Wow what a long day it was yesterday. Faye and Steve were here at 9am for a series of pre-bronchoscopy tests and procedures.  I left work at 11 in time to join them for the Doctor's consult after which we headed down to the surgical wing.  All went well and by 2:30 we were in the recovery room - a special high compression chamber that continually forces air from the ceiling downward and outward to ensure that no viruses or airborne bacteria would enter the room.  It was very (very) loud and very (very) bright; a combination that, if you're prone, will immediately cause a severe headache. Around 3 they let us know that Faye's room on the 7th floor would not be available for a 'couple more hours'.  Fortunately they also scrambled us around so that we could move to a BMT pre-op room that, though not comfortable, was infinitely more comfortable than the compression room. Some time around 4pm the power went out.  In my memory I can't recall ever experiencing a more shocking transition to complete silence and absolute blackness.  Faye and I soon found our voices and began to exclaim wtf phrases at the same time that a huge groaning and shaking took place; some of the lights came on as the building switched to generator power.  Apparently three power grids had gone out across the city but I've still not heard confirmation in the media.  In the mean time nurses and maintenance personnel rushed around checking on equipment, plugging vital pieces into the 'red' sockets, all non-emergency surgeries were put on hold, etc.  I began to wonder what was happening in the lab where they were supposed to be performing tests on all of the tissue and samples they had gathered, particularly Faye's.

So around 8pm they finally moved us up to room 712 and a Doctor came by with some preliminary results.  So far all results are negative for viral, fungal and bacterial infections.  So by process of elimination we will -for now- assume (and hope -given the alternatives) that the inflammation and spots in Faye's lungs are a reaction to the BCNU/high dose chemo something called 'pneumonitis'.  Faye started IV steroids this morning and now we wait, hope and pray for a rapid response.  ~Lolly