A Wild Friday

What a difference a day makes.  Wait--make that 12 hours.  We arrived at clinic Friday morning ready for labs that would determine if Paige would make counts and be cleared to begin the second half of this phase.  Still in pain from the fracture in her fibula, Paige was hoping she would get an extra week of rest and recovery.  She got her wish--sort of.

Counts did not make, so a spinal tap and 3 other chemo drugs were off the table that day.  Paige had 'orders' from her doctors to go home and rest her leg, have a boring week (in the land of intense chemo treatments, boring is great), and come back next Friday to try again.  We arrived back at home, and Paige made a beeline for her spot on the couch.  It's been the most comfortable place for her since the whole fracture incident.

She'd been feeling a little tired and seemed pale in color but was otherwise fine.  When her counts are low, I often go on heightened alert.  I have a tendency to hover a bit too much, checking her cheeks and forehead to make sure they aren't warmer than usual.  Paige jokingly asked if it would make me feel better to check her temperature.  I hadn't planned on it, but she was offering--what could it hurt?  She'd been fine.  Had been.

When the thermometer displayed a temperature over the acceptable threshold for oncology patients, my heart sank and I had to catch my breath.  She'd been fine just 12 hours earlier.  Knowing I had to keep calm for her, I went into auto-pilot mode.  Actually, I've been in that mode for about a week--her leg pain has prevented Paige from getting any kind of real rest at night.  A short time of monitoring only saw the temperature rise, so after contacting the on-call physician, Paige and I headed to the hospital, praying out loud as we asked God for healing over her body.  

This wasn't our first rodeo, so we knew what to expect on arrival.  Blood drawn for labs and cultures.  Fluids--lots of fluids--pushed.  Three antibiotics begun.  Within a couple hours, Paige's temperature was normalizing--and it has thankfully kept that trend since we were placed in a room early this morning. What surprised us, though, was lab work less than 10 hours later showing a significant drop in her hemoglobin level--enough to necessitate a transfusion.  Though the process causes Paige some anxiety, she was glad when the fatigue and lightheadedness she'd experienced earlier slowly faded away and color began to reappear in her face.  Answered prayers, indeed.

Tonight we are in a holding pattern, hoping to get some much-needed rest.  We find out the results of the blood cultures sometime tomorrow and should get a better idea of when we can head home.  In addition to some rough chemo, this week should include an MRI to get a better look at Paige's leg fracture.  In the meantime, we remain faithful in prayer and continue to ask God for Paige's health to be fully restored.  For peace and comfort during times she cries out in pain and frustration.  For healing of the fracture in her leg.  For safe deliverance through the remainder of chemotherapy treatments and procedures.  For a victorious testimony that gives Him all the glory.      

For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal...   Jeremiah 30:17