Big scare: Sunday night, Oct. 20-something

Remembering that the oncologist had told us that if Bill were to get a fever of 100.4, he was to take a mega-antibiotic and go immediately to the ER, you can imagine my panic when, last night (Sunday evening), Bill suddenly started to feel extra bad, and his fever started to rise.

Up it went from the 98s into the 99s...99.2...99.3...99.4...99.6 (Those little dots represent me shoving our new electronic thermometer into Bill's mouth every few minutes in a non-calm fashion.)

Normally, who would even CARE if someone's temperature were that minor?

No one.

Unless they were Beth, who had suddenly begun googling the subject at warp speed, reading every scientific journal article on why the magic number 100.4 is such a big dangerous deal for people who have compromised immune systems.

Okay, now here's what I learned and why I freaked out and started shaking for an entire hour while his fever rose--well, actually THREE things were happening during that dramatic hour: (1) his fever was rising; (2) I was googling "100.4 + chemotherapy" at the speed of light; and (3) when my left hand wasn't typing, it was shoving that thermometer into Bill's protesting face.

So here are some of the phrases that were showing up in every article I was finding:

o LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCY! (Exclamation point was included)(!)
o THE PATIENT COULD DIE IN A MATTER OF HOURS
o 100.4: RUSH PATIENT TO EMERGENCY ROOM AND BEGIN INTRAVENOUS ANTIBIOTICS
o NORMAL BACTERIA IN PATIENT'S BODY BEGINS TO COLONIZE
o ORGANS SHUT DOWN QUICKLY

KAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-RAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

Okay, that word wasn't in the medical journals.

Now the dilemma was this: Bill, who has chosen the Path of the Golden Ostrich (head-in-sand approach to cancer), did not KNOW that once the fever hits 100.4, it becomes life-threatening for persons who have very low blood counts. I'm sure his count of "one" was especially dangerous.

So there I was, freaking out with my hands shaking, watching that thermometer, and HE couldn't understand why I wouldn't just relax, turn off the computer, let his fever play itself out, and let him watch his TV show about a serial killer who kills serial killers.

Maybe there's some irony in there, but I can't find it.

So I felt really isolated, having all this information, not able to tell him, and being so scared. So I emailed Sarah and JP (two of my kids who are in NYC together, playing concerts).

Here's the cool part:

Unknown to me, Sarah, having read my email about the emergency, immediately texted her most devout Christian friends, JW on the east coast, and EB on the west coast, and her brother, my son JP, who was at a concert. JW then texted his dad, who's a pastor, and emergency-texted a group of prayer warriors through his church. EB texted his family and his dad who, himself, is going through chemo. This entire group started praying a sudden emergency type prayer.

Remember now, we didn't know about that prayer thing.

At that moment, Bill's fever, just before hitting 100, reversed.

It started going down, down, down--for no reason that we could see.

It stopped when it hit 98.6. EXACTLY 98.6. And the crisis was over.

Whoa.

I mean.

KINDA looks like the Big Guy did us quite the favor.

Yeah.

You tell me.

I'm just sayin...