A Recent Visit to the ER...
After having a good weekend, I woke up early Monday morning feeling pretty sick to my stomach, headache-ish, and sore in the upper chest. I didn't feel nauseated, just ill, but figured it was due to the chemo treatments, that they were finally catching up to me. I had an appointment with Dr. Sodhi later that day and I ran the symptoms by him. He too thought it was from the chemo, gave me a couple more herbs to take and sent me home after a couple of feel good, inspiration stories about the power of the mind and the will. Dr. Sodhi does much more than just conduct exams and prescribe herbs, he is always looking to inspire and give hope. I got home and before bed, took a vicodin to relieve some of the chest soreness. I set my alarm clock for 6 AM to try to get a near full day in at the office.
Well, when the alarm went off, I awoke to pretty sharp pains in my chest. I got up to use the bathroom and found I had a difficult time taking deep breaths. Each breath seemed to increase the pain. It was leaving me with quick, shallow breaths. I laid back down and it still continued to hurt. The pain seem to be coming from under the center portion of my sternum. Beth woke up and I told her about it. She rubbed my chest, while it felt nice, it didn't cut the mustard with the pain. I told her I should get it checked out and asked her thoughts if I should wait till the Cancer Treatment clinic opened or go to Swedish Hosp. ER. She didn't know either. I got back up and tried to do a couple of things and when the pain continued with the labored breathing, I figured I better get into emergency. So we got dressed and got into the ER by 8 AM.
As soon as I said I had lung cancer and bad pain in my chest, the ER staff got me right in. Using my new port catheter, they put me on an IV and took some blood samples. They started to send me to get some chest x-rays and the fire alarm went off. Turned out some electrical work was being done and the alarms were going off as planned. But, we had to wait for the "all clear" signal. After a few minutes, we finally got the x-rays done and the ER doc suspected pneumonia. They put me on an anti-biotic and pain killer, took some blood cultures, and contacted Dr. Chen. Dr. Chen admitted me and they sent me to a room on the oncology floor. So there I stayed awaiting instructions from Dr. Chen. The pain killers was doing the job and so I relaxed and wondered if this is what Thanksgiving 2005 was going to be for me. But my mind was already set that this was nothing and that as soon as I was out, I would be right back on track with my healing process. The important thing was getting out soon so I could get back on track.
Dr. Chen wanted my cardiologist, Dr. Olsen, to stop by and check on me thinking about the fluid build up around me heart. Dr. Olsen already started vacation for the week and his office mate, Dr. Petersen, who I have also seen, was on vacation as well. Their PAC Dave Panther, who is a cool guy, came by. He listened to my heart and thought things sounded good, but ordered up an ultrasound to take a look. I had the ultrasound done a couple of hours later and waited to hear back. Dr. Chen had another cardiologist come by, Dr. Sytoman, a real nice guy, to take a look at the results and check me out. Both Dr. Chen and Dr. Sytoman met with me at 4:45 PM. Dr. Sytoman said the ultrasound looked good, even though there was more fluid buildup, it was not affecting the functions of my heart or lungs. He felt the pain was a result of the sack itself being inflammed. Even though they weren't fully sure of what was causing the inflammation, the plan was to start me on a steroidal anti-inflammatory and more anti-biotics. Later that night, I started an IV for both. One other thing to note, this episode was a bit of a surprise to Dr. Chen, he told Dr. Sytoman that I was responding well to the chemo and could feel the lymph nodes in my neck shrinking. Being optimistic, he said that the inflammation could be the result of the cancer fighting me back, which is what I was thinking outside of the pneumonia. Beth and my friend John, from the office, provided company for me until 10 PM. We played backgammon until I began to realize that this is one battle I couldn't win tonight!
