End of Day 2

Courtney finally got to see the kids for the first time since Friday morning. Everyone handled it really well. The kids especially had fun wearing the doctor masks and playing with inflated latex gloves. They can find joy anywhere! We explained to them that Courtney will probably have to be here for a while and that they will be spending the week with friends. Less than 10 minutes after arriving home, Kylie came to me asking for a larger suitcase because her 7 days worth of outfits, pajamas, and her Sunday dress wouldn’t fit in her backpack. She packs like her mother! Anyone who’s seen us travel knows how prepared we are, and that’s all thanks to Courtney. I’d be lucky if we got out the door with everyone wearing shoes. That reminds me; I brought Aidan to the hospital barefoot.

Courtney also finally had her failed PICC line surgically removed (something unheard of around here) and had Hickman Catheter surgically installed…twice. The doctor used the words “interesting” and “unusual” when describing the procedures. First, the PICC line had somehow managed to tie itself in a knot! That’s why they couldn’t manually pull it out of her. Imagine threading a tiny tube the thickness of a string into another tube the thickness of yarn and pushing it through along a guide wire. Now, imagine if someone told you they could do this and, in the process, tie it a knot. Impossible you would say. Well, I’m a witness. I swear (like the audience member who swears there are no trap doors or strings) that tube was not tied in a knot before it went into Courtney! Apparently miracles do happen. I think it’s a sign. Someday we’ll look back at this and know why it happened.

Second, they installed the Hickman Catheter, after which someone (probably a nurse), logged some information (probably serial number, lot number, expiration date, etc) regarding the catheter. Well, she noticed the catheter had passed its “use by” date! (Another thing unheard of around here, or so I hope) Apparently companies only guarantee sterility for so long. So out with the old and in with the new. Only the best for Courtney! We’re just glad it was only a catheter and not an artificial heart. I’m not sure we’ll ever know why this happened.

One other “funny” thing about today – they actually came in before her surgery to draw blood so they could determine her blood type! Since Friday alone, that was only two days ago, they have collected no less than 18 vials of blood from Courtney, with needles being inserted no less than 7 times! All of this to analyze her blood. And all of this after they told her that they wanted to poke and cut her as little as possible since her immune system is so weak. You would think that at some point they could have used a few drops of any one of those samples to determine her type. Also, Courtney delivered Emma at this hospital, at which time they checked her blood type. Surely they have that on record. I don’t think your blood changes types over time; but then again, as noted earlier, miracles do happen.

Courtney is resting well now, grateful I’m sure, that the day is over. Tomorrow is a big day. “First thing” in the morning will be her bone marrow biopsy. Apparently, “first thing” in hospital terminology means “sometime in the late afternoon”. Hopefully that only applies to weekends. Then, we should get a better indication as to which type of AML we’re fighting against. I don’t think it really matters, cause Courtney will beat any of them. If the type is confirmed, the full blown chemotherapy could start tomorrow afternoon. It’s hard waiting for this. It feels like we know where our enemies are coming from, but we just have to know what kind of shields they’re using before we can fire back with the big guns; all the while knowing that they continue to inflict damage. So, the sooner we can fight back the better!

One more note: Courtney on drugs – As I’m holding the computer for her so she can read all of the wonderful messages from you all, she asks why I’m “squishing it.” When I ask the obvious question, “Squishing what?” she responds, “The cake.” I’m not sure if that was an inside joke I was supposed to get, but I laughed anyway.