Who would have guessed we would have a 90' day in Tacoma on the 3rd of June? The heat is a welcome relief to Bryan! He was always cold in the hospital, usually under three or four blankets.
We see Dr. Chen in the morning to determine our game plan. As it stands now, Bryan will be visited by a home health nurse and an infusion therapy nurse on a regular basis as he adjusts to life on TPN. This means he will not be eating food, but will be receiving his nutrition by IV. We will have to monitor his blood sugar and labs will need to be drawn 3 times per week. Our friend, Brenda, is encouraging me to skip the home health nurse and draw the labs myself. She does this daily for Jerry, her husband, who is on home dialysis for end stage renal disease. I think I can handle it and the insurance company probably wouldn't mind saving a dime or two! The infusion therapy nurse will instruct me in setting up the TPN and then I am on my own.
A piece of cake...which reminds me of a comment Bryan made recently. He has become very aware of how many idioms in the English language are food based: peppered with questions, best thing since sliced bread, cool as a cucumber, spilling the beans and easy as pie, to name a few. I feel funny eating in front of him, but he says it is good for him because the aroma actually stimulates his digestive process which will keep the bowel from shutting down; this is a common side effect with TPN. When the tumor reduces, hopefully, he will be able to return to a regular diet, but until then it's IV only. We have a new way of life to adjust to, but as always, God is merciful and gracious to meet our needs. Here, I have dealt with the physical side of Bryan's ordeal, now he will deal with the spiritual side.
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