Duke Hospital Visit #2 for the Week

Saturday night/Sunday morning around 12:30am, Joe woke me up from a very heavy dead sleep telling me he needed the quilt.  It took me a while to figure out what he was talking about as we had plenty of cover on the bed.  He was having chills and wanted the quilt that we bought in Fayetteville years ago.  I got up, got the quilt, put it on his side of the bed only because honestly it was not cold in the room and then went and got the thermometer.  I took his temp and it was 100.8 so he took 2 Tylenol (or generics actually).  I then went back to bed and to sleep.  I awakened around 6am when Joe's alarm clock went off for him to get up to get ready for church.  He then told me he was still not feeling well and wouldn't be able to go.  He then called Jay and told him.  I got up, got the themometer and took his temp again.  This time, 101.1.  Joe quietly says that he also took some Tylenol around 4:30-5am.  I fussed at him that that was too soon after taking it at 12:30am, but admittedly, he didn't know what time it was and thought it was earlier in the night.  He then said he would just wait to call the clinic on Monday to speak with Dr. Zafar or Leigh.  I then went in the bathroom, took my shower, came out, dressed and packed 2 small bags.  One with his underwear and comfortable sleep wear and one for me.  I then picked up my bag and told him I would be downstairs when he was ready, that we were not waiting until Monday and were going to Duke that morning.  He mumbled something incoherrent and I went on downstairs.  By 7:20am he was showered and changed and had put his toiletries in his bag and we were off.  We arrived at Duke around 7:45am and were in an exam room before 8am.  While in the emergency department he got fluids, had a full CT scan and had blood drawn for labs and cultures (again).  During the stay there, his temp peaked at one point at 102.1.  It was at that point that they said he was being admitted.  We were up in a room by 4pm and settled having finally eaten around 5pm.  By 6pm however, his chills returned and by 6:45pm his temp had risen from the almost normal at 4pm to 101.7.  At that point, he got some more Tylenol to help.  The rest of the night was uneventful.

The CT scan results did not show any reason for the fevers.  The results as far as tumor growth or spreading, we will have to wait on until we see or hear from Dr. Zafar or Leigh.  So far today he has run a low grade fever in the 99.4 range.  That isn't considered a fever in hospital terms.  After dinner tonight, unless he has another fever spike, they will send him home with antibiotics as a precautionary measure. 

He looks very weak but says other than fatique, he feels fine.  He ate a good breakfast and lunch and maybe will be able to squeeze one more meal out of Duke.  Only time will tell this evening.  The plan is for me to call before I leave work to find out if he's coming home tonight or if I should go by our house and get more overnight things and feed Dolly.  The fevers are a mystery.  One that everyone, even the nurses & doctors are worried about but can't pinpoint a cause.

Thanks for all the inquiries, prayers and outpouring of love.  Both of us greatly appreciate everything that our friends are doing for us.  You are the best!

Pancreatic Cancer: The gift that keeps on giving

Well after being out of Duke Hospital for one month, to the day, we had to return to the Duke Emergency Department late yesterday afternoon after Joe started running a fever again. We only had a 20 minute wait in the waiting room before being called to the triage room and then were taken back to an exam room.  They are really starting to catch on that someone with a suppressed immune system by the chemotherapy should not be sitting in the waiting room with people coughing, sneezing and blowing their noses constantly.
Joe was seen immediately by the nurse and withing 5 minutes the doctor and a med student were in to assess his condition.

This started right after lunch.  Joe had driven over here to Chapel Hill to meet me for lunch and I could tell sitting there that he did not feel well.  He said he was just tired, so we cut my lunch time short and he went on back home.  At 2:30 he called to tell me he was running a 100.7 fever and had called the Cancer Center triage line and was waiting for a call back.   At 3:30 he called again and told me that they had said to go on to the Emergency Department.  So I left work, went home, grabbed the required overnight bag just in case and off to Duke we went.  I only managed to forget 2 things this time:  my cell phone and my medications.  Better mine than his, right?

Since he is still having the chemo home infusion running, they could not start any antibiotics although his temp was down when we checked in at Duke ED, but most likely due to the Tylenol he had taken.  They took blood for labs and for cultures.  It took 2 nurses and 5 sticks of a needle to get the blood flowing.  He has rolling veins.  They hung a bag of fluids and he layed in the bed and we waited.  We were treated to 2 turkey sandwiches each and each some Jello pudding since we had been there through dinner time.  That was a first.  Our only contact with the outside world other than Joe's dying cell phone was through Facebook so that kept me sane while we waiting and Joe napped.

