The most exciting thing that has happened to us in the last two days is that Thursday a fire alarm sounded in the clinic while Doug was getting his injection and central line dressing changed.
It was more than an alarm. In the small room where we were located the pulsating alarm set in motion two strobe lights that flashed repeatedly. A commanding voice announced that something suspicious had been found in the building and that everyone was to evacuate the building immediately.
The nurse said to remain where we were and if they saw flames they would usher us out. The building is a modern glass edifice eight stories high. I wasn’t thinking fire rather that something suspicious could be anything at a medical facility where on floors above us research is carried on in relative secretive, secure areas.
Fortunately for us the clinic is on the second floor. The nurse shut the door to the little room we were in. I watched out the window as people streamed out the main entrance and Doug sat calmly in the designated chair.
In what seemed like quite a long time to me the voice announced that patients being treated were to remain with their medical staff. The alarm was a routine building drill.
Today Doug feels real punk and has stayed in bed most of the day. At clinic we saw that his labs show his blood’s infection fighting cells are at 0.0, numbers they predicted to occur on this day prior to start of treatment. How they know that in advance is beyond me.
Doug will (does!) feel weak and have general bone ache throughout the weekend but nothing like the pain he experienced in his sternum the other day. My job is to help him want to eat something….monitor his temperature, help him to avoid infection and bleeding.
Doug has 9 a.m. injections at the clinic both Saturday and Sunday. We were told it is a quiet time in both the building and the clinic and he’ll be in and out quickly. As in the past I’m grateful for internet church services that allow us to watch on a computer. I hope we can both enjoy services together on Doug’s laptop.
~Carole
