Checking In

Giagi and I now have a running joke that the hospital is his hotel. He checks in, gets five-star treatment and a private room with a view, and his meals are covered. His biggest concern there (luckily for all of us as he has on the whole been in pretty good condition) is boredom. Other than reading, how does one entertain oneself in a hospital room?

Unfortunately we had to check Giagi into the hospital today for the third time in a couple of months. Last night was a rocky night for him and he was so weak that he could barely stand. This morning I took his temperature and our fears were realized--he had a fever. Throughout all of the cancer education we received, one of the things that stuck with me was that if a cancer patient had a fever, we had to call the nurses' line right away. I phoned them at the start of their day today and after the nurse spoke with Giagi's oncologist, we were advised to take him to our nearest local ER. Cancer patients are extremely susceptible to infection as chemotherapy lowers their white blood cell count and thus their immunity. As a fever is a common sign of infection, this can prove to be disastrous to the patient if untreated.

While we all got ready to take Giagi to the hospital, I made a point to remember to pack his toiletries, slippers, an extra set of underwear and clothes, and some nutritional supplements. I had a feeling they would keep him at least overnight and I wanted him to be as comfortable as possible. I don't think he really understood what was going on, so when I told him we were taking him to the ER he replied that he didn't want to go back to the hospital since that is how he got sick in the first place. The complications of his biopsy were still taking a toll on him physically since he has yet to gain back his appetite and strength.

We were lucky that the ER was not busy when he arrived, and since he is a cancer patient he has priority to be admitted. I dropped my parents off and by the time I parked and got there, he was already being triaged by a nurse. The only bed that was available was in the trauma centre and I witnessed nurses poke at him with needles and measure his vital signs. A resident came to ask him several questions about his condition and then came back with the ER doctor to assess my dad. Eventually he was moved into an acute bed to be treated with antibiotics and undergo more bloodwork before waiting for a room to open up for him. My mom and I left him around 6:30pm and he later told us that he got a room around 9:00pm. What a long day for poor Giagi.

And so another cycle of hospital visits continues. I always think that at least this means he is receiving optimal care. I just hope that Giagi's spirits remain high and that he regains his strength.