Emergency 911

I flew home on September 11, 2008. I was in Nashua, New Hampshire on business when I got the call from my sister Dora, who had been staying home with Lin while I worked out of town. Lin was taken to the hospital by my friend Allison on the day I left town. She had not told me her pain level was as high as it was when I left for Chicago. The emergency room doctor referred her to an Oncologist, she was to see him in two days.

When Dora called me, I asked to speak to Lin. It was the worst that I had ever heard her, even after her reconstructive surgery. I hurried to the hotel, my flight was out of Boston in three hours, it would take me 30 minutes to drive there. I stuffed my suitcase and busted the zipper! I found the nearest Sears and changed out suitcases in the parking lot, got allot of weird looks. By this time, I was not going to make my flight. I called the American Express agent and explained my situation to her. Mind you hurricane Rita is on the way and airports are starting to cancel flights. I made it to the airport with an hour to spare and I got back to Austin by 8 PM.

The Oncologist had already told Lin the cancer had metastasized, spread, it was in her lymph nodes, one vertebrae which was fractured and her lungs.

I thought that this was the worst it could be. The emotions ran high. Thoughts of our future together, dreams and plans that we had planned all rolled into one and exploded as the realization that some of these would not come to fruition.

I worked from home for a couple of days, as my sister Dora helped with wash and errands. I soon figured out, this was a two plus person job. I would not be able to burn the candle at both ends as she required help 24/7.

At the same time my migraine headaches have increased in intensity and I now require additional medication to get them under control. The stress of this all is not helping. I also have started taking Cymbalta for depression; I look forward to that kicking in.

So now the work begins at home.

My sister, Dora and I began with care of Lin, however, her pain level continued to increase in her back. She described it like someone hitting her across her back with a baseball bat; a tumor lies between her shoulder blades on her vertebrae.

I called Lin's sister Marlene. Lin seemed to be going downhill fast and thought that having someone in her family around would help her spirits.