Time for myself

So the plan was this. My Sweetie would have dialysis first thing this morning, and I would stay home and have some time for myself to get a few things accomplished. But I got a phone call from my husband early this morning to tell me that he wasn't scheduled for dialysis until 12:45. So we had a change of plan. I called two people that I knew were planning to see him this afternoon and told them not to bother going because he wouldn't be there in the room until after supper. I then decided that I should leave the house as soon as possible so I could spend a couple of hours with him this morning. Secretly, I wished they hadn't changed the dialysis because I can get more done in the morning. But I arrived at the hospital a little before 10 o'clock and put enough time on the meter so I could stay until they rolled his stretcher down to the Renal Dept.

As soon as I arrived, they took him away for an echo cardiogram. And as soon as the porter took him away, the nurses came back to the room to announce that the test had been canceled. Huh? So everyone figured he would be wheeled right back. I spent the next two hours reading my emails and blogs, and playing solitaire on my Blackberry. I went down to the parking lot on the lake front (which is quite a little jaunt) and put another hour in the meter. I wanted to be able to send him off with a goodbye at least. He finally came back just as lunch arrived. They did give him the echo cardiogram, but he also was told there would be NO dialysis today. His body was too dry and they were going to put him on another IV drip. So down to the parking lot I went again. I put on three hours, to take me until 4 PM. My doctor would be proud of me. She wants me to get walking, and I have been doing nothing but, for a week now. So in the end, I got no time for myself today. I got nothing accomplished again. I grab a few minutes here and there to fill the dishwasher, empty the dishwasher, throw some clothes in the washer or the dryer, fold some clothes, make myself a hot meal. I guess that is all I can expect right now. I will just keep calm and things will get done eventually.

I see some improvement

My Sweetie had a procedure done today which is in preparation for dialysis. The fistula in his arm has grown over, now that he has not had dialysis for over seven years, so they had to insert a central venous catheter into his neck. The kidney is still not working. His potassium levels and creatin levels are extremely high. The transplant team still thinks his (my) kidney is still viable, so we are hoping this will be only be required for the short term. We are both okay with this. Remarkably, he is much more responsive today. He was alert and he wasn't sleeping all day. They have moved him to another wing of the hospital where I expect he will stay another week or two. I don't even feel the need to go in tomorrow until he is moved back into his room around noon. Dialysis generally takes about four hours, three times a week. He will either sleep or watch some television, so I will probably stay home in the morning to try and get some work done.

The infection in his lungs is well on its way to improvement. I didn't hear any cough today and his breathing is so much better. Tonight I felt very tired on my way home from Kingston. I think it is a rush of relief after such a long period of stress and worry. I should sleep very well tonight.

Thanksgiving Day

This is another post of my husband's hospitalization. Today was the worst day (hopefully) for my husband and myself.  The antibiotic that he was taking for his lung infection caused an allergic reaction called insterstitial nephritis. His kidney has shut down, but has not failed yet.  It is usually short-term. Once they stop the offending drug, the kidney should start working again. His potassium levels are high, which can lead to his heart stopping. They are giving him a drug for that twice a day, which will bind the potassium in his system and excrete it from the body. He is back on Oxygen. He will be on 3 different antibiotics through his IV for a week at least. He is extremely weak and wants nothing more than to sleep right now. The nephrology doctors are prepared to put him on dialysis if they need to, but they are hoping his kidneys will begin to work very soon. My hope is renewed. Tomorrow will be telling.

Needless to say, I did not go to Charleston Lake to have Thanksgiving dinner again today. I stayed with my Sweetie and watched him sleep. I didn't want to be anywhere else but by his side. My lovely friend had Thanksgiving dinner delivered to us (myself, my son and his GF) by her son and new DIL as they headed back to Toronto tonight. What a wonderful surprise, and very gratefully received. So I had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal today. I hope my Canadian friends and family enjoyed their Thanksgiving and that all of you had a very lovely weekend.

