Day +7: Rock bottom?

No, that's not another reference to Sam's butt. It's a reference to the fact that Sam appears to be getting into the worst of the chemo's side effects. He had a terrible night last night. As Alyson described it, Sam was "either crying or sleeping, and not much sleeping." The discomfort is assumed to be from mucositis--sores in his GI tract that make sucking, eating, and pooping painful.

His morphine dose was increased, and this has made a big difference. He's been sleeping most of the day, and his awake time--what little of it there was--was peaceful if not sunny. We are not thrilled that he's back on opiates given the difficulty we had in late July, but it's worth it if he's comfortable.

Sam had a slight fever again this morning, which prompted another round of blood cultures, tests to see if he's viral (results still pending), and prophylactic antiobiotics. He's also got a half dozen ball bearing-sized bruises around his body which staff are at a loss to explain definitively. The bruises may be related to Sam's depressed platelet levels (or some other problem with his blood's ability to clot), but that's just a theory at this point; we're keeping an eye on 'em.

On the plus side, his oxygen saturation is back to normal (the cannula was turned off and removed from his face), and the cold he's been fighting seems to be improving; he's less congested in the head.

And it's worth noting that if Sam is getting into the worst of it--if he's actually hitting rock bottom--then we're that much closer to getting out of the worst of it.

Tonight is my night to sleep at the hospital. After Alyson and my mom went home, I walked over to Columbia Heights to find dinner and be outside for awhile. On the way I passed a place advertising the following deal:

Somehow I mustered the strength and willpower to keep walking.