It was just like a broken record… Wednesday we went for Mark’s lab draw. A new set of labs had been ordered but must be drawn from his port because they are beginning to worry that there in an infection in the port. This would mean removing it – and then what??? We don’t know.

Back to the broken record – our regular lab is unable to access the port, so we drove north. Here the lab was also unable to help us – but they were able to send us to the infusion center on location. When we finally arrived at home it had been four hours and Mark went to take a nap. I woke him up – he was once again feverish. Once again it was late afternoon. Our oncology team asked us to please come right away to the Emergency Room at the University of Utah – 1.5 hours away. 

Mark had packed a hospital bag and taken it on our early excursion just in case… So he was ready. I debated as to whether I would stay overnight or drive home. We decided I would drive home because they told us that he would be admitted through the ER and have to stay under surveillance until his new blood cultures returned in 3-4 days. Plenty of time for me to return. This was all feeling so familiar – was it just last Saturday that we lived this same scenario?

Well – his immune system had recovered sufficiently that we had to sit in the ER lobby for awhile. I want to be respectful to those individuals which surrounded us, so I will not give details of what we observed. I will just say that there were several security officers and I thought we might be on candid camera – it was everything you would expect but for which you would not hope. 

At one point Mark leaned over and said, “I told you I would be better off at home.”

For once I was happy to be wearing a mask because I kept getting the giggles. It was crazy land.

Once we made it to triage they let us stay there while a room was being cleaned. Once in our room it all began again. I am not sure that Huntsman sent the word that we were there to be admitted because it felt that they were all trying to give us a fresh diagnosis. Our most helpful staff member was a medical student. After answering the same questions, I posed one for her. I asked her to do some research on sarcomas because this fever situation had happened last fall while undergoing radiation. Cultures turned up clean and no symptoms of illness – and they resolved that the tumor could cause the fevers.

So – happy ending – they liked the tumor/fever theory and sent us home. What a pleasant surprise! It had been several hours and I am sorry to say that many of those ER lobby people were still waiting. I felt such compassion because I think many of them are simply looking for a warm place to sit. Mark was so happy – we felt like we were escaping. Then we noticed that his oxygen compressor was out of battery! Well, it had about 6% which would never get us home. He had to sit and breathe deeply for about ten minutes – but a month ago that would have been a challenge, so that is good news. Thankfully Greg and Jackie live en route – so we stopped and plugged in for awhile. I took Greg on a late night jaunt to the grocery store – Mark had made a list of things that actually sound good to him. I felt like I was back in college – late at night buying chips and pop tarts (yuck). 

Back at home these past days it turns out that Ruby Red grapefruit juice is the taste-appeal winner.

So we await culture results, but now have permission to treat his fever with ibuprofen/acetaminophen. This is a relief. It spikes off and on through the night and day, with night sweats just as before. The meds give him several hours of feeling pretty good which we both enjoy.

Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for remembering us in so many ways… This seems to stretch on and on…. and I feel like a broken record…

… I forgot to say that Mark had come home from the last hospital stay on Monday, two days sooner than expected. So then we dodged the bullet on Wednesday. Next Tuesday he will have a thyroid biopsy and chemo begins again next Wednesday.