Ho-Hum... repacking the overnight bag. Just in case. I wondered if unpacking it would create chaos - and that it did. Everything is okay now, but we had quite a scare on Tuesday night - its taken me a couple of days to breath and come down off the adrenaline cliff to even talk about it. Eric had been asleep for a while, I was laying right next to him watching TV - then all of the sudden out of no where he flings up out of a dead sleep... gasping for air. AS. IN. GASPING. Barely taking in any air. He hadnt been coughing or ANYTHING - not a single sign that something might be brewing. I bolted up; hes frantically pacing, hunched over trying to breath making the most awful noises and Im DUMPING baskets, throwing things off the dresser, digging, SEARCHING for the rescue inhaler he got when he was sick with pneumonia. Oh my. Heavens. I cant even tell you how scary it was - best way to describe was like some kind of rapid-onset asthma attack (only Eric doesnt have asthma). I was about to call 911 when he found it - took a couple of puffs and within a few minutes started calming down. It took almost an hour for the adrenaline of it to settle - we were both pretty shaken. So caught off guard. Of course, I didnt sleep a wink, cried all night at the inkling that none of this is really ever going to be over and only found comfort in listening to him breath. First thing Wednesday morning we got him in to see the doc - good news is his lungs sounded clear and his counts were all good. Doesnt seem to be another episode of pneumonia and there is no sign of infection. As of now, they believe he is having bronchial spasms - most likely a result of the damage to his lungs during radiation + the added bonus of having a severe case of pneumonia afterward. They put him on a maintenance inhaler for the next week or so to get things to calm down and hopefully clear whatever blockage or inflammation occurred. The hope is itll pass quietly - if not, a full 9-yard work-up with scans and more tests is on the horizon. Im so glad hes okay - but it shook us both up something awful. I wouldnt say we were becoming complacent, his recovery is still an obvious, ongoing and daily battle. We were, however, all enjoying a little bit of normalcy and this was a real-life reality check and reminder that even though he looks so good on the outside, his body sustained a ton of damage during treatment and there will be ripples and after shocks for a very long time to come. Im learning that the concerns of a cancer patient can never truly be behind you... and maybe we wont ever really be able to unpack our emergency bag. For today, Im just grateful we made it over yet another hurdle and am praying/hoping we dodge anything more serious... It was just such a disappointing blow to our growing security. I guess such is the life of a twice-brave cancer & transplant survivor and his family. {sigh}
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 02:31:51 +0000
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