I woke up this morning feeling much better and pain free. I told the nurse I didn't need any more pain killers. While I was able to take deep breaths, I could still feel a bit of a "tingle" when doing so. Dr. Sytoman came by around 8:30 AM and I told him how I felt. He listened to my heart and said everything sounds great and that he would recommend to Dr. Chen that I follow up with another ultrasound next week and to see about discharging me later that day. The nurse came back to set me up another round of anti-inflammatories and anti-biotics. Dave Panther came by around noon and said the same thing and set me up an appointment for the ultrasound Monday with Dr. Olsen. Beth and I waited all day for Dr. Chen to give us word on whether or not I get to go home. Dr. Chen finally came by around 6 PM and said everything was sounding great and that after another round of IV drugs, he would send me home with some oral meds and see me next week. Beth and I were relieved we get to spend Thanksgiving with family instead of nurses! We left the hospital this evening around 8 PM, a little late, but well worth it. While I didn't know the result of the blood cultures for pneumonia, I suspect it turned out to be nothing otherwise I am sure I would have stayed put and closely monitored. All I know is I feel too good not to go home!
While my visit was short and sweet, Beth did an amazing job bringing in the right foods for me to eat. She went out to get organic salads and drinks, then went home to fix a healthy, whole foods dinner and brought it back. She came in this morning with my usual power fruit smoothie and raw veggies for lunch and kept me on the herbal regiment the whole time. At one point, the oncology nutritionist stopped by to see if I was eating since I hadn't ordered anything from the hospital. We told her we were bringing in my meals and she was fine with that. They just want to make sure no one is "wasting" away on that floor, but given the choice of the hospital food, even the healthiest person would choose to waste! Also while being kept on the oncology floor, a little bit of reality set in. Beth and I took a walk around the wing and we could see that some rooms have had patients in them for quite some time. You could see home decorations on the doors announcing who they are with family photos and some instructions on visiting them. There was a mix of all ages represented in this wing. My heart goes out to them and their families especially this time of year when everyone should be in their own homes with their families. While the rooms in the Swedish Oncology Wing are nice and homey, no one should have to be here, no one. Cancer doesn't just damage your body, it damages your heart. You can see why some people lose heart in the fight and give up. If there is anything I can do for these people, its to survive for them, to know what they been through, and to share our story with all that will listen and care. My oncology nurse did tell me something before she went home today, she would much prefer to be out of a job...
After having a good weekend, I woke up early Monday morning feeling pretty sick to my stomach, headache-ish, and sore in the upper chest. I didn't feel nauseated, just ill, but figured it was due to the chemo treatments, that they were finally catching up to me. I had an appointment with Dr. Sodhi later that day and I ran the symptoms by him. He too thought it was from the chemo, gave me a couple more herbs to take and sent me home after a couple of feel good, inspiration stories about the power of the mind and the will. Dr. Sodhi does much more than just conduct exams and prescribe herbs, he is always looking to inspire and give hope. I got home and before bed, took a vicodin to relieve some of the chest soreness. I set my alarm clock for 6 AM to try to get a near full day in at the office.
Well, when the alarm went off, I awoke to pretty sharp pains in my chest. I got up to use the bathroom and found I had a difficult time taking deep breaths. Each breath seemed to increase the pain. It was leaving me with quick, shallow breaths. I laid back down and it still continued to hurt. The pain seem to be coming from under the center portion of my sternum. Beth woke up and I told her about it. She rubbed my chest, while it felt nice, it didn't cut the mustard with the pain. I told her I should get it checked out and asked her thoughts if I should wait till the Cancer Treatment clinic opened or go to Swedish Hosp. ER. She didn't know either. I got back up and tried to do a couple of things and when the pain continued with the labored breathing, I figured I better get into emergency. So we got dressed and got into the ER by 8 AM.
As soon as I said I had lung cancer and bad pain in my chest, the ER staff got me right in. Using my new port catheter, they put me on an IV and took some blood samples. They started to send me to get some chest x-rays and the fire alarm went off. Turned out some electrical work was being done and the alarms were going off as planned. But, we had to wait for the "all clear" signal. After a few minutes, we finally got the x-rays done and the ER doc suspected pneumonia. They put me on an anti-biotic and pain killer, took some blood cultures, and contacted Dr. Chen. Dr. Chen admitted me and they sent me to a room on the oncology floor. So there I stayed awaiting instructions from Dr. Chen. The pain killers was doing the job and so I relaxed and wondered if this is what Thanksgiving 2005 was going to be for me. But my mind was already set that this was nothing and that as soon as I was out, I would be right back on track with my healing process. The important thing was getting out soon so I could get back on track.
