Kicking Cancer’s A** ~ 4 Weeks Down… - Victoria Campbell Photography Blog

…its chemo day today and the hubs is being hospitalized. We had to come to radiation early in case he wouldn’t be able to make it like last time. Getting up at 4:30 am is a difficult task ~ especially if your emotionally and physically exhausted but I took pride today because I was up {the only way for me to get up at this hour is to pull an all-nighter} Today I am going to regret this…but what a better place to be than a hospital haha…I will just crash when the hubs is ready to crash. I remember the drive downtown… it was still dark out to make our 6am appointment…who else goes for treatment this early…are they nuts? Greg pretty much slept thanks to some of his meds but I was worried how the day was going to pan out. They won’t start his chemo until he got his hospital room and all settled…how long will that take? At least he would have a bed to sleep in while getting chemo.

We arrived for radiation and he got all his vitals out of the way…blood pressure checked out good. They called for Mr. Campbell and away he went…the beginning of another week to go down in the books…4 more radiations this week and soon to be a chemo knocked out…deep in thought of God knows what I heard a bell ring and some applause…I went to go see what it was. When its your last day of treatment they do a little celebration for you…I smiled and cried for this fella I didn’t even know…but just knew what he must have gone through…I am now counting down my days for the hubs!!!

He walks out ready to go to the hospital to get his 2nd round of chemo…oh boy…what will this bring us? Surprisingly it went well…in the beginning…just like last time. During the chemo he seems to handle it pretty good…and afterwards they are keeping him on some fluids with some extra meds for his kidneys so this just may be an easy week! Kids came to visit and the hubs was able to walk around with us {behind a wheelchair in case he petered out}. I have to say he did good….up until 9pm…then all hell broke loose…the vomiting…the shakes…the hiccups….the vomiting turned into dry heaves…it just won’t stop…oh boy it was to good to be true. He had consist…nonstop hiccups for 32 hours…his chest and head started to hurt…and vomiting during hiccups can cause it to come out of the nose…something I wished I didn’t have to happen. Everyday the doctors and nurses messed around with his meds to get him as comfortable as much as possible. Nothing seemed to work for the hiccups or the nausea. Everyday they kept track of his heart and his kidneys…his heart was good but his kidneys not so much…which we expected and every minute that went by I was so thankful he was there in the hospital to be under their care for days…in fact they even kept him longer than planned because his kidneys…the biggest fear is renal failure. More fluids and meds are needed for the prevention of this…once the last blood test came back as just borderline and not in the danger zone, he was good to go because it was such an improvement from the day before. What scares me is he was on an IV push and getting the hydration needed even with all the vomiting. But once I bring him home the vomiting continues and his hydrations level drops and then we take a few steps back.

I remember the doctor asking me strange questions…as a matter of fact she would start off asking me questions with “This may be a strange questions…but…” and one I immediately was shocked on the normalcy of it all…her reaction like it was no biggie…you see her question was “This may be a strange questions but does it seem like your husband’s eyes are sinking in his head?” UM ~~YES! He looks so sad…so lost…both eyes aren’t even anymore…one just looks more tired that the other…I said yes of course, and she was like “That’s normal…was just curious if you can see it…UM…you can’t ~ you have to ask?” It really makes me sad what chemo can do to the human body. I so cannot wait until this is all over for him…I miss the hubs…I need “him” back….I keep reminding myself…3 more weeks…just 3 more weeks…

By Saturday the hubs was a walking mess…still couldn’t keep anything down…he would even throw up the meds I would just give him, not knowing what to do I called the trusty ole 800# for some guidance…I have been advised not to repeat the medication and wait until the next time for his required dose…okay…got it…but what does he due to help with the vomiting…ugh…out of 3 anti-nausea medications combined ~ nothing was working. He fell down a few times Saturday and remained extremely light-headed Sunday. Monday rolls around {one complete week of chemo #2} and I am literally pushes him via wheelchair because he has such a hard time walking on his own. He manages to finish radiation without vomiting but does immediately after…lucky for him the hubs was seeing both his radiologist and hematologist that day and they both agreed after another round of blood work his kidneys were in danger…yet again. Some hours later after some fluids and meds run through him the hubs he feeling a little bit better…YAY…for now…I still have to go home with him and see how he does! The new meds they gave him also seem to be helping so much more than the last.

I didn’t post this blog post yet because so much was going on…all my attention was to Greg while he needed me and then while he rested I worked…who cares about the laundry…the house…or the yard work…that can wait…but today I felt the hubs was a newer man today! The new meds the put him on are doing wonders…and now as the 2nd chemo’s side effects slow down week 5 of radiation is the start of even more side effects for the hubs…just remember 3 more weeks…

Getting prepped for his IV port for all his bag of goodies