Two Weeks Off!

The Cancer Roller Coaster Ride continues. Rianne received her 8th and final intrathecal chemotherapy shot on Thursday, August 12th. Our son, Ty Wardle, took her to Coos Bay for the shot, as I went on an antelope hunting trip to Eastern Oregon. Her Oncologist decided to give her a couple of weeks to recover from the chemo before her radiation begins, which is scheduled to start on Monday, August 30th.
I called from Juntura, Oregon to check in on how she did with the final shot and was happy to hear that it went well for her. She had the usual headache, but all else went well. That evening her parents arrived so that they could stay with her while I was away on the hunting trip.
On Monday, August 16th I returned home. All I could think about while I was gone was Rianne! It was good to get the antelope hunt out of my system, but I didn’t handle being away from her well. Rianne, her parents and I met in Bandon, as Rianne had another appointment with her doctor concerning her ear. We left Bandon together and went to Coos Bay to see the doctor. While we were there the nurse took her temperature and it was 99.3 degrees. Immediately we were concerned, as it indicated a possible fever. Her eardrum has healed and recovered fine.
She went in to work on Tuesday and did well, feeling good for the 5 hours that she was there. It has been difficult for her to be away from work, as she hates to feel like she is helpless. We took her temperature later that night. She had a slight fever and continued to reach temperatures between 99 and 100 degrees, which were lowered with Tylenol. To complicate her situation, the upper area of her shoulders, at the base of her neck became swollen and sore.
Her temperature rose and dropped all week and she was still struggling with the fever and her sore shoulders by the weekend. I was concerned that she might have developed another infection from the chemo, yet her temperature kept breaking with the Tylenol. On Friday evening around 10:30 I called her Oncologist. He gave me some suggestions on how to control her symptoms and decrease her swelling. She has been taking Benadryl to fight the swelling and it seems to be helping. He instructed me to NOT give her ibuprofen, as it can cause the blood to thin.
She had a rough night Friday, with her temperature peaking at 100.2 degrees. It broke once again and has been relatively steady since. Her shoulders, however, ache as if she was “hit by a truck”, which is how she best explains it. Her parents left this morning around 11:30 and are headed north toward Portland. She is now sleeping and resting well. She seems to do best when she can rest as she deems it necessary.
On a very positive note, Ty, Ashley and the boys came by after dinner on Saturday night. Kacen whispered into Rianne’s ear, “Gramma, you’re gonna have another Grandson!” We were all excited to hear the news, as Rianne’s parents were still here and Tate was also home for the weekend. The new Wardle baby should be here in the springtime!
We hope all is well for you. We continue to count our blessings as Rianne continues to battle this awful illness. By the end of September we hope and pray that it will be an obstacle that she is able defeat!