Swollen Issues - Chapter 41
Brian helped a weak Nick into the house. “You wanna get into bed?”
Nick was only able to manage a slight nod but then stopped walking when he
remembered the stairs he would have to climb. “Couch,” he mumbled. He
could smell the food that Leighanne was preparing for the dinner they had
planned for tonight. Nick doubted that he would be eating anything, even the
smell was making him feel more nauseated.
“Here you go, are you cold?” Brian asked as he helped his friend ease back
onto the couch.
Nick laid down slowly onto his side, drawing his legs up to his stomach.
“I’m guessing that’s a yes?” Brian offered. He bent down and took Nick’s hat
off. “Where do you keep spare blankets?”
“Hall closet,” came the hushed reply.
Nick could feel his stomach churning again, his mouth salivating once more.
He didn’t want to get sick again. There wouldn’t be anything to throw up
anymore and his stomach was so tender from wretching that even the mere
thought of another bout of vomiting made him feel worse.
Coming back with the navy blue plaid blanket over his arm and a pillow from
Nick’s bedroom, Brian could see that Nick was battling another wave of
nausea. “Bud, let’s get your jacket off,” he urged as he tossed the blanket
and pillow ontop of the coffee table.
Slowly, Nick sat up again and more or less allowed Brian to pull the jacket
off his arms. As he laid back down, he quietly gagged as few times. Brian
lovingly covered Nick up with the blanket. He set the designated ‘sick bowl’
next to the couch on the floor.
“Want the television on?”
“No.” His reply was barely audible.
A couple of the dogs came bounding in, running towards their master laying
on the couch. Brian couldn’t help but smile at the yapping animals, thinking
this would cheer Nick up but was quickly shocked at his friend’s response to
the dogs as they tried to lick his face.
“Get them out of here,” he moaned.
Giving out a short whistle, the pups scampered towards Brian and followed
him out towards the french doors leading to the fenched in back yard. “Out
ya go, fellas,” Brian ordered.
Brian walked into the kitchen, finding Leighanne pulling out a batch of
chocolate chip cookies from the oven. He snuck up behind her and wrapped
his arms around her growing stomach and kissed her on the side of the neck.
Leighanne jumped. “God, I didn’t hear you, you scared the crap outta me!”
“Just got back about ten minutes ago,” Brian replied as he reached for a
cookie from the pan.
Leighanne swatted his hand. “Hey, those are hot, you’ll get burned,” she
scolded. Brian ignored her orders, picking up a hot cookie and then quickly
dropped it ontop of the marble countertop. “Where’s Nick?”
“Laying down on the couch,” Brian replied over his shoulder as he pulled the
jug of milk out of the fridge.
“Is he okay?” She searched her husband’s face for clues, all she could
detect was worry.
“He’s sick again,” he sadly replied, pouring milk into a tall green glass.
Leighanne set the spatula down and wiped her hands off with a towel, as she
started to head towards the livingroom.
“I don’t think he wants anyone around him right now,” Brian remarked.
She stopped and turned to face her husband. “Does his doctor know that
he’s this sick? I mean, he was fine the other day, you know, like he was the
same old Nick, laughing and joking around, and now you’re saying he’s sick
again?”
Brian shook his head. “No, you know Nicky, he said he’d be fine.”
“Bri, you need to call his doctor and tell her,” she urged.
“He’ll get pissed at me.”
“So? Like that would be a first for you two?” She grabbed the phone and
handed it to him. “You’re his Patient Advocate, so start advocating. I know
for a fact that there’s medicines that people on chemotherapy can take to
stop the nausea, if he keeps on getting sick he’s going to get dehydrated.
Call her please,” Leighanne begged.
Shrugging his shoulders, Brian reached into his back pocket and produced his
wallet. He thumbed through the cards that he carried and pulled out the
gray card that had the number to Nick’s oncologist on it. After punching the
numbers in, he was connected to the secretary at the doctor’s office. Brian
described what was going on with Nick and he soon was connected with the
doctor’s nursing assistant. She told Brian that he would need to bring Nick
back in for an IV for the nausea.
