Good News and Not So Good News, Part 2

On Friday, June 13, 2003 my wife went back in the hopital.  (She had been there one month earlier to remove some growths, appendix, ovaries, tubes, and uterus).  Here's my view of what happened these last few days:

Thursday, June 12, 2003

Ou had a doctor's appointment at 9:30am.  This was a planned appointment to check her status as she recovered from the surgery from the previous month.  The previous Saturday she had resumed taking Methatrexate, an arthritis medication that was stopped when she went in the hospital for her operation.  Ou said that her incision was painful, but not excessively so, and lately her back was giving her the most trouble.  She said that she had pain on either side but not in the middle (along the spine).  Her nurse practitioner gaver her a prescription for a muscle relaxer and an anti-inflammatory.  After talking with the nurse practitioner, her doctor came in and we talked a while.  I casually mentioned that Ou had a slight fever the night before.  When the doctor heard this, she had her do a blood test.

After the doctor's appointment we went off to the drugstore and got Ou's prescription.  She took the muscle relaxer and anti-inflammatory.  That gave her some relief from her back pain.

Friday, June 13, 2003

On Friday, the results of the blood test came in.  Her white blood cell count was high and so was a particular liver enzyme.  I got a call from my wife saying that her doctor had called her and told her that she would have to go in for an ultrasound examination.  I also got a call from Ou's doctor.  She said that the blood test results were a red flag.  More than that, she said the flag was waving.  She should immediately stop taking all arthritis medications except one and she should also stop taking the muscle relaxer and anti-inflammatory medications that were giving her relief.

I cancelled all my afternoon meetings and appointments and went home to get Ou.  I took her to the medical imaging place where they sent us to get the ultrasound.  We waited in the waiting area for a while and then she was called in for the examination.  I had brought a book to read and started to read while I waited for the examination to be over.  After a few minutes, one of the receptionists called my name.  She said that one of Ou's doctors had called and told us that after the ultrasound was over we should go directly to the emergency room rather than home.  After Ou came back we walked over to the emergency room and got admitted.

After a while, one of the emergency room doctors came by with Ou's blood and ultrasound results.  He said that the main thing he saw was that she had a kidney infection.  (Infections are difficult for Ou since her Rheumatoid Arthritis/Lupus medication surpresses her immune system.)  Also, her blood pressure was low.  The doctor said that Ou should be admitted to the hospital for a couple of days so they could keep an eye on her and treat her for the infection and low blood pressure.  While we were waiting to be admitted to the hospital, Ou started feeling cold and shaking uncontrollably.  They gave her some demerol and that stopped that problem.  A while later, Ou was admitted to the hospital.  I stayed for a while and then went home.

Saturday, June 14, 2003

I got to the hospital around 9:30am.  By that time they had already done a CT scan and were waiting for the results.  Another of her doctors had visited her and commented that, based on what he saw from the test results, she was having nutritional problems (starving).  I left around 11:00 and returned mid-afternoon.

When I got back, I was told that Ou would have to have another operation.  The CT scan had shown new growths in her abdomen.  When I talked to the doctor, he explained that in some cases, growths of the type that she had removed in her operation from the previous month can grow back rapidly.  If the new growths were of the same type that were removed before, this could be a sign that Ou would have to have quite frequent operations to remove these growths in the future.  Not a good sign.

Ou and I waited in her room for the word that she would have to go have the operation.  The surgeon came by and told us that Ou would go in the next slot available in the operating room.  I mentioned that to the nurse that was taking care of Ou and she said that wouldn't happen because they had scheduled 2 units of blood for Ou before the operation and that would take a few hours.  But, a few minutes later, some attendants came down to take Ou to the room where they prep you for an operation.  They had decided to give her the 2 units of blood in the operating room.

I stayed in the waiting room while the operation took place (about an hour and a half).  After the operation, the surgeon came in and explained to me that the growths they had seen in her abdomen this time were not of the type that she had previously removed (Good News!) but, rather, pockets of pus from internal abcesses of the infections that she had (Not So Good News...).  He told me that they had put 3 drains into her abdomen so the infections could drain out rather than accumulating inside her.  They also put something called a J-port into her stomach so that they could pump food directly into her stomach.  They were doing this because her nutrition was so poor.

After an hour they brought her from the post-op recovery room to her room and I went up to see her.  She was really out of it.  I sat with her for a few hours and then went home.

Sunday, June 15, 2003

I went to the hospital a couple of times on Sunday.  She seemed to be improved over her state on Saturday night.  When I came back to visit the second time she was out of bed and in a chair already.  Looks like she's on her way to recovery.  I only hope it's a long time before she needs another operation.