Despite another blood transfusion, antibiotics, and Tylenol, I have not been able to shake this fever overnight. My fever went well above the 100.4 threshold to 101.9 overnight! Yikes! My neutrophils are almost nonexistent - meaning that I am at high risk for infection. So it looks like I will be here at the local hospital again tonight. Sentara's Emergency Room was not fast (I was admitted to my room 7 hours after arrival) but everyone was pleasant and the hospitalist and the oncologist on call were helpful and clear about the plan of attack to stave off infection -- 2 different antibiotics so far. They were also in contact with my VCU oncologist on call and were happy to see / copy my 1.5 inch thick stack of medical papers. I think I have outgrown my binder clip system; time to organize with sheet protectors? Sounds like a project!
I was able to get a good 5 hours sleep before finally leaving bed and getting dressed before dawn. My night nurse was terrific, barely waking me as she took vitals every 15 minutes - pretty impressive. Today, I will happily distract myself with Wimbledon and try to focus on the positives. I am very happy to be closer to home here at Sentara rather than up in Richmond at VCU. With neutropenic fevers, the treatment protocol is standardized and I don't believe that anything would be different if I had been admitted to my regular hospital. Perhaps it is very good luck that VCU had no rooms in oncology, bone marrow transplant unit, or even internal medicine!
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