Another Blood Transfusion

It’s been a week since I have had a chance to make an entry here in the Blog and I apologize for that. I’ve been working at the Gold Beach Football Team Camp and have spent an enormous amount of time away from Rianne. Unfortunately, it may have worked against us this time. Rianne is currently in a hospital bed at Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay. Her parents took her up this morning and I stayed here to work.
Chemo Infusion #4 on Monday went well for Rianne while she was receiving it, but the ride home from Coos Bay didn’t go as well. On the trip home she became nauseated and also had an awful headache. When she arrived home that evening with her parents and Tate she was sick. We put her in bed and monitored her throughout the night. She recovered on Tuesday and did well the rest of the week.
Yesterday she felt well and joined her parents, Tate and I outside for some yard work. She looked fine and felt well during the day. I should have known better though – the warm sun and the amount of time that she spent outside caught up to her. I left for the camp to work the afternoon shift from 3:00-5:00. I stopped at the store to pick up groceries for dinner, then I began cooking a good meal when I returned home at 6:00. She was resting on the couch and visiting with her parents. She took her evening medication early and had to be woken up to eat. She ate a good amount of protein-filled steak and plunked into bed around 8:30 with a headache. I returned to the camp to work the evening shift from 9:00-11:00 and when I returned home at 11:15 I took her temperature. The thermometer read 99.8 degrees. Since it is a digital thermometer, I take several readings to insure some accuracy – a minute later it read 100.0 degrees. I gave her 2 tylenol in an attempt to reduce the fever, but this time it didn’t work like it has previously done. I fell asleep by her side at 12:15 and at 1:45 she woke me asking for me to take her temperature again. She was hot and clammy and did not look well. This time the thermometer read 100.6 degrees. We have been instructed by our Oncologist to call if her temperature reaches 100.4 degrees, so I took another reading and it settled in at 100.2 degrees. I wasn’t comfortable accepting the drop in the reading so I took another and it read 100.4 degrees. We immediately woke her parents and she asked her father to give her a blessing. He insisted that I call the oncologist first, so I did so. Her doctor and I discussed Rianne’s situation and he instructed me to take her in to the Emergency Room if her temperature didn’t drop in the next 30 minutes. At 2:30 the thermometer read 99.7 degrees on two separate readings. Unsatisfied, I remained awake and took another series of readings at 3:15am. The thermometer beeped an alert sound as each reading ended - they read 100.0, 100.0, and 100.1 degrees respectively. Instantly, I felt a lump in my throat and knew that something was very wrong. At 3:25 I took a final reading and it beeped in at 101.0 degrees. Without any further hesitation, Rianne and I got dressed and headed for Curry General Hospital, while her parents and Tate stayed home to get some sleep.
The Emergency Room Nurse did a good job taking care of Rianne. She slipped an IV into Rianne’s left arm and administered antibiotics and anti-nausea medication into it. She also drew blood to have it analyzed. At 4:00am Tate drove Rianne’s “Cancer Notebook” to the hospital so that the nurse would have access to all of the medications which she is currently taking, which are numerous to say the least. At 4:45 I returned home to pick up Rianne’s pain killer and a glass of Almond Breeze milk, which is the only thing that she can take with some meds to keep them down. She took the pain killer and grimaced as her chest began to feel pain, once again due to the Neulasta shot. Her headache worsened as the night, or should I say the morning, progressed. She was miserable and her face was losing color with each hour. This time I had no doubt in my mind that she was anemic again. The blood results returned with numbers stating exactly that. Both her white blood cells and red blood cells were low in numbers. Another transfusion was necessary, but she would rather travel to Coos Bay to receive it so that her oncologist could also examine her, so she was prepped for the trip. At 7:15am she pleaded for a Demerol shot to relieve the headache pain and received it shortly thereafter. She was finally released to be driven to Coos Bay around 8:00am.
When we arrived at home the decision was made to have her parents take her to Bay Area Hospital and pull the 5th wheel behind them so that they could stay overnight for her tests on Monday. The three of them left at 9:00am and headed north. Rianne was asleep in the back seat of the truck when her head hit the pillow, as the Demerol put her out. It was a helpless feeling for me to watch them drive away, but the schedule of her tests for Monday and my hours at the camp conflicted. Her parents came to Gold Beach to help care for her so that I could work the camp. I intended to follow them up in the van, but they all reminded me that driving to Coos Bay on an hour of sleep wasn’t a safe idea at all.
The oncologist admitted her for the night and possibly may keep her there for a few days. Her fever and low blood counts have her doctor concerned and he won’t release her until her condition improves. I spoke with her this evening after 6:00 and she was still receiving antibiotics. She hadn’t even received any blood yet, a process which took 6-8 hours during the first two transfusions.
Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She has had another awfully rough stretch, which we can only hope and pray improves and quickly. I love her so much! Thank you again for your love and support!