arrived about the same time and started him on a heavier duty oxygen mask, C's breathing started to relax. They asked a million questions, then started to strap him to the gurney. It then occurred to me that they were about to wheel him through the waiting room, and I went into a panic thinking that if the girls were inside, they would see this. I went tearing out like a crazy person, looked everywhere and didn't see them...... they wheeled C through and on top of wondering where they were, I was so relieved they weren't seeing this. One of the nurses took me outside and the girls, in a completely different world, were sitting on the curb enjoying their ice cream outside.
I took them to a friend's house who lives literally down the street, and went to find him at the ER. They made me wait to see him, those few minutes was excruciating. I finally got back there after they had gotten him mostly stable. After many hours and several setbacks he was sent up to a room to continue his breathing treatments. We are still waiting on various tests to figure out exactly what is going on, one of the scans has shown pneumonia complicating the situation.
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