Portland (still)
ARG! Just when things were looking a wee bit better for Al, WHAM...along comes a set back. Yes, he had a set back today. When I got to the hospital this morning I noticed he wasn't as alert as he was yesterday and he was really grouchy. I asked what was wrong and he said he hadn't slept well. About that time I saw the nurse and went to talk to her to get the story .. and she referred me to the doctor. Oh-oh!
The doctor on duty this morning was one I had never seen (Dr. Tony had the day off) so Dr. Grossnickel brought me up to speed on Al. The infection has spread to his kidneys...probably due to the fact that since AL has lost so much fluid the kidneys have been working overtime to keep up. But the doctor felt that the antibiotic's would take care of that infection, but that the UTI was being stubborn. They have identified what kind of a "bug" they are fighting, but it has been pretty resistant to the antibiotic, so he was going to add another antibiotic to help the first one. Then the doc proceeds to say that until Al is able to go without a catheter and empty his bladder completely, he won't be discharged. Fine with me. The urologist is due to see Al tomorrow, and due a complete work up on the UTI again. The doc feels that this isn't something that "just happened" but that had been lingering on for months and finally just got to the "blow up" point. I agreed with that as well. Depending on how AL does, the doc feels that a long road trip probably won't be possible and suggested we look at either 1. staying here, 2. going back to Seattle or 3. flying Al to Tucson. We are opting for #3. But again, we aren't making any final decisions right now, and are waiting to see what happens in the next few days.
That was my morning/afternoon visit. I left the hospital for a while just to help get my head on straight and do some shopping for a TV since the one in the 5th wheel has died. I got back to the hospital at 7:00 p.m. and Al was resting. He woke up and said his chest felt "tight"...so I got the nurse and told her and before I could say anything else, his room filled up with nurses, equipment, etc. They had taken him off the heart monitor this morning as he had done so well. Well, now his congestive heart failure was kicking in again. So back to the nitro patch, etc. and we are just about back to where we started Thursday. This has definitely been an ugly day! When I left the hospital at 9:00 he was resting and stable again.
Melanie (my oldest daughter) and grandson Victor had their hands full with me this afternoon. I am so glad they are here and help so much to keep me on track. Grand daughter Lori is off to a rodeo this weekend...she ran a 21 second barrel this afternoon...her first high school rodeo competion.
I did laugh at Victor this afternoon. I was driving our truck (F350) and we were at Costco and someone had just stolen my parking spot...when Vic pops up with "Don't mess with my Granny--she has a 350 and knows how to use it!"
And on that note, I will end this blog for tonight. More updates tomorrow. Again, I thank each and every one of you for calling or emailing. Your concern, care and prayers are truly appreciated.
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