It's a White-Out!

January 23, 2016 – It’s a White-Out! 

  

I’m sitting at home in a cozy pair of pink plaid flannel pajamas, looking out my windows at the swirling snow.  We already have at least 18 inches on the ground, and the snow is still falling.  Unlike my neighbors, I am not going out to start shoveling my driveway.  In fact, I have no plans to leave the comfort of my house.  I’m perfectly content to wait until our trusty snow removal crew appears, whenever that may be.  In the meantime, I have plenty of books, food and wine. 

Earlier in the week, as I listened to the weather forecasts for a major weekend snow storm, I was so worried about what we’d do if we lost power since Elliott’s oxygen concentrator runs on electricity.  As it turns out, there’s no need to worry.  You see, with his exquisite sense of timing, Elliott managed to get himself admitted to Fairfax Hospital shortly before the blizzard began.  Actually, his latest medical crisis started a few days ago, less than 12 hours after I posted my previous blog post.  Although he seemed to be feeling fine on Tuesday evening, he began experiencing sudden breathing difficulties shortly after he got up on Wednesday morning.  His blood oxygen level dipped frighteningly low and I couldn’t get it back to an acceptable level.  He was extremely agitated, and after consulting his primary care physician by phone, I had no choice but to call 911. 

Our wonderful Fairfax County EMTs took Elliott to Fairfax Hospital’s emergency room where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and congestive heart failure.  This development took us by surprise because we’d been monitoring his weight and fluid retention and had no indication that anything was amiss.  Fortunately, he was able to start intravenous antibiotics immediately, while we were waiting for all of the test results to come in.  Sitting there beside him in the ER, I had a feeling of déjà vu because this is the same scenario we faced last April.  This time, however, his overall health was more fragile to begin with.  We weren’t at all certain he’d be able to pull through this and we had some sobering and heart-rending talks over the course of the next few hours. 

Early in the afternoon that day, he was taken up to the Acute Pulmonary Unit.  When I left the hospital around 5 pm, I was drained emotionally and consumed by worry.  I fell asleep hoping I wouldn’t get a phone call from the hospital in the middle of the night.  As soon as I got up the next morning, I spoke to him on the phone.  Although his voice was very raspy, I was relieved to hear that he sounded better.  When I got over to the hospital, I found him looking and feeling much better than I expected.  He was still unable to eat and drink (only ice chips were allowed) and was hooked up to IVs and high-flow oxygen.  He told me that his pulmonologist had already been in to see him early on Thursday morning and gave him a very encouraging report.  While I was there, the cardiologist came to examine him and echoed the positive sentiments. 

On Friday, I got to the hospital before the anticipated blizzard began.  I was pleased to see that Elliott really looked and sounded like himself again.  However, he needed another blood transfusion on Friday afternoon to increase his red blood cell count.  Since I won’t be able to get to the hospital for a couple of days (it’s still snowing and it may be a while before the roads are cleared), we’re staying in touch by phone.  He’s eager to get moving again and was hoping for a visit from the physical therapist this weekend.  Of course, his radiation treatments, which were originally scheduled to begin next Monday, will be postponed for now.  All of his doctors are coordinating his care and we’re confident that he’ll be able to begin treatment in a week or two.  I still don’t know when he’ll be coming home. 

While this setback was a shock, I can only marvel at Elliott’s remarkable ability to overcome this latest challenge.