Rianne is Home!

Rianne is home! She and her parents rolled in towing the 5th wheel last evening around 8:00. It’s great to have her here and out of the hospital. She sure had a difficult 5 days up in Coos Bay – mostly because she is so active and was going stir-crazy lying in the hospital bed. While she was there her parents had to “suit up” in germ resistant coverings to prevent the spread of potential infection to her.
On Wednesday she called to tell me that she had to stay for another day. It crushed her and she was crying on the phone. I reminded her that it was for the best and that she’d have around the clock care until her condition improved. She had her digital camera with her and, after she hung up the phone, she took a few photos of herself. One of the tearful photos is posted tonight. She said she is grateful that Becky and Katie were able to listen to her and console her when she called them. Calls to Briana, Crystal and Edrie also helped her get through those difficult moments.
The tears in her eyes tell it all – everything from first learning that she has cancer to….. all of the tests and needles in her arms to…. the miserable rides to and from Coos Bay to…..hours sitting and receiving chemo infusions to….the unbearable headaches and nausea to…..the exhausting blood transfusions to……being away from her husband, home and pets to…..expecting to go home and having to stay another day. Rianne has been through more pain, suffering and heartache in 3 months than most of us endure in a lifetime. She’s bound to have some emotional moments, and that’s exactly what happened when our conversation ended.
Her parents were her guardian angels while she was hospitalized. They were the only people allowed to see her in the sealed room, with the exception of a visit by Brianna Hale, who was smuggled in. Don and Lillian also kept me informed of what was about to happen and when. They gave her a great gag gift – a baby-sized comb and brush for Rianne’s hair, which she currently has none of! They laughed and boosted her spirits, but the best gifts were the 4 rolls of REAL toilet paper. Rianne says, “Hospital TP is like sandpaper and it rubs me raw!”
Now she’s home and her spirits are improving. But they weren’t so bright when she first arrived. The length of the hospitalization exhausted her. We’ll be honest here – she mentioned that she wanted to stop doing chemo and didn’t want to go through with the radiation. She said she is through and that she can’t take it anymore. She is worn out from the awful feeling of having a sick body and seeing needles stabbed into her arms and into her Port. She is scheduled for more tests next week and a colonoscopy the following week. She is worried sick about the possibility of having more cancer in her body.
She asked me if I was going to make her continue with the treatment. I told her that I wouldn’t make her do it but would instead convince her to continue. It was a gentler way of saying “HECK YES YOU’RE GOING TO CONTINUE WITH IT!” I love her too much to allow her to stop now after coming this far. Her chemo infusions are past the halfway mark. The tumor should be shrinking and her future will be bright. She will again become that strong, vibrant Rianne that we all know and love!
This evening her spirits are finally improving. She again has that smile on her face, but I’m concerned about what she was feeling last night and most of today. Her thoughts are understandable but they do concern me. I don’t want her to give up on the fight!! If you too feel that she should continue with the scheduled chemotherapy, radiation and tests, please post a comment for her to read. She could really use the strength of your words right now!!!