Home Sweet Home

Hi everybody, Jim here. I said we'd post later so I thought I'd better check in. It's 11:30pm (I don't know why that stupid time marker at the bottom of the post is always off, but it is), and Linda is finally resting comfortably in her own bed, as I will be shortly as well.

I'm sure we have the reputation at Beth Israel Hospital as the "last minute panic family" after today. At 9am Linda's oxygen saturation level was still only 92% even with 3 l/min of oxygen going in her nose thingee all night. Once again everybody was telling us that we would be staying another day. Linda still had fluid in her lungs causing the low O2 levels, and the Lasix (now being given orally since the line had been removed) would not act quickly enough to decrease the fluid levels. They could administer it through a seperate IV, but the Nurse Practicioner said excessive urination might result, which would not be good for a plane ride. On the other hand, traveling with low oxygen saturation levels could cause respiratory distress on the flight home which would not be good either. Better to wait until tomorrow. But after everything that happened this week, we knew better than to cancel the plane reservations. Around 11am Linda used the restroom for the umpteenth time, and we forgot to put the O2 back on (the line doesn't reach to the restroom). It had been off for 15 minutes when Dr. McDermott showed up. Everybody decided, what the heck, let's check the O2 again. With everybody in the room (McDermott, Virginia the NP, Gretchen the nurse), she registered 94% with no O2! So Dr. McDermott suggest gettting out of bed later on and checking it once more as she's walking down the hall. So around 1pm we do just that, and Gretchen now gets a reading of 97%. We finally get the all clear sign, and Virginia started writing all the prescriptions for home (seven of them), Gretchen started writing the discharge instructions, and I started throwing everything in suitcases. (I swear, after a week it looked like a family of gypsies had moved into the room. Come to think of it, that's about what happened.) Hugs all around for everybody as we leave.

The trip to the airport and the plane ride home on one of Comair's toy airplanes were not the most comfortable for Linda, but she made it without incident. If only we had thought to take some anti-nausea medication before we left the hospital. We finally pulled on to Trestle Drive around 8:30pm, and another Good Samaritan Neighbor (Cindy Enger this time), stayed with Linda while I ran to the pharmacy to fill the prescriptions. Our front porch was already decorated for Halloween, with lit Jack o' Lanterns, flowers, and balloons strewn about, and the lawn mowed. (We don't know who to thank yet, but Trestle is like Wisteria Lane, secrets don't keep forever.)

It hard to believe we only get 5 days of recuperation before we head back to Boston next Monday to do this again. But if it works, it will all be worth it. Sometime over the next few days, I'll try to explain what the IL-2 treatment is expected to do. But not now. Now I'm going to bed. I'll let you know how Linda's doing in the morning.

Thanks everybody, your friendship means the world to us.

Linda and Jim