ER Visit #1: off to the hospital

Let's hope this first ER visit is the last!

I'm in the ambulance with Liz. Not as cool as I thought it would be. No lights, no siren, no one laughs at my jokes. I don't get to sit in the back. The driver won't even let me roll down the window and yell "WEE WOO WEE WOO!" As my brother Dr. Howie just told me, "he doesn't realize he is in a Cleavinger humor death spiral... the only way to stop our progressively increasing annoyance is to laugh and enjoy." Indeed.

So Liz started getting a low grade fever earlier today. Chills this evening. And the mouth sores in her throat and on her tongue got really bad... Very painful to eat anything. We discovered how to make ice cream milkshakes that I can't mess up, so that kept her going today. But once she broke the magic 100.5 degree mark, so we called the doctor, who sent us to the ER just to be safe. We're lucky to be near the ER away from the main campus, so it's a quick drive, it's never busy, fully staffed 24/7, all records are available and synchronized, they have an onsite lab and imaging center, and we got in super stat. It's connected to the local Cancer Center where she had her treatment on Monday. Nice fishquarium (as Cohen calls them) too. And lots of free Purell everywhere, which made me happy.

Turns out her white blood cell count is basically nonexistent. No wonder she hasn't bounced back from chemo week 1 like we would have hoped. But miraculous that she has been able to function as well as she has!

Today started out "cancer good" and is turning out to be a hospital transfer. The local ER/hospital doesn't admit overnight, thus the ambulance ride. They must not trust my driving.

She'll probably be admitted for a couple of days to ensure all of the blood tests and cultures are completed. Antibiotics already, finally got her some meds to help her poor thrushy tongue and mouth. Chemo stinks. We're totally going to start juicing. Not the steroids kind, but the fruit and veggies kind.

Amazing nurse gave us great advice, we are so grateful for friends we love and trust who could take out boys without any notice. Eli is fine, lots of helpers. And Cohen and Jensen finally get the sleepover that Cohen has been begging for!

Weird to be happy and grateful at a time like this. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Pulling into the main hospital now. Hope the cafeteria is open. And full of juice.

Go Team Liz!