Nancy made it through last night and today with no more seizure episodes. Her vitals are normal and best of all, her sodium level is now normal as well.
She was also able to respond to me when I first arrived this morning and spoke to her— and remains responsive— even if she still isn’t completely clear about where she is or what’s going on.
They inserted a PICC line in Nancy’s arm to make blood draws easier. She has never been an “easy poke” as the phlebotomists say— and her poor arms and hands are already a sea of bruises from their many attempts at blood draws and IVs since she got here. So at least she won’t have to deal with that pain anymore.
I have to say, I’d almost forgotten how exhausting it is to be someone’s non-stop advocate in the hospital, though. She’s had constant visits from nutritionists, rheumatologists, neurologists, chaplains, cardiologists, radiologists, and various case managers. Just had to chase off a physical therapist who actually wanted to wake Nancy up from a dead sleep and take her on a walk. Had to explain to her that even though Nancy just answered “yes” to her question “would you like to get up?” — she also just called me by our housekeeper’s name. I know everybody’s got a job and they’re just trying to do it. But right now, my job is to run blocking and keep Nancy safe.
Unfortunately so far, my efforts to get her transferred to City of Hope have been temporarily stalled. The Cedars Tarzana docs have all agreed that she’s safe to transport and the transfer paperwork has all been approved. But the precious real estate at City of Hope is the real issue.
We ran into this same problem five years ago when she was first diagnosed with A.L.L. and urgently needed treatment. The best thing about City of Hope is that it’s one of the most extraordinary cancer treatment hospitals in the world. But because of that— EVERYBODY wants to go there. So beds are very hard to come by.
Dr. Stephen Forman, the Head of Oncology at COH who is directly responsible for saving Nancy’s life, has assured me that he’s pulling every string he can to get her there as soon as possible. But it may be another 24 hours or more before we can make the move.
So please cross every finger, light every candle, and say every prayer you can that we can get Nancy where she needs to be much sooner than later.
And thank you so much on behalf of our entire family for all of your humbling love and support.
🤞🕯 🙏
🙏💜💙💚🕯
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