These past 10 days have been the worst we have seen throughout this entire 4 year process. During Jasons most recent stay in ICU and the Rehab Facility in November, he never faltered. He never was in severe pain, he never complained, and he was never not smiling. How he was able to continue to be his beautiful and charming self through a failed surgery, a stroke, extreme rehab, and a less-than-desirable cancer diagnosis was truly Gods work in him. So, when he started developing extreme debilitating migraines on Sunday, November 30, it was a surprise. These were not normal migraines. These migraines and/or cluster headaches were so incredibly painful that they caused Jason to vomit, lose his vision, and lose the little strength he had. Several night consisted of me (Christy) actually picking him up off the floor, out of the shower, or off the couch with what I can only describe as God giving me Superwoman strength. The pain had gotten so severe that his doctors at Duke told us to get him to an ER immediately for a CT scan on Friday, December 5th. Their fear was a brain bleed; one of the most terrifying words I have ever heard. He was rushed to Athens Regional (they have earned the reward for the best hospital in GA in our opinion) for his scan. Thankfully, Jason did not have a brain bleed. The ER doctor, along with his physician at Duke, believed he was experiencing some irritation and swelling from the radiation treatments and residual from the surgery. He was prescribed steroids and pain medicine to help get him ahead of that migraine pain in order to control it. He had already begun a preventative medication specifically for migraines, but would take up to 3 weeks to kick in. We began the pain meds and steroids and waited for a change. Well, we got a change, but not the one we wanted. By Sunday evening, Jason was barely able to put sentences together and when he did, the words were incorrect and he was extremely hard to understand. By radiation time on Monday afternoon, he was so weak that he couldnt even walk on his own into the office. While he was in radiation, I spoke with his doctor at Duke (again) and she said to have him see the Radiation Oncologist while we were still in the office to see if he thought Jason needed to have yet another scan. We met with Dr. Schonfeld, who also called his Medical Oncologist, to figure out what could be going on. At this point Jason was so lethargic and I just cried to the doctor. There is nothing more painful than trying everything you possibly can to help a loved one and nothing works. Hot shower, warm compress, hot bath with essential oils, diffuser with essential oils, head massage, foot massage, shoulder and back massage, pain meds, steroids, cancer-fighting food, comfort food, etc etc etc. Nothing worked. So, the two doctors agreed that maybe the pain meds were fogging his already healing foggy brain and suggested that we pull him off of the pain meds and see how he did. His migraine pain was starting to slowly dissipate, so we agreed we would give it a go. Jason and I drive home and I get out of the car to go assist him getting into the house. As he is walking and I am holding onto him from behind, I feel him start to lean forward. I step around in front of him just in time to have him stare blankly at me dead in the eye and completely fold to the ground. I absorb his fall and we both slowly make it to the driveway pavement. He was awake the entire time, so not a faint but not a fall. He doesnt remember much, however, only waking up lying in the driveway. Let me say this- I knew his parents (they live 4 miles away) were nowhere near home, so I called a dear friend and prayed that he would answer his phone. He did and I explained very quickly what had happened and he rushed over to help me get him up. While we waited, I just held him in my arms much like I held Lissa and McKenzi many a day and night. His face cradled against my chest and I rubbed his head and assured him we would be ok. I was only convincing myself at that moment. We got him into the bed and I laid there next to him to make sure he was ok and I wept. I silently wept for him. For me. For our girls. For his family. For our friends. At that point in time, I just couldnt see past that moment. God certainly has a way to answer your cries and prayers just when you think you cannot endure another moment. Flash forward less than 24 hours later to Tuesday (yesterday) evening, after his nap. Jason says he feels so much clearer, he is speaking SO much better (his texting game is a struggle, so if he texts you and it makes no sense..SORRY! Haha), and he is actually smiling!!!! I hadnt seen his smile in days and days. My heart had begun to break and then, BOOM, there was a shimmer of my silly hubby! We laid on the couch and giggled and I read some funny texts he had sent, he felt me up (sorry to include that little tidbit, but it just shows Jason getting back to himself), and he ate 2 plates of food (he hadnt eaten more than 500 calories a day)!!!! We watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and he held me. I hadnt been able to feel his embrace for what has felt like an eternity. He slept well last night and he is still snoozing away right now. I am so excited to have him wake up this morning and see how much better he is now! Throughout all of this the last 10 days or so, he has been unable to attend his physical and occupational therapy, which he so desperately needs. If all goes well today, we will do some therapy around the house. He still has swelling and may have that throughout radiation, causing his speech and word recall to not be 100%, but knowing that smile is on his face is the answer to our prayers. I just wanted to update everyone on what the last couple weeks have looked like for Jason and our family. I will do my very best to update as often as possible. I cannot even put into words how grateful I am for the outpouring of love, prayers, meals, help around the house, and financial support we have received. Thank you for loving my husband. He is truly a WARRIOR and I look forward to fighting alongside him every day. xoxo Christy
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:31:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015