Thanks God It's Saturday

Mornin' VP's....just when you think that things can't get worse...THEY DO!! Yesterday just took the cake. Michele we thought about how you might have handled this entire day with all it's WAITING and we decided that you probably would have ended up in jail!!! It truly was the day from hell on top of a week from hell on top of the last week from hell. I'll try to explain, but you really will have no idea the cumulative effects of ALL this. LORD GIVE US STRENGTH!!

So you all know what a horrible time Brenda has had with this feeding tube...well we were beginning to get behind the power curve. Brenda and Toni fiddled with this from the time she got it in until Saturday when I came back. Then Brenda and I adjusted things and still could not get the damn thing working right. Now remember Chemo-sabe has not been able to eat much of anything solid so she was getting real puny!! Her energy and stamina were going down the toilet fast. This was NOT looking good.

Yesterday we had to be at Radiological Intervention by 9:30 to have the placement of the tube looked at. Yep...we waited and waited and waited. At 11:00 they rolled her back and in less than 15 minutes they came to the lobby to get me...HOLY COW!!! YEP!!! Just as Doc Vic had suggested, the tube had FLIPPED inside Bren's stomach. They pulled it out about an inch and flipped it into the correct position, gave her a numbing shot in her stomach and then re-sutured the dang thing back in place. We left with our fingeres crossed. So by the time we got out of there it was about noon and we had a 1:45 radiation appointment. We went back to the apartment and grabbed lunch on the way home to eat at the apartment. We didn't have enough time for a tube feeding...especially if we were going to have problems again. So Chemo-sabe had an EAS shake and a little...and I do mean a little...fruit.

The we had to leave about 1:30 for the radiation appointment...yep...you guessed it...they were running way behind and so there we sat again. Brenda was beginning to fade. There's this technician called Lucky that runs Brenda's radiation program...he is the slowest guy I have ever seen. Thursday I called him to see if he was on time...we are only 15 minutes from the clinic!!! He said yes to come on in...there we sat and sat and sat...and right in the middle of all the back up he continues to create...HE WENT TO LUNCH!!! VP's, I have to admist that I am close to going to jail for the damage I'm going to do to both the Garage 2 parking structure...that's a whole new story...and MR. LUCKY!!! Our fun-meters are trully pegged!!! Do you have a visual?

We got out of radiation around 3:00 and had to go up to the ATC Unit to get Brenda's Nulasta shot. Now...you all have gone to the doctor and had a shot before...what does it take...maybe 5 to 10 minutes...right? Can you say 2 HOURS!!!!???? It took 2 HOURS to get that shot. We would still be waiting if Brenda...who is the most patient person I know...hadn't gone up to the desk and started to complain. They saw how horrible she was looking and got her in the treatment area. She came out about 15 minutes later running at me telling me, in a desperate voice, that she needed to eat someting FAST. Some of you know that look and that statement. She is NOT messing around, she needs food fast. I had some applesauce in our emergency pack so she started gobbling that down. OH NO! We let this get way too far and poor Chemo-sabe really got everyone's attention when she started barfing in the garbage can in the hall. Man! The nurses came running with a wheel chair, wet towels, and a cup of ice. Michele...you would have been in total melt-down by now either as the patient or the caregiver. If Rhonda and I wouldn't have been so concerned about Brenda, I know I probably would have been arrested for disorderly conduct.

We got Chemo-sabe home, crossed our fingers, and got her hooked up for the tube feeding...since she gets to name the food she'd really like to be eating instead of trying to get her nuutrition through a tube...she was having a Pappas BBQ dinner with yams and a big diet coke. YEA!!! We finally had success with the tube and the liquid went in like it was supposed to. FINALLY...THANK THE LORD!!! Brenda lost about 5 lbs this past week so we have some catching up to do...or just have to hold her weight stable.

I can't even begin to describe how exhausted we all were last night. We just couldn't move. After I got Brenda stablized and tucked in on the couch, I went and got Pappas BBQ for Rhonda and I. We woofed that down and crashed along with Brenda who was now fast asleep on the couch. If any of you tried to call us last night...I apologize for not answering the phone, I really do...I actually unplugged the living room phone because I wanted Brenda to sleep and I was just too exhausted to get up and answer it. I sure hope you understand. We absolutely LOVE talking to you all, but yesterday was just overwhelming and exhausting...this whole week was. We all just ran out of juice!

Today is a MUCH better day...we all got some sleep and Brenda's feeding tube is just humming along...It's about 8:30 am and we're on can #2. YEA!!!! YEA!!! YEA!!! This is the way the $^&*^# thing is supposed to work! After this she'll take a nice nap and she'll almost feel human again. I'm going to hop in the shower and get Rhonda to drive me over to the dog show...I'm soooo looking forward to just spending the day there. Rhonda and Brenda are talking about going out and doing a little shopping if Chemo-sabe's energy level is up. Things really are better today.

This great picture of Rhonda and Bren was taken on Thursday night...it was definitely the calm before the storm! We'll get our girl back on her feet...don't worry. Please send her some positive energy.

The non-jailed, but running out of patience, Nurse Dee