Another day, another trip to the ER, this time for a drug overdose. Somehow Ernie and I got our wires crossed and he ended up taking a lot more Oxycontin than he should have. My first clue that something was wrong was when he woke up from his nap in a sort of drunken stupor. After conferring with the Johns Hopkins hot line, we decided to go to the ER and get the antidote. However, once we got there they were not impressed with his condition, having seen much worse and advised against giving the antidote. They felt it would do more harm than good.. However, based on Ernie's noisy breathing, they insisted on repeating the tests for pneumonia. Once again, all of the tests were negative--thank goodness. We got home at midnight after only 4 hours--a new land speed record. I am now officially in charge of administering all meds.
This AM, Ernie finished his 20th treatment and got his weekly evaluation from the Radiology Oncologist. The doctor continued to reinforce how well Ernie is responding to treatment but, like our nurses, is concerned about aspiration pneumonia. From now on, Ernie has to sleep sitting up and I have to take his temperature twice a day at the same time and report any spikes to the doctor immediately. Keep your fingers crossed for us--we are so close to a successful finish.
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