So It Goes

Bags were getting packed up, the fridge was getting stocked and Jessica was getting briefed on how to take care of RJ at home between chemo treatments because he was scheduled to be discharged from the hospital today. We say was, because RJ spiked a fever in the middle of the night and was transferred to isolation with an infection. That means that until he stabilizes, he can't have any visitors, which he was really enjoying and was helping to keep his spirits up.

RJ is now what they call neutropenic, which is when the white blood cell count drops to really low levels and he basically has no immune system to ward off all of the common bacteria and viruses that we all come across every day. This happens to most people on this kind of chemo, usually about seven days after the course of treatment starts, although the level of illness and the length of the problem really varies from person to person. He has a fever and his throat is really sore, so he's back on an IV so that he can get some nutrition because eating is really painful. On top of all that, it seems that there was a leak the last time they administered the chemo directly into his spine so he's been having blinding headaches. To fix this, he has to lay flat on his back until the situation resolves. Basically, a bummer all the way around.

Hopefully, he'll bounce back quickly and they can be headed home for a few weeks between chemo treatments. On another note, one of our readers emailed the Dr. Pepper company in Texas because he is such a fan and they wrote back asking if there is anything they can do to help! What do you say blog readers? What should the Dr. Pepper company do to make RJ's next few months more bearable?