Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Oh, No....

As I'm writing this, it's 7:11 pm on Tuesday night. His temperature went up suddenly to about 101.5, and he has shaking chills, his cough has returned, and he feels horribly ill.

In the past few months, we've gotten three instructions on when to go to the ER: Two doctors said 101.5 means go to the ER. One doctor (Dr. Torti at Wake Forest) said 102 or chills, go to the ER. Either way, I think he should go to the ER.

Dr. Torti said, back in later winter, that if, during this wildly strong chemotherapy regimen, his fever gets to 102, or he has chills, that if he waits two to three hours before going to a hospital, he could die, because he has no immune system, needs to be tested and given disease-specific treatment by IV (not a wild-guess drug, as it seems the Boone oncologist thought was a good idea when she prescribed it without having him seen or tested.)

Ohhhhhhhhhhh the angst is incredible for me right this minute. He's coughing like a mad man. I asked him if he is willing to risk death in his bed, and he said yes, he's willing to risk that, rather than go to the hospital. That puts the ball in MY court, as to whether to override his willingness to perish with my willingness for him to get actual treatment. Do I FORCE him to go to the hospital?

I'm seriously feeling like I'm going to freak out in about two minutes. I don't know what to do.......
UPDATE ADDED AT 7:50 PM: His temperature is rising very fast, now heading toward 102, called ER at Boone, are driving him there in a minute. He's shaking and so sick...thank you for praying!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.