“Well?” Leighanne asked anxiously when Brian hung up the phone.
“He’s not going to like this,” he replied.
“What? What did they say to you?” she pressed.
“He’s going to have to go back to the hospital for an IV for some anti-nausea
meds, the nurse said it would be the best for him to go that route.”
Slowly, Brian walked back into the livingroom, Leighanne following behind
him. He was hoping to find Nick asleep, but to his disappointment, he found
his friend sitting up, face hovering over a bowl that had been placed by him
in case he felt sick to his stomach again. “Shit,” Brian mumbled under his
breath. Leighanne rushed over to Nick and sat beside him on the couch,
rubbing his back as he continued to dry heave, nothing to come up, causing
him to practically suffocate with each bout of heaving.
“Nick, I just talked to your doctors office, I need to take you back to the
hospital,” Brian stated in a grim voice.
Nick’s head shot up, his glassy red rimmed eyes met Brian’s clear blue eyes.
“What the fuck for?” he gasped.
Brian’s cheeks reddened at the choice of Nick’s words in front of Leighanne.
“Honey, they can give you something to make you stop getting sick but they
have to give it to you at the hospital,” Leighanne replied.
Although Nick didn’t want to go back to the hospital, he wanted to get over
the nausea and the stomach aches. He reluctantly agreed to go.
“Can you call Julie for me and cancel the dinner for tonight? Her number is
next to the phone,” Nick asked quietly as he walked slowly towards the front
door.
“Sure hun, just get better and don’t worry,” Leigh called out.
************
Sitting opposite of Nick in a private room, Brian gazed at his best friend’s
pale face as he slept. He still had a hard time signing the papers for
permission for the IV that Nick was being given, but both the doctor and
the nurse pointed out that Nick had granted Brian control over his situation
once he signed the patient advocate forms. Brian was now more or less Nick’s
legal guardian.
Brian knew that Nick would have flatly refused the mediation that was being
given to him when he got wind of the side effects. Nick was scared to death
of steriods and the cancer had already taken a toll on his body from the
swelling of the lymph glands fueling rumors ranging from drug abuse to
bullemia.
The drug the doctor prescribed for the nausea was called Decadron and one
of the side effects were fluid retention and an increased appetite. She
explained that most of the steriods that are prescribed had those side
effects and that there wasn’t any other way around them. Dr. Andersen
decided that it would be best to give Nick decadron from now on while he
was on chemo.
Nick stirred when the nurse came into the treatment room and punched
buttons on the IV pump.
“How are you feeling?” she questioned as she turned the pump off.
Nick thought for a moment as he mentally checked his body and his stomach.
“God, I actually feel pretty good.” He was surprised that the nausea was
gone. “Brian, you ready to go?”
He smiled. “Sure, are you ready?”
Nick literally bounced out of the chair. “Yeah, let’s get the hell out of here!”
he chirped.
The nurse handed a clipboard and a pen to Brian. “I need you to sign the
discharge papers for me.”
Nick cocked his head to one side. “Why is he signing them? I can do that.”
The woman shook her head. “He’s taking care of you now, so he can sign it.”
Nick’s mouth dropped sightly for a second and then he grinned at Brian.
“Okay, that’s cool. I get sick of signing my name anyways.”
Brian hastily signed Nick out and adjusted the ballcap on his head. “Let’s go
then.”
Nick held out his hand as they walked down the hall. “I’m drivin’ give me the
keys.”
“Wow, those meds really worked, didn’t they?”
Nick patted his friend on the back. “Yeah, that’s the best idea you’ve had in
a long time. We're gonna stop at Taco Bell on the way back, I'm starving!”
Brian forced a small laugh. He felt like he betrayed Nick somehow by not
telling him about the med he had been given. “Yeah, okay.”