Late Sunday afternoon, we gathered Manda's worldly hospital possessions and trucked upstairs to the Oncology ward. There was a patient wailing two doors down. I heard more wailing and a fellow bellowing for a nurse later in the day. But at least she got a single-occupancy room with a great view.
No sooner had we gotten into the room when a doctor knocked on the door. He was the on-call eye doctor and did a curious super-voodoo looking dance in front of Amanda's face for about 5 minutes. His gadgetry required him to physically zoom in and out rapidly, but at the end of it (and after anesthetic had been applied to her eyes) he could find no sign of a detached retina, which was a concern when the vision started failing. He found no major problems of any kind, but suggested that -- at her convenience -- she could come downstairs and do it all again with the big machines.
He left. Blood came. More blood came. More doctors came and went. Fabulous nursing staff. Friends and family began to visit with more regularity (love you guys -- all of you).
Hey, it's a Sunday: what're ya gonna do?
I came and went as Alastair required. He got to see his mommy, which was great for both of them.
By the end of the day, she'd received another 2 units of red blood cells, a slightly wavering temperature had settled back to non-feverish levels, and she was allowed to sleep without her IV.
Then came Monday, the day of The Biopsy...
She started the day with a bit of good(ish) news: her hemoglobin count was up to 7. We're targeting 9 for dismissal. She was also told that she didn't have to wear a hospital gown if she didn't want to (who exactly wants to wear them?)!
The biopsy came shortly after noon. Amanda described it to me as feeling like being kicked in the back, only from inside. They numbed her up and extracted marrow and a core-sample of something very technical and complicated sounding. A pathologist friend later explained it with no better success. They also took the opportunity to biopsy a small hardened spot on the back of her leg (forgot to mention that in the original symptom list, sorry).
The echocardiogram was done, and really nothing else has happened.
We're waiting on pathology now. We've been told to expect somewhere between 24 and 48 hours for preliminary results, but there's to be a "family meeting" with the hematologist to discuss treatment options once the results are back.
I'm home with Alastair. His grandparents have been great, watching him, entertaining him, and keeping his spirits up.
We're hoping to have Mommy home by tomorrow or Wednesday, but I don't think they gave her any blood today, so I'm not sure.
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