Fighting The Fever

Nonnie remains steadfast in her battle, and continues to amaze me with her strength and perseverance! I went to visit her this afternoon, and was heartbroken to see what she has to endure each time a fever spikes. For over an hour, her entire body was shaking.... trying to regulate its temperature. In addition, her breathing becomes very rapid in an effort to blow off the excess heat. By the time the fever breaks, she is exhausted and has no energy to do anything other than fall asleep. She has 2-3 of these a day, everyday for the past 8 days in a row.

While I was there, she just finished getting her second unit of platelets and blood for the day. She was given Ativan to help relax her so she can breathe more calmly, Oxycodone to treat the painful tongue and mouth sores and Tylenol to help break the fever. Despite all she was going through, she still managed to ask how our family is and wanted to know how our vacation was. Talk about being selfless!

The kids are back home with Papa and they are getting ready for a busy week with sports and school. Nonnie has had lots of company over the last several days, starting with Derek, Tammy and Dylan McGowan on Thursday....Kenny and Kathy on Saturday, and Charlotte all day yesterday. Many of you are far away, but her room is filled with beautiful cards and pictures of her grand kids. I am confident that our prayers and these gestures of support are what gives her the strength to fight!

I was asked by several people about the requirements for platelet donations in your areas, and will attempt to find the information tomorrow.