Derek handled the high-dose methotrexate treatment quite well. The only hitch was that it took a little more time than expected for it to clear out of his system. We ended up being in the hospital for six days. Toward the end of the hospital stay, I started feeling like I was fighting a cold. I wore a mask and washed hands frequently, but I had no one to stay with him during the day. Vince stayed with him for three nights in a row, just to reduce the exposure a little. He didn’t get my cold and I was able to fight it off for the most part. But Kristen got it, and she got a bad case of it just after Derek came home. I had both of them wear masks and limit contact with each other, but it is practically impossible to keep colds from spreading. Last Thursday, the day Derek was to be re-admitted for the next dose of methotrexate, he woke with a sore throat and runny nose. We went to the clinic, but they decided they didn’t want to knock out his immune system with chemo while he was trying to fight a bug, so we went home.
We enjoyed a quiet weekend at home. Sabbath evening we had the first fire in our fireplace we have had since moving to this house nine years ago. We roasted hotdogs and really enjoyed the evening. Sunday, we worked some more on the camera for the barn owl box we are installing in a palm tree in our yard. Sunday evening the kids wanted to repeat the fire, so we did.
This morning (Monday) I called the clinic to tell them Derek still had his cold. His sniffles were getting worse and he had a cough. The nurse said to check in again Wednesday. About 11:30 while I was doing home school with Kristen, Derek lay down on the couch for a nap. About 1:00 he roused and I went over to him. His cheeks were red, and I felt his forehead. It was warm. I got the thermometer and took his temperature. It was 101. The doctors have told us to call if his temperature goes over 100.4. We have never exceeded this before, thankfully, but I called the clinic immediately. When I couldn’t reach anyone there, I called the oncology unit at the hospital. They paged the doctor. An hour later I still hadn’t heard anything. Derek was now awake from his nap so I took his temperature again. It was 101.9. I called the hospital again. They said to bring him in. So as of 4:00 this afternoon, Derek is back in the hospital in isolation once again. They drew five vials for various lab tests and cultures, did two nasal swabs, and took a urine sample. Now they have him on two antibiotics, an anti-viral med, as well as his usual meds. His blood counts came back pretty good. His ANC is 1300, so he has a little bit with which to fight this bug, whatever it is. I hope it is just the cold, but the labs will tell.
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