Jonathan and I are home. We are lying on the bed and just chilling. Actually it's more like I am chilling and he is recovering from his treatment. Definitely a bit less stress that earlier in the week or last week for that matter - but at least a little wiser and more knowledgeable. Jonathan was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon - around 4 pm and after packing up the car and driving - we probably arrived home around 5:15 pm.
Earlier that day (Friday) and the day before, I had the privilege of giving Jonathan his G-CSF shot. In order to prepare for giving him his shot I had decided earlier in the week I wanted to give myself one so I can get an idea as to what my son is going to go through. So on Tuesday the nurse brought some extra needles and some saline solution and I prepared to give myself a shot in the leg. Let me tell you - I held that needle over my leg and I just could not push it in. Gabby was watching me and she 'volunteered' to help and I realize that it did not hurt.
So the next day I got enough courage to do it myself and I gave myself a shot in the arm. The needle did not hurt going in, but there was a little sting as I injected the saline solution into my arm. I suspect the actual sticking of the needle did not hurt because Gabby was pinching my skin so hard I did not feel it (smile). The joke that day was that if Gabby really wanted to pinch me - she didn't have to use the shot as an excuse (smile). So now I was ready to give Jonathan his shots. His first shot was on Wednesday but Gabby was staying the night and by the time they got the shot prepared I had already left. So I gave him his second and third shots.
The last two days in the hospital also saw us having some issues with some of the medical personal. It had got to a point where we had a 'mini-' argument with one of the on-call doctors and although my 'aggressive' persuasion skills are helpful in some situations - Gabby took over for some portions of the discussion. The good thing is that this is all behind us now - and we have a better expectation of a lot of things, from Jonathan's medical treatment, hospital procedures, how involved we should be in external processes, etc., etc.
One of the things I've learnt over the last 24 hours that Jonathan has been home is to reset my expectations. We had a mini-scare last night when we thought Jonathan was getting a low grade fever. Since the chemotherapy treatment destroyed some of his white blood cells (among other things) - Jonathan is very susceptible to getting sick - and if he has a fever of 101.9 he has to go to the ER and get admitted. I've now come to realized that although Jonathan is home - it's just a change of scenery and that he still needs the amount of care he has been getting when he was an in-patient.
All in all - I am glad that the first induction phase is done and I think we are more prepared for the second induction cycle in two weeks time.
1 comment:
Hi! Just got back online today after a hiatus of a few days being "under the weather". Some kind of "bug", I think, and I did a lot of sleeping.
It's wonderful that Jonathan is at home now, even if it is only a "change of scenery" as you say. I am sure that it is good for all of you. The hospital is a great place when you need to be there. But it is also a great place to be out of when you don't need to be there.
Just want you to know that you continue to be in our thoughts and prayers. Love to you all.
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