Dr. Chen wanted my cardiologist, Dr. Olsen, to stop by and check on me thinking about the fluid build up around me heart. Dr. Olsen already started vacation for the week and his office mate, Dr. Petersen, who I have also seen, was on vacation as well. Their PAC Dave Panther, who is a cool guy, came by. He listened to my heart and thought things sounded good, but ordered up an ultrasound to take a look. I had the ultrasound done a couple of hours later and waited to hear back. Dr. Chen had another cardiologist come by, Dr. Sytoman, a real nice guy, to take a look at the results and check me out. Both Dr. Chen and Dr. Sytoman met with me at 4:45 PM. Dr. Sytoman said the ultrasound looked good, even though there was more fluid buildup, it was not affecting the functions of my heart or lungs. He felt the pain was a result of the sack itself being inflammed. Even though they weren't fully sure of what was causing the inflammation, the plan was to start me on a steroidal anti-inflammatory and more anti-biotics. Later that night, I started an IV for both. One other thing to note, this episode was a bit of a surprise to Dr. Chen, he told Dr. Sytoman that I was responding well to the chemo and could feel the lymph nodes in my neck shrinking. Being optimistic, he said that the inflammation could be the result of the cancer fighting me back, which is what I was thinking outside of the pneumonia. Beth and my friend John, from the office, provided company for me until 10 PM. We played backgammon until I began to realize that this is one battle I couldn't win tonight!
I woke up this morning feeling much better and pain free. I told the nurse I didn't need any more pain killers. While I was able to take deep breaths, I could still feel a bit of a "tingle" when doing so. Dr. Sytoman came by around 8:30 AM and I told him how I felt. He listened to my heart and said everything sounds great and that he would recommend to Dr. Chen that I follow up with another ultrasound next week and to see about discharging me later that day. The nurse came back to set me up another round of anti-inflammatories and anti-biotics. Dave Panther came by around noon and said the same thing and set me up an appointment for the ultrasound Monday with Dr. Olsen. Beth and I waited all day for Dr. Chen to give us word on whether or not I get to go home. Dr. Chen finally came by around 6 PM and said everything was sounding great and that after another round of IV drugs, he would send me home with some oral meds and see me next week. Beth and I were relieved we get to spend Thanksgiving with family instead of nurses! We left the hospital this evening around 8 PM, a little late, but well worth it. While I didn't know the result of the blood cultures for pneumonia, I suspect it turned out to be nothing otherwise I am sure I would have stayed put and closely monitored. All I know is I feel too good not to go home!
While my visit was short and sweet, Beth did an amazing job bringing in the right foods for me to eat. She went out to get organic salads and drinks, then went home to fix a healthy, whole foods dinner and brought it back. She came in this morning with my usual power fruit smoothie and raw veggies for lunch and kept me on the herbal regiment the whole time. At one point, the oncology nutritionist stopped by to see if I was eating since I hadn't ordered anything from the hospital. We told her we were bringing in my meals and she was fine with that. They just want to make sure no one is "wasting" away on that floor, but given the choice of the hospital food, even the healthiest person would choose to waste! Also while being kept on the oncology floor, a little bit of reality set in. Beth and I took a walk around the wing and we could see that some rooms have had patients in them for quite some time. You could see home decorations on the doors announcing who they are with family photos and some instructions on visiting them. There was a mix of all ages represented in this wing. My heart goes out to them and their families especially this time of year when everyone should be in their own homes with their families. While the rooms in the Swedish Oncology Wing are nice and homey, no one should have to be here, no one. Cancer doesn't just damage your body, it damages your heart. You can see why some people lose heart in the fight and give up. If there is anything I can do for these people, its to survive for them, to know what they been through, and to share our story with all that will listen and care. My oncology nurse did tell me something before she went home today, she would much prefer to be out of a job...
posted by Beth @ 11/23/2005 11:57:00 PM
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