Hospital Time/Mom Time

I spent too much time in the hospital this week.

So did my mom. Unfortunately, she was the patient. I was just an employee/visitor. Between working Monday, Tuesday and today (Friday), and staying with Mom on Wednesday and Thursday, I think I’ve had enough of the hospital for a few days!

The worst thing about chemo is all of the side effects that come along with it. I would venture to say that losing your hair is no big deal compared to some of the other stuff you experience, right Mom? By the way, Mom is really rockin all of the caps and hats she’s gotten! She’s pretty much got something to match every outfit :) She doesn’t really even need to wear them though…I think she looks great going “natural.” I thought it would be really weird to see Mom without hair, but I’m just used to it now, and I don’t think twice about it.

It may be sad to lose your hair, but at least it’s not uncomfortable/painful like some of chemo’s other side effects. So far in Mom’s case, those have included a horrible rash (which we’re still not really sure what that was from), mouth ulcers, loss of appetite, “bathroom issues”, fatigue, and other stuff that I’m probably leaving out. Learning about cancer and its treatment in nursing school was helpful, but it doesn’t really hit home until you or a close family member are going through it. I don’t even think that as a nurse having a patient who has cancer can really show you what it’s like to live with it on a daily basis. I’ve learned more about breast cancer and chemo since July than I ever wanted to know!

When you’re on chemo, you’re at a much higher risk for infection than the general population. This is because chemo targets the rapidly dividing cells in your body. This includes cancer cells as well as some of the body’s normal cells. Any rapidly dividing cell is going to be affected. This is what causes unwanted side effects in the GI tract. It also causes your white blood cell count to drop. Since the white blood cells are what fight infection, when the chemo “hits” them, your risk for infection goes way up. This is why chemo patients should check their temperature every day (cough, cough…MOM!).

Tuesday night, I was talking to Mom on the phone, and she was telling me about the weird rash she was getting and how she didn’t feel good. I asked her if she’d checked her temperature that day, and she told me that she didn’t “feel like she had a fever”. She checked it just to satisfy her pestering daughter, and what do you know…it was 100.4 and then 100.6 on the second try. Doesn’t sound like an incredibly high fever, but it is to someone on chemo. I ordered her nicely to call Dr. Bondly (her oncologist) because she was supposed to call when it was over 100.4 I think. So, needless to say, Mom ended up spending 5 or 6 hours in the ER at St. Vincent’s Tuesday night and two more nights in a room on the oncology floor! When they checked her blood work, her white blood cell count was 400. To put that in perspective, the normal range is usually around 5,000-10,000, so Mom pretty much had NO immunity. Her temperature when they checked it in the ER had risen above 102 also. Pretty scary. Luckily, she had no signs of infection anywhere, but they decided to keep her in the hospital for some antibiotics until her count got back up to normal. I spent most of Wednesday and Thursday with her as her “personal nurse”. Hey, someone had to keep her from scratching her rash and make her walk laps around the halls a few times a day! I’m sure she was glad to see me go…haha :) She finally got discharged this afternoon, and she sounded very glad to be going home to her own bed.

Mom has really been a trooper throughout this whole process so far! I think I would be feeling sorry for myself and complaining a lot, but she continues to be positive no matter what bump in the road she encounters! I’m lucky to have such a great mom! Even if it means spending my off days in the hospital, I’d gladly do it for her!

Love you Mom!!

Erin