karenulijohn

By this evening, it will have been three days since Harvey was admitted to the hospital suffering from Atrial Fibrillation.  Dr. Go, the cardiologist warned us that, with a compromising illness like cancer, Afib can be “pesky,” and that is turning out to be so.  Dr. Suhag was in this morning and assured Harvey that there are a lot of drugs available to treat this condition, and they just need to find the right combination.  At the moment, they are giving him Digoxin which may take up to 72 hours to work.  This is not what Harvey wanted to hear.

Dr. Singh is the hospital doctor responsible for Harvey’s treatment.  He is a lovely, young, Indian man with a caring and empathic bedside manner.  When first Dr. Singh came into the room, Harvey assaulted him with the most pressing question on his mind which was “When can I go home?”  Dr. Singh pulled the chair close to the side of the bed, reached over and took Harvey’s hand in both of his, leaned in and said softly, “We want you to got home well.”  He went on to remind him that they did not want to send him home before he was ready and then have to re-admit him.  Dr. Singh sat with him in this manner for a good five minutes or more.  Sadly, Dr. Singh informed us this afternoon that he will be working in a different location for the next few weeks, and that Harvey would have a new doctor looking after him tomorrow.  No one is even hinting about a discharge date at this time.  This morning, when I arrived, Harvey informed me that he was very grumpy, which translated means depressed.  He had hoped that all of his numbers would be normal, but unfortunately, that is not the case.  In addition, the drugs they are giving him add to his fatigue.  We continue to pray that his heart rate comes down and his blood pressure normalizes and stabilizes.

The Merry Melanomsters were devising a plan to come to the hospital last night en masse before heading to their favorite watering hole, The Infusion Taproom.  Fortunately, clearer heads prevailed, and they decided to telephone instead.  All of the melanomsters have served in the military, and somehow they each have a designated rank within the club.  Harvey is referred to as the CO, and while I know that normally means Commanding Officer, with these fellows, I am not so sure!  They might be better off to call him by his own given nickname of ROF (Recalcitrant Old Fart).

So many wonderful friends have visited him in the last few days.  Cards, emails, eCards, and Comments are prolific.  They really do make us smile and lift our spirits. We are grateful that we live in a community with such loving and caring people.  Difficult times like these really do reveal loving hearts.