Pete seemed to be improving a bit, his color was much better and when he was awake, he seemed much more aware rather than being in a fog as he was the past two days. He did get a second bolus of iv fluid so Bruce left before the iv was finished so he could avoid the heavy rush hour in the rain.
After he was gone, Pete just happened to mention that he had not been taking some of his medications. I know that he had taken the bicarbonate of soda and potassium on schedule, and I had asked him about other meds, but he had been telling me that he was taking care of everything. It turns out that "chemo-brain", may be the culprit. Remember that he had been taking oxycontin for the pain in the area of his scapula. His pain has been slowly but steadily decreasing and he had just begun weaning himself off of the drug, but he still had a way to go. He took the pills Monday but didn't take any since then. After I found this out and he and I discussed the possibility that the chills and sweats may have been withdrawal symptoms I went out to share this with D2. The minute I explained this to her she responded in the affirmative and said that she was very relieved to have this information and would share it with A immediately.
A short time later Pete's iv was finished so she came in to hook him up to his pump and another bolus of iv fluid for overnight. She told us that last night was most likely the worst of the withdrawal, that he may experience some symptoms tonight, but that they should be less severe.
We left Beth Israel, walked to 8th Avenue, hailed a cab (we're getting pretty good at it), and are relaxing at the Lodge now. I'm hoping Pete will feel like having me go out and pick up something for him to eat in a little while.
We're prepared for any amount of sweat tonight. Bruce brought 4 sets of bedding and a couple of blankets. Hopefully, now that we have them, we won't need them. Isn't that the way these things usually go?
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