We spent most of day in the emergency room yesterday. That was really unexpected. We saw the doctor on Friday and he didn't mention anything about Al's kidneys. Al told him he wanted to return to work on the 17th as scheduled, so he signed the release. Afterwards, we all went shopping and cooked a nice dinner. Actually, we have been eating together for the first time in months. Al has been doing most of the cooking lately and has even been staying up most of the day. So, yesterday morning he woke up feeling good and decided to mow the lawn. I made him a shake and walked away for a few minutes. When I returned, I noticed that his glass was empty and he was outside. I was alarmed to see that he gulped it down so quickly since he normally sips it slowly. It was also ice cold, which is how he prefers it. About 10 minutes later, he comes back inside complaining of stomach pain. He lied down on the living room floor and was yelling in pain. He was sweating profusely. I said I was going to call the doctor on call, but he said not to because they'd just tell us to go to the emergency room. The pain was coming in waves. I was going to call anyway, but before I had a chance, he started screaming in pain and said to call 911. While I was on the phone with the operator, he started throwing up. The ambulance and fire truck arrived within minutes. I remember the operator telling me to breathe. I had to run upstairs to get dressed while I was on the phone with her. After the paramedics arrived, I ran next door to see if the kids could stay with my neighbor. Luckily, she was able to take them. They were still in their pajamas. Al's blood pressure was low and his heart rate was elevated. They got him hooked up to an IV for fluids and took him to the hospital. Once we arrived, the pain had subsided. We were put in a room within the ER. Al dozed while receiving fluids. The doctor finally came in and did a quick exam and said he could go home. The nurse came in took his blood pressure, which was pretty high. As we were getting ready to check out and pay the $150 fee, the pain returned. Al plopped down in a wheelchair that was in the hallway. The nurse got him on a gurney and wheeled him to another room. The room we had just left was already taken! The gurney couldn't fit through the doorway, so the nurse left him in the hallway to find a different one. Al was able to get to the bathroom and started throwing up again. He was basically screaming in pain. His stomach was also empty. We got back to the room and Al lied down, but the pain was still excruciating. No one came in or did anything to help us! It was horrible. I was completely helpless. Luckily, the pain subsided and the doctor came back. He was kind of annoying because he kept saying, "Hey buddy. How you doing?" Anyway, Al had just about had enough of that place and said he felt well enough to go home. The doctor was okay with that, so we left. So far, so good. Our neighbor finished the yard for us. The kids were upset that they had to return home. Al was exhausted and went to sleep. He was afraid to eat, so he just sipped some water. He drank some of his shake very slowly this morning and went back upstairs to lie in the bed. The girls were invited to a birthday party today. My girlfriend is taking them with her 3 kids for me so that I can stay home with Al. I'm afraid to leave him alone. I'll follow up with his doctor on Monday. We think this happened because Al ate more solid food than usual the previous evening and drank that cold shake so quickly. He is just going to have to take it easy. He has been watching too much of the food network! I wanted to steam some green beans Friday with dinner, but he insisted on trying something different. He found some recipe that called for garlic, onions and bacon. I was also going to sauté some fish, but he decided to bake it with some seasoned crust that the girls just scraped off! Well, after yesterday, he agreed that we can go back to my bland cooking!

The recovery phase is going very slowly. Al still isn't able to eat much without it irritating his mouth and throat. He has lost a good 45 lbs so far. He can eat very small amounts of soft food. He still constantly watches the food network. He just decreased his pain medicine and says it feels like there is a knife stuck in his throat. We saw the doctor on Friday and he said that Al's throat still looks raw and inflamed. It'll just take time to heal. We didn't get the test results back yet, so we are waiting to see how his kidneys are doing. His energy level is increasing and he has even been able to mow the yard these past 2 weekends. He does have to take a break in between to avoid passing out. We also celebrated his birthday last week. He couldn't even have a piece of cake.

I'm kind of freaking out about the kidney disease discovery. However, I just hung up with the doctor and he said that 99% of cysts are not cancerous. He also said it looks like this is just a mild case. He said the kidney specialist (nephrologist) told him to have us wait a few weeks to be seen so that Al can get hydrated. The doctor said I should bring him in for fluids again this week. Al is currently sleeping and I'm not sure he will agree to that.
The anemia should correct itself in time, but it could take weeks or months. That will help with his lack of energy. The mucus problems have gotten much better, so he is sleeping better at night. The next big step will be to get off the pain medicine.
I guess I will just have to listen to him obsess about food. I know it is frustrating not being able to eat. He wants to order stuff off the Internet and I told him absolutely not!

The doctor called last night to give us the ultrasound test results. Apparently, Al has some underlying kidney disease, in addition to a cyst on his left kidney. I'm feeling pretty uneasy and nervous all over again. We don't know yet what this all means. He said we will need to see a kidney specialist once he is recovered. I think I'll call back today and see if we can just go ahead and be seen already. I don't really understand why he said to wait.
Al seems to be taking the news well. He is obsessing about purchasing a meat smoker. He brought the laptop upstairs and is researching some of the techniques he saw on the food network. He can't even eat solid food yet! He did manage to get down a couple of bites of fish last night. Oh, and he ate a piece of pear. But, it's such a chore to eat just a small amount of solid food. I'm researching kidney disease while he is researching meat smokers!

Happy mother's day to me! I just got back from the park with the girls. They were so excited to give me some plants they made at school. They also made some pictures for me. It was very sweet. I'll take them to McDonalds later. The weather is beautiful today, so I kept them at the park for over 3 hours.
I tried to get Al to go for a walk with us this morning, but he said no. He also didn't want to come to the park. He just wants to stay in the bed and watch TV. Oh, well.
He is going for a sonogram of his kidneys tomorrow. The doctor wants to determine why his creatinine levels keep rising. That is an indication that the kidneys aren't working properly. They also took a urine sample. We should find out what's going on later in the week. It's likely that this is all just a side effect of the chemotherapy.

We saw the medical oncologist today and he was concerned that Al hardly gets out of the bed. He is still anemic, but his numbers went up since last week. Of course, that is only part of the reason he is so tired. He has been losing weight quickly and according to his blood work, he is still dehydrated. You can see that he is pale. Also, his facial hair is pretty much all gone due to the radiation, so he really just doesn't look like himself. The doctor told him that it may take another 3 months before he is ready to return to work. He encouraged Al to stay for fluids. I'm not with him now because I had to pick Rachel up from school early. Both girls have been dealing with a little stomach bug. At least it's the weekend! Al also decreased his pain medicine the other day, but will increase it again today because he was experiencing too much pain. He is so anxious to return to work, but just isn't ready. The doctor told him that he just needs to give his body time to heal.

We had Brooke's birthday party yesterday. Al was in no condition to come, but he did. The girls had a blast. Al has been feeling very tired and queasy. He throws up about every other day. We see the radiation oncologist tomorrow and we'll see what she says. He is currently trying to eat some soup. He has been trying stuff, but hasn't had much luck. He had blood work done on Friday, but we didn't hear from the doctor, so that probably means everything is okay.