Another Unfortunate Twist

Apologies for not posting an update sooner, but like most of us here in the metro area, we have been and still are without power.  I am sorry to report that things have taken another bad turn for Bill.  

We came home from the hospital after completing Cycle I of chemo on Sunday morning.  Bill was pretty weak, but holding his own.  He was getting stronger each day and by Wednesday he was able to take a walk down the street.  He even wanted to go out for a fish sandwich for dinner, we were pretty excited about his progress.  On Wednesday afternoon the home health care nurse came to remove the central line from his chest.  She removed the line, Bill seemed to be doing okay but within about 5 minutes of removing the line something happened.  We don't know if he had a stroke or a seizure or what but he became non responsive.  We immediately called 911 and he was taken to the emergency room at University.  It was a nightmare, we were in the emergency room from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. before being admitted and put in a room.  

As of this morning, he is in the intensive care unit for neurology patients on the 5th floor of University Hospital.  He has had a myriad of tests including MRI, spinal tap to check for meningitis and a wide range of blood tests all in an effort to try and determine what happened.  He is still relatively unresponsive, not comatose, but unable to talk or communicate in any real way.  He does respond to pain, ripping off the tape on his abdominal dressing seems to bring on a response which is a positive sign.  So far, they seemed to have ruled out more cancer, which is a plus, and there has been no seizure activity since he came into the hospital.  He had evidence of having a small stroke, but nothing severe enough to have caused his present state.  We are really at a loss.  At least he seems to be resting peacefully right now.  The girls have come in and are staying with us, always a blessing and comfort to both of us.   I don't know what all of this means for future chemo treatments, clearly he will be unable to face that until he recovers from this.  One day at a time I guess.  

As always,  we so very much appreciate your cards, calls, emails and kind words of encouragement.  Please continue to keep Bill in your thoughts and prayers.  I will do my best to keep this site updated.  My guess is that we will be here in the hospital for a while.