February 1, 2008 - This is Cool

Okay, due to the snowstorm that was in our forecast for today I moved my Avastin treatment to yesterday afternoon.

By the time I finished my treatment I was one of only 2 or 3 left in the chemo room. A nurse practitioner was shadowing my favorite chemo nurse yesterday and they eventually had time to chat (yesterday was a busy day up there as lots of folks had changed their appts. due to the snow forecast) Elaine and her "shadow" navigated over to my chair to chat and Elaine asked if I would share my story with the nurse practitioner about my "journey." So, I told her I had necrotizing fasciitis. When I began to show her my leg (as much as I could while wearing jeans) her eyes got huge. She asked me what hospital I was in when all of this "stuff" went on in 2006. When I told her her eyes filled with tears and she said "I was one of the nurses taking care of you in ICU. Do you remember me?" I had to say "no" (remember I was loony at the time due to ICU psychosis and tons of drugs. ) She said "do you remember anything?" I said that I didn't remember anything for the first 2-3 weeks of my stay in the hospital. She said "good, we did our job then. We didn't want you to remember the pain. It took four of us to do your dressing changes." So, we ended up sharing all that transpired then and how well I am doing now...comparatively. I got an opportunity to thank someone who had cared for me during my darkest hours. When I told her that nobody expected me to live at that time she said "you are right, we ALL thought you were going to die. You really ARE a miracle!" She was so amazed to see me walking and when I told her I was able to drive again she was shocked. She said "even after it appeared that you would live, they still thought they would have to take your leg."

Had I not moved my appointment up, it's likely I would never have seen this woman again because she works the midnight shift at the hospital. She also cared for Ronnie (the guy I spoke about last summer who died after being in a motorcycle accident on his way to church.) God does move in mysterious ways.

We had a very emotional time of sharing, thanking, and caring. Other than our conversation about Ronnie, it was a beautiful experience! She actually remembered Ronnie's wife's name and my sister (who stayed with Ronnie's family time for 5 entire days at the hospital) which is amazing because St. Vincent's is a very large hospital.

Other than the fact that I felt yucky when I got home (I even went to bed at 7:30 last night which is unheard of for me) it was a beautiful time to see a nurse who is still able to cry (and laugh) with you. She said she would never have known me as I look so different now. .

Well, I'm waiting for 8:00 so I can call my PCP to try to get a prescription for the UTI that I appeared to have picked up. The bacteria showed up on the urine culture while they were checking for protein in my urine (a normal test for folks on Avastin). I'm NOT going to the PCP's office today (it's about 18 miles for me on roads that have turned to ice) so I'll probably have to plead with him just to call in a prescription for something to treat the UTI.

I just wanted to share this with you all. It was a powerful encounter for both me AND the nurse(s). I'm sorry this is such a long entry, but it was such a heartwarming experience.