Tracie Fights Back

Kim managed to get this as I was loaded up. She followed in the car while Michelle fretted.

After 9 hours in the ER, I returned home today feeling slightly stronger and in a lot less pain. I had been suffering horribly after five straight days on my new “trial” drug and finally gave out. I passed out in the kitchen trying to get something cold to drink (chemo burns up your insides; cold is good).

I even got up slowly, knowing sudden moves can make me light headed. About one minute in I lost consciousness. Luckily my friend Kim heard me get up and was quickly at my side.

We called Stanford and they advised us my condition was “serious” and that I should go the ER. Michelle called the ambulance, setting off the neighborhood phone tree.

I got great care at St. Agnes, and a private room in the ER so that the others in there sick would not expose me to anything else. I was diagnosed with another infection, which is a risk as chemo kills my white blood cells. They drew lots of blood, took a chest xray to see if something’s up with my heart, gave me morphine (relieving my excruciating pain for the first time in five days), and IV antibiotics after consulting with my oncologist at Stanford. Dehydration is becoming impossible to avoid. The ER doctor said that the vast number of cells dying from the chemo and absorbing moisture in my body makes it almost impossible to keep the body hydrated.

So tomorrow Kim (who came from Florida to help out) will schlep me to Stanford so that Dr. Carlson can try to figure out what’s going on.

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