B Positive

Friday, Dec 12th UPDATE:

Well, I know yesterday evening I was all giddy about how great the prcedure went and im guessing maybe the cosmos decided to punish me for spreading the rumor about what a simple, easy process this was.

Fell asleep with no problem whatsoever. I had been informed that the side effects from the talc could range from chest pains, breathing problems and fevers. Around 11, I was lying on my right side (always the right side, no?) and I woke up and realized I needed to turn over because I didnt feel so good.

Mom shot up and noticed my blood-oxygen level was in low 70s. I have the nurse paged, but mom runs out into the hallway and flags a nurse in before they can respond.

I am now quickly running out of breath as each second passes. My low blood oxygen level now had some 4-5 nurses and doctors in my room and I am gasping for air in what I can only describe as the most frightening event of my life. I can handle any new cancer procedure but this was something I had never experienced before.

Poor mom could only sit on the edge of my bed and rubbed my arm as I took in one frequent, shallow breath after another, my eyes bugging out of my head with fearful tears welling up. I remember one of the nurses looking up at my mom saying, in the mist of the chaos, "Our jobs are never done, are they?" Some moms, sadly, are done at this point, but Im thankful Pam still feels an obligigation to keep my feet lotioned and my legs shaved and my back rubbed and scratched at all times.

I dont know when the first phase of the fever/breathing issues subsided. I want to say it was around 1-130 and I slowly began to fall asleep.

Around 3pm, I woke up and it started again - couldnt breathe, room is packed with nurses and doctors, and this time they're sending up the transport x-ray machines which was all torture because for ONE, my oxygen, BP and Heart Rate all get crazy when I sit up or try to move around and TWO, they put that big metal board behind my back and then asked me to either hold my breath in for the shot, or breathe out for the shot - - - WHAT?!?!? I cannot breathe, I cannot talk.

Phase II lasted even longer. I was on a temporary dose of 100% oxygen and the guy wroking on the oxygen was trying to switch me to a oxygen mixture. (I dont know why they dont want people on 100% but they dont) In the middle of one of my spazouts, the guy messing with my cannula and my mask, he took one of them off for just a little bit too long and I got one of those coughing spazms that quickly turned turned into me getting sick - mom, like a championn, quickly pulls over the trashcan and I swipe the oxygen mask from the guy.

Im too tired right now to give you anymore details, but I just wanted to let you know how incredibly AWFUL last night was. Things will get better.