08/09/11: Worse Before Better

Been a rollercoaster of health for the last week. After my first chemo cycle, although I had felt great initially, new symptoms from chemo (extreme constant nausea) started collecting with my old symptoms (coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue) getting worse. Last Sunday (07/31) I couldn't lie down without coughing uncontrollably without stopping until I sat back up. Also as the day progressed my breathing became extremely difficult, to the point where at certain moments it was like I was suffocating between strategic breaths. That night and Monday night I had to sleep sitting up in a chair, but really, not much sleep actually happened.

Tuesday (08/02) afternoon, alongside the two nights of lack of sleep compounded, I felt particularly fatigued that no amount of sleep would seem to satisfy. Before lunch I started a coughing spell that ended in me vomiting just bile, a stipulation that my doctor said warranted a trip to the hospital, and that's exactly where my Mom knew to take me.

We returned to the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center Emergency Room where they took blood, administered a chest x-ray, set up an IV for hydration and nausea medicine, and briefly had me on oxygen. The blood work came back slightly anemic, explaining why I had been feeling weak lately and because of my cough and shortness of breath decided it be best if I stayed the night. That night I received more nausea medicine as well as a steroid to decrease inflammation and hopefully combat the coughing. Although what really raised my spirits that night were the flurry of visitors I got, reminding me of the incredible support system that I have. I thank each and every one of you that made it

Wednesday (08/03), the next day, they had scheduled a thoracentesis, a procedure they had wanted to do a month ago at my last hospital stay but there was not enough fluid for them to do it. This time the x-ray showed an abundant amount, some of the "worst they'd ever seen" and promptly did the procedure that drained roughly a 1.5 liters of fluid pressing against my lungs causing the cough and shortness of breath. The doctors were nice enough to let me take a video of it which I've posted below. WARNING: It's not for the faint of heart, so practice caution when viewing.

Although there was some initial and expected discomfort as my lung re-expanded, I immediately felt better and was discharged Thursday (08/04) afternoon with just a new prescription for pain meds until the discomfort went away. I can honestly say this is the best I've felt in the two months since this all began. I don't know how long it'll last, but I'm appreciating it a day at a time and it's helped fuel my hope.


Now for the video: