murmurs of home

The strangest thing happened yesterday.

Quoting a conversation with the oncologist two days ago, Tad will be staying in the hospital another two weeks so he can rebuild his immune system and gain strength. This would make it safe for him to be in the outside world without catching any kind of bug or bleed to death from a minor injury.

Then yesterday the infectious disease doc (the person in charge of managing the infections that come up while the oncologist blasts the hell out of his immune system) suggested he may be going home as early as this weekend.

She says that his immune system is rebuilding itself very quickly, unusually quickly.

The ironic part is that Tad presently has what is no doubt the most impressive symptom he's had since the beginning (well maybe second to the shaking shivers): nearly all of his upper body is covered in a splotchy rash that no one can explain and I'm sparing you the details in my description of the rash. It doesn't hurt per se, it doesn't itch, it just bubbles up and spreads.

Two days ago he was able to take a long hot shower, one of the great luxury moments he's allowed every few days. This consists in taking him off all the lovely tubes for about 20 minutes. The staff then wrap the catheter on his arm with a plastic bag, taping it sealed at both ends. Et voila!

After the shower I helped him dry off his back which was free of any rash at all. It was just on his arms, his forehead and his upper chest.

So yesterday I was quite shocked to discover when I lifted his shirt that it had developed across his entire back. I suggested we call the nurse to explain that this was becoming urgent and that perhaps something could be done to stop the spreading while waiting for the results of the biopsy they'd finally taken that morning.

When she arrived she didn't know what to do so we asked her to call the attending doctor and explain that it had doubled in size in less than twenty-four hours. Thrown off balance no doubt by our request and steadfast in her role to play bumper cars between docs and patients, she replied "Rash?, What rash?"

This only maddened Tad (and me). So we began to rummage for the doctor's business card which she had left with a smile and a "Call me anytime" the first time we met.

Apparently she didn't really mean "anytime". I got a human message service asking for a concise message. Who knew those still existed?

The nurse left and called the same doctor from another line. She came back to the room a few minutes later saying that the doctor was sure it was nothing serious and that she'd be in the next morning.

I've been told by some folks that I'm a bit too harsh on the staff which is no doubt true. At the same time we are clearly navigating systems in which there are many non-spoken rules - the very thing that can drive me around-the-bend crazy.

So we're still waiting to find out what the "Rash that Ate Manhattan" actually is and to find out if, in a few days, Tad will be back in his sweet house or still attached to a tube and a bag.