Hospital update

As it turned out, I did not go to my brother's house in Smith Falls today. I stayed home this morning to do up some things around the house that needed doing, and I was on the phone half the time. My Sweetie was not feeling well today. He is hardly eating or drinking anything. He was so dehydrated that his blood pressure was only 99 over 63. He still is not voiding, and his bladder is empty. His IV stopped working and they were having trouble finding a vein to insert a new IV catheter. His nurse requested that Nephrology send someone to see him because of all the problems.  By the time I arrived, the nurse  had started the IV for a new course of antibiotics, but she had missed the vein, and the fluid was going in under the skin. His arm was blowing up like a balloon. He had called for assistance, but no one had come yet. So I ran down to the end of the hall to inquire about his nurse and was told she had gone to lunch. They had to find someone to remove the IV catheter and then try to find a vein again. We had to wait for his nurse to come back to start the IV all over again.

In the meantime, a nephrologist finally came to see my husband, and I am afraid I was none too kind. In fact I was stinking mad. The Transplant Team is supposed to be his primary care doctors. And I realize that he was admitted under Internal Medicine, but they knew he was in the hospital Emergency since Thursday morning. You think they might have dropped in to reassure him? His regular appointment is on October 17th, and my husband and I had already decided that we were going to ask them to transfer his file to Ottawa. We have been so disillusioned with the amount of care he has received here in Kingston. They were going to set up the colonoscopy, but didn't. Our family doctor arranged that. They were going to set up a referral for the dermatologist, but didn't. Because of the anti rejection drugs, he is prone to cancers, and he had four skin cancers removed a year ago. They were going to give him iron injections, but didn't. He has reported not being well for a year now, but they have done little in investigating any causes. Well, I warned this doctor I was too upset to ask any questions or voice any concerns, but she wanted to know.  And I proceeded to tell her. Poor woman. I will still bring this up on the 17th of the month, but for a while I was livid. And I am bone tired and just very emotional.

My Sweetie was able to give a tablespoon of urine to be analyzed, by the time I left tonight. We won't have results until tomorrow. But it sounds like the infection is only in the urinary tract...which is great news. He is very weak and did not get out of bed at all. He sleeps a lot, which is a good thing. I am hoping tomorrow brings better news. 

Saturday update

Well things can change quickly. Yesterday I was finally willing to accept the fact that perhaps my Sweetie didn't have any lung infection. The doctors were telling us that they couldn't hear any crackle in his chest. They couldn't find any evidence of bacterial infection after taking several vials of blood and trying to grow a culture. There was still fluid in his chest so it was the result of a failing heart not able to rid the body of excess fluid.

When I went in today around noon, the catheter was out. My Sweetie announced to me that he had not one, but two infections. One in his lungs and another in his kidney. The nurse was setting up the IV pole with two IV antibiotics, one right after the other. By the time I left at 4 o'clock, he had not voided (and he is on his regular dosage of diuretics) He should have gone 8 or 9 times in that 5 hour span. He had been sitting in his comfy chair instead of in bed during lunch and during the IVs. Before I left I helped him into bed. He overdid it, because he was not feeling well. The nurse was going to bring in a portable ultra sound to scan his bladder.

When he phoned me tonight, he had finally gone a little. The nurse is concerned, but a relief to me is the fact that the infection may not be in his transplanted kidney, but the bladder and urinary tract. They will probably be putting the catheter back on, and hopefully they will also put in a saline IV to flush him out. I will be phoning tomorrow morning. If he is not improved, I will not be going to Smith Falls.

Frenzied Friday

Here is just a short update to my day, By the time I wrote my blog post this morning and then resent it to people on my mailing list, because only the photo was sent without the posting itself, it was already 10 o'clock and I hadn't packed a bag for my Sweetie yet. I stopped at Shopper's on the way into town to pick up a few toiletries and a new crossword book.

When I finally arrived just before 12 noon, he was not on any oxygen. But that changed within minutes. A nurse followed me in to measure his saturation and it was only at 90, so he went back on the oxygen but at a much reduced volume. They came to pick him up for a cat scan and then later at 2 PM, they took him for an ultrasound of his kidney. He had an ultrasound of his lungs yesterday. A lung specialist saw him tonight and wants to put him on yet another antibiotic. They are still trying to take off more fluid because they believe it is in his lungs still. They want to take another echo cardiogram of his heart and he will very likely have to go to the "heart failure clinic" where they will be monitoring him far more often over the course of a year than only seeing his cardiologist. They have to get the fluid under control. But they are making good  progress. My Sweetie says he is in no hurry to leave the hospital. As long as he remains in hospital and his condition does not worsen, I will go to both those Thanksgiving dinners on my own. If I must eat copious amounts of turkey and pumpkin pie, then I will do what must get done. *laugh*  I brought him the DVD player and his huge collection of Clint Eastwood movies that he received last Christmas. Between the crosswords and the DVDs, he will be well entertained over the Thanksgiving weekend. I will also be spending time with him tomorrow.

