Week Eighteen

Bumps in the road come without warning and their timing usually leaves something to be desired. On Sunday, shortly after Robbie gave Deb a decorated pot with silk flowers, he began looking unwell. Sure enough, he had a light fever but it was rising quickly.We were hospital-bound by 2:30 and this time the Emergency Department quickly worked to stabilize him with fluids and drugs. The on-call oncologist came by and took charge and around 6 p.m. we were upstairs in the ICU. This time, though, we were in the acute side of the ward, literally a fishbowl so he could be constantly monitored. He was feeling pretty poorly despite the medications but cheered a bit as the night progressed. Once the other side heard he was here, several of his favorite nurses stopped by to check in.By Monday, the fever broke and they were dialing down the blood pressure medication. By around 4 p.m., he was transferred from ICU care to 7-West care including a move to real room. Late Tuesday, feeling better, he was moved over to 7-West.The big issue for us was Kate’s impending graduation. As the week progressed it looked more and more likely that Deb was going on her own. We flirted with the notion of my taking Amtrak down if he was discharged Friday. The oncologist, though, felt it was more likely he’d go home Saturday. As it turns out, Deb and the oncology team came to the same conclusion independent of one another: keep him until Sunday so he was well looked after while we could both go to Washington, D.C. without worry.On Thursday, Dr, McNamara confirmed the plan. In the afternoon, Dr. Massaro stopped by and insisted we both go. Keeping him at the hospital wouldn’t be an issue especially since he was still receiving two antibiotics by I.V. By 3 p.m., we were on our way.Checking in with Robbie on Friday brought news that he continued to progress, albeit slowly. His friends Brooke and Naomi were spending the entire day with him and they were playing games, watching videos and having a grand old time.The current infection and medication means that round five is now postponed to begin just the other side of Memorial Day.He’s in terrific spirits and the doctors continue to say he is handling the chemo treatment and its side effects (such as these fevers) particularly well.