August 7, 2011
Things moved from minor annoyance to real problem last night when I broke out with a 101 fever. Normally that’s not a problem, but with my depleted immune system if not handled properly if could be catastrophic. I know it sounds melodramatic, but its.
Check this out.
The nurse came in at about 10:30 pushing her small work station complete with computerize blood pressure cuff, a high tech thermometer, and hand held scanner/computer. She came to the side of the bed.
“Let’s get you vitals,” she said.
I was feeling a little wiped out and with little enthusiasm raised my arm so she could put the blood pressure cuff on.
“How’s your headache?” she asked. “On a scale of one to ten.”
“About four.”
“Well see if there is a fever first, then I’ll give you some pain Tylenol.
She put the thermometer in my mouth and said, “Let’s think cool thoughts.”
Within seconds the thermometer beeped announcing the news.
“Hmm,” she mumbled. “It’s 101. I have to call the doctor to see what to do.”
The nurse left the room and for about 45 minutes; I had no idea what was happening. You see there is something bad about 100.5 fevers. It appears to be a trigger point for raising red flags in the cancer world.
The nurse came back.
“We’re going to have to do some blood cultures, hang some antibiotics, and take more blood.
Another nurse came by with two handfuls of vials, syringes, and other blood taking equipment. She drew a bunch of blood and we laughed and chatted while she did.
As she went, a phlebotomy team came in to draw blood too. You see the nurse drew blood from existing Hickman catheter and the phlebotomy team drew more blood directly from my arm.
The first nurse came back a little after phlebotomists had left. She gave me my pills began infusing antibiotics into my IV and I went to sleep.
No results reported yet!
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