Friday Night 911 Call for Rachel and Precious Time With Grandpa
“But otherwise, how are you doing overall?”
Visiting with grandpa on this last sunny Sunday afternoon. It somehow did not feel right or fair that he cannot see the lilacs in bloom or be outside to smell the spring air, complete with the scent of fresh cut grass. Even opening the window for him is not the same.
It had been a couple days since I’d seen grandpa, Jamison was in the office Wed-Friday this week and Friday evening came with its own complications. Jamison had picked up IV vitamin C for me to drip at home, like normal. A year ago, a nurse in California trained him how to access my port himself so he has been hooking me up for IV drips for a few years and always does a great job!
Jamison accessed my port for the drip no problem on Friday, and I started my bag of liquid health. We had the three oldest Cunningham boys with us for a sleepover and I was spending good quality time with my oldest nephew Lincoln, learning about his latest hobby of origami, and the Ryujn 3.5 (google it, it’s amazing). I learned about the different types of paper, Japanese Washi paper, and the 100 cm x 100cm sheet he needs to make the Ryuji dragon. That is over 1000 PC (paper creases) for the scales alone! It was super fun to dive into his interest with him and nerd about the YouTubers he is following that have made them and how it can take up to a month to build! We had started gluing paper together that I had on hand to make a large sheet for him to begin his first attempt at a Ryujjn 3.5 (the 2.0 is overly simplistic and not challenging enough for his skill level, at almost 11 years old, obviously.)
All this is what was going on while I accidentally dripped my vitamin C 3x faster than I was supposed to. 45 minutes after starting the drip that normally takes between 2-3 hours, I looked up at the bag on my IV pole (because normal people have IV drips poles at home) and I was almost done dripping.
What we learned here is some interesting science! Vitamin C, when entering directly into your bloodstream, dilutes your blood, so your body is pulling in water and at the same time purging glucose from your blood. Dripping vitamin C too quickly, if your blood sugar levels are too low, can cause a hypoglycemic reaction. Fun fact: as a last-ditch effort to bring up your glucose levels your body gets the shakes. “Hypoglycemia also triggers the release of body hormones, such as epinephrine and norepinephrine. Your brain relies on these hormones to raise blood sugar levels. The release of these hormones causes additional symptoms of tremor, sweating, rapid heartbeat, anxiety and hunger.”
This is what was happening to me. The shakes started almost as soon as we stopped the drip and did not stop for two and a half hours. Jamison was in contact with my Doctor during this, but we decided to call 911 after I vomited and started having chest pain. The shakes were so violent my whole body was aching and throbbing, from my back and hips, my neck, and my jaw especially, my from teeth rattling like a can. By the time EMT’s got there and took my vitals the shaking began to calm. We decided not to go to the hospital as it seemed we were out of the thick of it and I was feeling more like myself. Orange juice sounded good, and it helped get the glucose in my body I was desperately craving.
Long story long, we missed out on a few days with grandpa this week, so when Sunday came and I was finally feeling better, I was excited to see him. We’ve been taking our kids down individually to get good quality time with him, the girls had already gotten to go and it was Braddock’s turn!
Grandma was just tucking grandpa in for his afternoon nap when we got there so we thought we might not get to talk to him, but:
“Who’s there?” grandpa inquired
“It’s me, Rachel!” I responded smiling as if he could see me.
“oooh... how’s your health?” his question I assumed was related to my cancer journey.
“I’m good! I’ve been in remission for a few months now!”
“that’s good. But otherwise how is your health doing?” He inquired again. I looked at grandma and asked “did you guys hear about us needing to call 911 a few nights ago?”
“Yes we did!”
Grandpa had overheard and remembered to ask. Considering the state of his memories since his stroke, and the crazy dreams he’s been having that are often intertwined with reality, a lot of the time when he is awake he is confused. So if him remembering to ask how I’m doing doesn’t make my year I don’t know what will.
Grandpa was awake long enough to have a short sweet conversation with Braddock and to be able to tell him “Love you grandpa!” Memories like these are precious and we’re cherishing every one.
What did I learn this week?
Pay attention when I’m dripping C.
The Ryujin 3.5 is SICK.
Things can change fast.
One moment I was giving grandpa sips of water through a bendy straw and the next thing I knew; Jamison was giving me sips of water through a bendy straw while waiting for an ambulance (Praise the LORD I didn’t have to go to the hospital! I found out this was grandma’s specific prayer for me during the chaos).
I’ll just leave you with the verse that was on repeat in my mind while I was shaking worse than a hairless mole rat in a blizzard (you’re welcome for that visual).
In all seriousness though, this verse has comforted my heart profoundly over the 4 years, and if nothing else besides oversharing my life yet again, I hope these verses comfort you where you are today.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”