As you can see below, there was a great deal of support on FB last night and that is just a very small sampling.  Joe just messaged me that his most current temperature was normal so I have my fingers crossed that I get a call very soon to go pick him up!



Timing is everything

Just 2 days after our anniversary, Joe ends up back in the hospital. Yep, you read that right. I arrived home from the office today at 5:20pm to find Joe asleep on the couch in the family room. After he woke up, I touched his forehead only to discover him burning up. His temp was 102.7. Since the magic number for fevers and emergency department visits is 100.5 we were off to Duke. We only had to wait in the waiting room for about 15 minutes before he was called into triage and from there straight back to an exam room. They did an EKG, X-ray, drew several tubes of blood for labs and cultures as well as a urine sample. Long story short, there appears to be some type of infection but not sure where so they are admitting him for overnight observation. However, after 4 hours we are still waiting for a room. Joe has nodded off in the exam room and I am sitting here starving. Oh please, oh please let them get him a room soon so I can get some food and he can get good and comfortable and sleep some more. Regardless, it's going to be a long night!

1:00 am update - The transport came to the exam room around 11:20pm and got Joe. I went and got the car from the emergency valet parking and moved the car to the hospital visitors parking lot and then made my way through the tunnel to the hospital. Joe is in room 9320 so of course that is where I found him sitting on the side of the bed like a sad little lost puppy. He never did comment on the fact that I had to carry two heavy bags of his overnight things, battle with the old lady nazi guard on the 1st floor before I could get up to his room. Then finally at midnight I got down to the cafe and got each of us a sandwich. FOOD does a body good.

The doctor was in around 12:20 and said that they are going to do an ultrasound in the morning so no more food for Joe until afterwards. They suspect some inflammation in the area around the stint, possibly caused by some tumor growth. I need Dr. Zafar or Leigh!!

We have a great nurse, Grace Kwan, who brought me my own blue cancer floor socks! They are the bomb!!!!!!!! Not worth a hospital trip but it is one small perk if you have to be here.

Guess What folks???

Joe stayed on the 9th floor last night so my re-packing was in vain.  The 2 bags are still sitting next to my chair.  The ERCP for today has been cancelled, at least for now, so Joe will get to eat all day.  What does this mean as far as when we will be going to the 2nd floor???...Ask the Magic 8 Ball, you'll probably get as accurate an answer as we will get from asking someone here.  But we are quite happy to have stayed here on the 9th floor.  This is where Joe was back in December and the nurses and staff here are the most wonderful and kind people you will ever meet!  They took very good care of him last night and we will just relax and get moved in until someone from transport shows up at the door.  For now, room 9315.

Sleep does a body good!

Let me just clarify about the 24 hours (and 15 minutes) in the Emergency Department.  Although long, our time there was understandable given the number of people in the waiting room, waiting to be seen, and the number of ambulances that came in during the evening.  They take people in order of arrival, along with severity of illness.  Although Joe did not feel good, he was in no way a high risk, trauma patient.  The frustration from the long wait was more from anxiety over what was happening with Joe's health and boredom combined.  24 hours sitting looking at each other, conversation was really starting to wain.

24 Hours & 15 Minutes at Duke Emergency Department....

That's how long it took for Joe to get a regular room up on the 9th floor...But wait, before you ask what room.  Upon my return from home with his toiletries and clothes, and unpacking everything, they tell us he is moving to the 2nd floor tonight.  The 2nd floor is the surgical floor and since as of right now he is still scheduled for his surgery on Tuesday the 22nd of Feb, they figured they would go ahead and get him set up down there.  Sooooo I re-packed everything and now we wait in his room on the 9th floor to go to his room on the 2nd floor.  Yesterday and this morning we couldn't get a room and now he has 2 of them!  I (Jeff) have not slept for 38 hours and am pooped so this will have to be a very brief post.  They are doing the ERCP tomorrow to see if they can identify where his apparent infection is coming from. Oh wait, I forgot to tell you all that.  That's why we are here.  Great storytelling Jeff :(   Yesterday (Thursday) morning, Joe started having chills and running a fever. He monitored his temp all day and in the afternoon after it topped 101, he called the triage nurse in Oncology. She promptly told him to go to the Emergency Dept..  So I left work, we arrived at 4pm. and waited until midnight before getting into an exam room in the dept.  And that is where we stayed until 4:15pm today when a room on the 9th floor opened up.  So here we are at 7:45pm waiting to change rooms and floors.  Once I wake up tomorrow, I will update as to where he is.

Thanks as always to everyone's best wishes and prayers.  We both love and appreciate all of you.