Hot, Hot, Hot!! - UPDATED

Fever

Rene still has a fever as of this morning. She rested well overnight and got numerous types of medicines (antibiotics, platelets, hydrations, and leukine shots). She stated that this will be a good stay for her in the hospital and they need to her white blood cell count up to keep infections out of her. Of course, once this is done, she will have her third round of chemo which breaks down everything they are doing now to make her better!

Welcome Back

The nurses and staff remembered her and were surprised that she was back. They were happy to see her again because is fun for them. This will help with Rene's mental state because she is very comfortable with the staff at the hospital and therefore she does not dread being there. On a very scary note, most of the staff thought I was her doctor! If I was single, the fun I could have with the nurses, (hey I can dream!).

Know Thyself

Rene doesn't go anywhere without her purse, and lately it is too heavy for her to carry. This means I walk around with it when she visits her oncologist. It is a good thing I am comfortable with myself and I just don't care when people see her purse slung over my shoulder! Those that do look at me normally get the following statement, "this matches my shirt perfectly". The things I do for love! Additionally I have been given the task of consolidating her PDA and telephone into a single device so she has less items to carry in her purse. So this means that I will have an increased technical support geek responsibilities for her new smartphone once I figure which one to go with!

Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC)

Today Rene got to meet with an infectious disease doctor and learn about ANC. It seems that until Rene is better, she has certain precautions that must be done. She has to wear a mask outside of her room but not inside. She cannot have any visitors that ill visit her. The doctor stated that she did not have any infections at this time and once they get her fever addressed and counts increased, she can go home.

Now for the fun stuff, the doctor chastised staff for allowing her to be in the sitting area without a mask on in her condition. When she requested his business card, he licked his fingers before handing her his card! So much for following his own advice about spreading diseases! Rene used the hand sanitizer immediately...see, no one is perfect!