What a week
After a long week of overtime days, at 7AM Saturday, we got a call waking us. My cousin informed us that my aunt had contracted pneumonia (or a virus doctor's couldn't decide :/) and had gone into cardiac arrest over the night. She was defibrelated back to life and taken into intensive care at the UW medical center.
We canceled our plans and drove to Seattle to go visit her and be there for the family. My grandfather was so upset that he became ill and couldn't leave his house. Cousin Chase stayed with him while everyone else was in Seattle.
The plan was to take my nephews to Point Defiance and take part in a work-related party of my mother's. We decided to stop by their mother's place on the way to the hospital to drop off the tickets, so the kids could enjoy the zoo.
The mother is a nurse in Tacoma ad upon hearing that my aunt was in critical condition, she wanted to come to UW Medical too. Not because she cares, mind you, but because she wants to expose the children to the "the process of death." She didn't even pretend to care. I told her that was a bad idea to take the kids. I was thinking of their mental health, plus kids shouldn't be in the ICU because of germs (the little plague bearers).
Knowing that kids shouldn't be there, she called the ICU and bawled out a shift nurse because she she made up her mind that she was going to force her way in there.
My other cousin, Kyle heard the phone call at the nurse's station from the hospital room and called my dad to have him call Bro's baby momma and keep her from showing up with the kids and bringing untold drama and causing the kids issues.
After that, we had a nice stay and Audrey slept very well with a strong pulse and breathing normally.
We learned that it was a virus, not pneumonia. Her lung had partially collapsed, but was functioning now. Her body had also been voiding food, but a new line of IV fluids was feeding her and she seemed to be getting batter every day.
She seems to have host versus graft disease and a very week immune system from the stem cell transplant. Her will to live had been fading and last week was the worst. I was so scared for her that I prayed to God, any other higher power, and communed with the spirits of dead relatives to lend her strength.
This week I will be heading to the hospital everyday to help my aunt and cousin in the only way I know how with my presence and moral support. This has been a very hard trial for all of us as a family. Especially my grandfather because he lost his wife in September, 1993 in similar circumstances. Please forgive me for being tired and despondent through this struggle with cancer.
Thanks for reading,
Robert
We canceled our plans and drove to Seattle to go visit her and be there for the family. My grandfather was so upset that he became ill and couldn't leave his house. Cousin Chase stayed with him while everyone else was in Seattle.
The plan was to take my nephews to Point Defiance and take part in a work-related party of my mother's. We decided to stop by their mother's place on the way to the hospital to drop off the tickets, so the kids could enjoy the zoo.
The mother is a nurse in Tacoma ad upon hearing that my aunt was in critical condition, she wanted to come to UW Medical too. Not because she cares, mind you, but because she wants to expose the children to the "the process of death." She didn't even pretend to care. I told her that was a bad idea to take the kids. I was thinking of their mental health, plus kids shouldn't be in the ICU because of germs (the little plague bearers).
Knowing that kids shouldn't be there, she called the ICU and bawled out a shift nurse because she she made up her mind that she was going to force her way in there.
My other cousin, Kyle heard the phone call at the nurse's station from the hospital room and called my dad to have him call Bro's baby momma and keep her from showing up with the kids and bringing untold drama and causing the kids issues.
After that, we had a nice stay and Audrey slept very well with a strong pulse and breathing normally.
We learned that it was a virus, not pneumonia. Her lung had partially collapsed, but was functioning now. Her body had also been voiding food, but a new line of IV fluids was feeding her and she seemed to be getting batter every day.
She seems to have host versus graft disease and a very week immune system from the stem cell transplant. Her will to live had been fading and last week was the worst. I was so scared for her that I prayed to God, any other higher power, and communed with the spirits of dead relatives to lend her strength.
This week I will be heading to the hospital everyday to help my aunt and cousin in the only way I know how with my presence and moral support. This has been a very hard trial for all of us as a family. Especially my grandfather because he lost his wife in September, 1993 in similar circumstances. Please forgive me for being tired and despondent through this struggle with cancer.
Thanks for reading,
Robert