One year ago today is one of the days that I continue to think about.
One year ago today was the last day of our honeymoon. We woke up and we went to a timeshare event because we were getting a $175 gift card. Randy kept going outside, saying he was cold. It was about 80 degrees outside and he still said he was cold. Obviously it was worse inside. We watched the presentation and promptly went back outside. After we finished with them, we went to lunch before heading home. There was an elderly couple that was seated behind us that got married the same day and also in Gatlinburg on their honeymoon so Randy decided he wanted to pay for their meal as well. They were very appreciative of his kindness. Although we wanted to go to parrot mountain but Randy was no longer feeling up to it so we just headed home after lunch.
Randy slept for most of the drive home. We were maybe 30 minutes away from home when he turned the heat on in the car up to 84 degrees. I cracked my window because I was overly hot.
When we arrived home, he went straight to our bed. He climbed under his heavy winter blanket and our comforter but still shivering and that's the moment when I realized something was wrong. I've talked with people about this because I often think I should have noticed something but he didn't show any sign that something was truly wrong. Chemo patients have issues with temperatures. There are chemo patients that have been out of chemo for 3 years and still have temperature issues. Randy being cold was so normal at this point and trust me when I say that it annoyed him. He was not used to feeling like he needed to bring a jacket to work in the spring and summer months.
I went over to Randy and used my infrared temporal thermometer on him which read 102 degrees. I immediately called his doctor who told me to take him to the ER. We were there until 4AM. He had injections for the following 3 days to boost his white blood cells.
For awhile, I kept thinking that he was neutropenic for 3 weeks before finally being admitted into the hospital but then I remembered one important detail which was that Randy had his final chemo a few days after all of this which meant that his white blood cell count had boosted enough to take that treatment. His count fell after the final treatment that led to that phone call I made towards the end of the month that led to his admittance.
This is one thing I need to let go of because no matter how much I look at it, I don't see any other sign. Randy was cold but it wasn't outside of the norm. He was eating. He was drinking. He was out and about and acting normal. There was no sign that something was truly wrong until that moment.
Randy often said he wanted a do-over for our honeymoon because he slept a lot and when we came home, he was in the ER but even with all of that, I still had a wonderful time with him. I think what he was wanting was pre-cancer time and I don't fault him for that. I understand that and I truly wish this was one road we never had to walk but I cherish all the time I had with him. He was and will always be a true blessing.
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