Today I spent $50 on a Shopper's gift card from which I bought the crossword puzzles and the toiletries for my husband. The rest of the gift card will be used to buy bread and milk and such for the rest of the month. I also spent $13.75 cash for underground parking. I had hoped to write a special blog post today (on Friday) to summarize my weekly goals and money spent this week. I am afraid that will have to wait until my husband is safely home. It  is already 10 PM, and I am exhausted.

Isolation

Isolation Protocol

 Yesterday morning, I called the ambulance for my Sweetie Pie. He had a terrible night with shortness of breath and teeth chattering chills, and that horrible cough that he has had for over a month. I got up and dressed at 6 AM to take him to Emergency in Kingston, but he surprised me by announcing he wanted an ambulance. That is so unlike him, that I gladly complied. With my son and his GF up and sitting with my husband, I proceeded to gather his medications and his health card together and went outside to wait for them. I flagged them as soon as I saw them, so they would know which house they were looking for. They put him on an oxygen mask immediately, after taking his health card, and took the bag of medications on the stretcher. It was almost like I had done this before. Ha. 

By the time I walked into Emergency, he was admitted to a room inside, but I hadn't missed anything. They took him to X-ray and took  blood samples one hour apart. Then they announced an isolation protocol. Everyone entering his cubicle had to don a fresh gown, mask, eye shield (if not wearing glasses) and rubber gloves. So this was ME for the 10+ hours I was there yesterday. If I left the room to use the washroom or ask a question at the nurse's desk, I had to dispose of everything upon leaving the cubicle and put everything clean back on upon entering. It was a terribly lo-o-ong day. I appreciated when my son and GF came mid-day. The doctors'  first course of action was to try and take fluid off him by giving him diuretics. (He already takes one every day), but after several hours, it was obvious that wasn't really working. Their initial reaction was too much fluid in his lungs. So last night before I left, they decided they would treat it aggressively as an infection and treat with antibiotics and more steroids. Internal medicine is in charge, but they are keeping the renal transplant unit in the loop. They admitted him but had no bed for him, so they moved him to a quieter area in Emerg. still under isolation protocol. He spent the night there, while I came home to phone my son out West and my Daughter in Bradford to update them. Of course I had nothing further to report and still don't; but, he just called me at 8:50 to say that they had moved him to a room. I will pack up the items he has asked for. Yes, he sounded so much better this morning. They started the first round of antibiotics last night and were already taking blood to "grow cultures", So we are pretty sure he will spend Thanksgiving weekend in hospital. 

I spent $50.00 yesterday on gas for the van. This will come from gas money, but I paid from my household budget first and will reimburse it. I bought 2 sandwiches, one choco chip cookie and two milk for $20.63  Can you believe that? I had my first bite of my sandwich 24 hours after I last ate. They hadn't fed my husband all day, so I left the sandwich, cookie and chocolate milk with him last night. He still wasn't up to eating. When I went to pay for my parking voucher when I left last night, the machine asked for $18.00  I thought there was a parking ceiling on the price, but evidently not. The machine would only take cash or credit card. I brought no cash with me, so I tried my Master card, which the reader was refusing to read. A lovely woman was leaving (she already paid for her parking) and she tried to help. So she ended up paying for my parking ticket with her credit card. I objected. I tried to find out from her how to pay her back. She just smiled and walked away. That was the first time I cried yesterday. Everything just poured out. She must have know by the $18 that I had been there a long, long time. I was so very grateful. I will bring cash with me from now on. Maybe I will run into her again, or maybe I can pay it forward. 

Sorry this was so long. If you are still following along, I have to go now and pack up some things for my Sweetie and get going. I am bringing my Blackberry with me so I can read emails and blogs today. But I won't have video chat. Bye for now.