LEE CANCER UPDATE – Week 13
Three months ago we signed on to a 12-week commitment to drive to Renton WA once a week for Lee’s chemo and adjunctive therapies. For 12 weeks God granted us near perfect traveling weather. He kept us safe with no surprises.
This week, the 13th week, the weather turned more winter-like. And on this 13th week, Lee took a turn for the worse. Big time.
For the last 2 weeks I started seeing little signs that something wasn’t quite right with Lee. He was more lethargic, had trouble sleeping, wasn’t moving or exercising as much, trouble with his vision and balance issues. He’d been told his protein levels were very low. Last week he didn’t get any chemo, just infusions to hydrate him and build up his electrolytes. They strongly encouraged him to eat more protein.
He tried, but food didn’t taste good. Protein shakes didn’t taste good. His mouth was full of mucus and he was drooling but he said his mouth was dry. His nose was crusty and it would bleed. He slept a lot, even while sitting in front of his computer. His edema seemed to get worse. He started having memory problems. I talked with the Nurse Practitioner and she called in some prescriptions for Lee on Friday. Lee asked me to keep track of when to take them because he didn’t feel he would remember.
Saturday was a bad day. He wouldn’t eat, he drank some water. He slept nearly the entire day, and he could hardly talk; it was more like a mumbled whisper. I had a hard time understanding what he was saying. I finally got a flashlight and looked in his mouth. It was crusty white on the tongue, the sides of his mouth and even in the back. It looked like Thrush to me.
I sent an email to the NP and called the after-hours number. Later Dr. Chen called. I read to him the email I’d sent to the NP. His advice was to go to the ER and find out what was going on in Lee’s mouth and throat. We chose not to go that night.
In bed with Lee, I couldn’t sleep. I prayed a lot. I talked to God about free will. I asked God to provide a strong signal to us when we should go to the ER.
God answered the prayer.
Sunday morning Lee got up, dressed, lost his balance and face-planted on the bathroom floor. I heard it and came running to see what happened. His nose was bleeding slightly and he had a wound over his left eyebrow. He was conscious and talking but very lethargic.
I called 9-1-1 and a short time later five men arrived to assist Lee. They checked him over and asked if I wanted to drive him to hospital. I told them they should evaluate and determine if they should take him. Next thing I know, they were wheeling him out on a gurney.
I called my sisters and my sister-in-Christ, Kathy, who lives close by. She said she would pick me up and stay with me at the hospital. We arrived about an hour and a half later. By then Lee was wired up to a bunch of machines and he was getting saline to hydrate him. His heart rate was around 160 and in A-fib. His blood pressure was dangerously low, 69/47. They asked if he had a heart condition. I said no, never. They gave him infusions to help stabilize the heart rate. I think that was their greatest concern. An ear-nose-throat doctor scoped Lee’s nose and throat and determined it was not Thrush, but a mucosal fungus that was caked on the surfaces of his mouth and throat.
Lee was in such bad shape that they eventually transferred him to the Intensive Care Unit. We waited until he was settled in the ICU and Kathy brought me home.
Monday I went to see Lee. A speech therapist scoped his throat and had him swallow water, thickened juice and applesauce. The only thing he could swallow was the thickened juice. Even that, however, didn’t get completely swallowed but remained in his mouth. Lee could not swallow the water fast enough and some of it was going into his lungs. Yesterday they thought he had pneumonia. Now they think his lungs are affected because foreign particles got down there because Lee wasn’t able to properly swallow. He was given the option of a liquid diet and running the risk of having liquids go down the wrong pipe into the lungs or a feeding tube.
Lee opted for the feeding tube because they could get more protein and nutrients into him at a faster, safer rate. [I didn’t realize a feeding tube goes through the nose. But it does.]
At that point I realized he had come so close to death. God provided the impetus to get him to the hospital at just the right time. Lee has a long road back to “normal.” Personally, I don’t think we’ll be going to Renton again. However, Lee could surprise me because he is a fighter. He doesn’t give up. But perhaps that can be detrimental to his spiritual life. Perhaps God has a different path now.
Lee may feel like he is in a humiliated state, but he is where God wants him to be. He has to be cared for completely by another. He can do nothing for himself, not even speak. We want to control our own self. We don’t want to be beholden to anyone. We want to give gifts but we’re uncomfortable to receive them. God wants our complete devotion to Himself. We are made fools for Christ’s sake.
My emotions get hold of me and I cry. So I cling to a promise then regain composure. It’s a roller coaster. This trial is as much for me as it is for Lee. We are to be witnesses for Christ. We are to faith-rest on His word rather than tail-spin emotionally. I start thinking about details that Lee knows how to do but I don’t. I think about the strengths he provides to our marriage that I don’t have. And I think about him being transferred to heaven while I am left behind. Don’t put the cart before the horse. One day at a time.
Today I’m praying that the nutrition Lee is getting will strengthen his vocal cords so he can speak. Baby steps.
Tuesday morning. Today is a better day.
Lee’s vitals numbers are better this morning, but no improvement in speech. He's more alert and is working hard doing what they ask him to do. A speech therapist brought ice chips and gave them one at a time telling him to chew and swallow as hard as he can, twice. She gave him 5 ice chips total and said do the exercise 3 times a day. She thinks he will eventually get his voice back, but he needs to keep exercising those muscles. After she left he chewed two more ice chips. He wants to get better.
Yesterday the physical therapist had Lee sit on the edge of the bed, stand and move from side to side. Today she and two others helped him sit in a chair. It was quite a production with all the wires he's connected to. But he sat in a chair and rotated his feet and clenched his hands.
He had a little setback while sitting in the chair. He needed a bedpan and after he was done his heart went into A-fib again with his heart rate fluctuating into the 150 range. They immediately got him back into bed. They think it may have been the exertion of moving around. Without exercise and good nutrition, Lee’s muscles have atrophied. Rehabilitation will be a lengthy process.
When I left the heart rate was still fluctuating but the numbers were dropping. He needs to rest. He will be in ICU a while longer. The care Lee is getting is excellent.