The Double-Triple Check

// April 6, 2022 // the double-triple check //

This has been a great week. I have taken Kristi out of town for a little R&R and recovery. We took the kids out of school and escaped with them too. This round of chemo has been the hardest yet. She has experienced more pain than usual. She has also had several mouth sores – even down her throat. We also had a scare with her white blood count last week. Her blood work showed .7 which is dangerously low for her. We had it rechecked a couple days later and it has rebounded almost miraculously to 5.4 – well within normal range. She is all set for chemo number 4 coming up the 12th of April (next Tuesday).

During Kristi’s last chemo treatment, we once again experienced the meticulous system used by the nurse to administer the regiment of drugs and chemicals. Kristi rightly pointed out the warnings on the bags that held the liquids that would soon be in her veins. Danger! Do not ingest! Handle with care! It is unsettling when the nurse comes in and puts on her hazmat suit and handles the bags of chemicals with such care. The instinct is to run away and avoid the stuff that will soon be in her veins!

As important as it is to ensure the nurse doesn’t touch or get exposed to the chemicals is, it’s also just as important to ensure that the right drugs are being fed through Kristi’s medical port. The nurse never assumes or does this alone. She has what I have called a double-triple check. She first suits up and pulls the bag out and hangs it on the pump, then she calls the head nurse to verify that it is correct. She asks Kristi for her name and date of birth. She scans Kristi’s bracelet to make sure the system matches the prescribed treatment to Kristi. She scans the pump, the bag of chemicals, and her badge. She then pushes start.

The system requires several steps and people to make sure the right drug is going to the right person for the right amount of time. This is so important. Not only does the nurse want to get it right, but the patient wants that as well. Seems logical. We are grateful for the double-triple check!

The Psalmist affirms the value of the double-triple check.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalms 139:23-24

He understood that what goes in affects your outcome. What’s inside eventually comes out. What we let in our lives, affects our health, anxiousness, thoughts, attitude, and the way people experience us.

Just like the toxins that tear down the cancer in Kristi’s body are critical for recovery, so are the searching and cleansing of our soul. God has given all of us access to His Spirit, a community of other believers, friends, family, and all the information we could ever need to experience the double-triple check.

Name & Date of Birth- check ☑️

God with us ☑️

Community Support ☑️

We are always grateful for all of you who check in with us to see how our progress is coming along. We also so appreciate the checks on our emotional and spiritual lives. We are indebted to each of you for your love and prayers.

Ray Rhoton

#warriorqueen

#kristiswar

#jointhefight