Been very emotional since Wednesday Evening

[HuffleClaw]

I’ll be keeping you guys in my thoughts and prayers

 

[Kiki]

@Twoleggedmotherhen
Big

 

[That_australian_lad]

*prays*

 

[Taj_MaChicken]

Wow, that's a lot to go through.

Please keep us updated.

 

[guineapeeps]

Your in our thoughts and prayers. Please keep posting and let us know how he is doing!

 

[Csparling]

I haven't been on Since this happened. Wednesday hubby went to do his orientation for the new job. At 5:07 phone rang, caller ID said the store name. I didn't think anything about it, thought it was hubby calling me. Wasn't hubby, it was the store manager informing me that Steve was taken to ER by ambulance. Said he got dizzy, sat down for a bit, said he felt fine. He was standing at the computer when all of a sudden he passed out.
Was told he was very dehydrated, that the potassium and magnesium levels were very low. He had diarrhea and there was light blood in undies. He was admitted. Thursday they ran tests. Gastroenterologit came in and talked with us. Scheduled a colonoscopy to be done Friday morning to find the cause of diarrhea and blood. (Has family history of Crohns). Started the prep solution Thursday Afternoon.
Friday morning when I got there at 8:00, Steve was on the portable toilet and was throwing up. Went through 2 barf bags. Coming out of both ends. He said he had sharp pains at his stomach. I went to massage his stomach to try and relieve some pain. His stomach was so extended and hard as a rock. Went down for the colonoscopy at 9:00. When they were about ready a nurse showed me where to wait. Not even 15 minutes later the Gastrologist came out. Colonoscopy was aborted. As soon as Steve was under he threw up and aspirated, abort was called. They cleaned him up, came out of it fast. They tried to put a tube down to remove the fluid in his stomach, threw up and aspirated again. Took him to recovery. There he threw up and aspirated again. Call was made, taken to ICU. There is a blockage in his stomach, prep fluid wasn't passed through.
I called his brother and told him what was going on. He said he was going to take the night off at work and come up. after they got him settled in, I went in. He was having a hard time breathing of course. After 3 hours I needed to come home and take care of the dogs. His brother came while I was gone. When I got back up there, I freaked out. He had a breathing tube. Nurse said his breathing went way down fast, so the doctor did the breathing tube. Which I understood, his lungs are weak and need help not to work so hard. Nurse also said he is very sensitive to pain medication, his blood pressure went down, heart rate went high even at rest. At 8:00 his blood pressure went dangerously low 69/49. I started to panic and tears started flowing hard. A doctor came in said they were going to put a line into his neck. Then said he can die during this procedure. I got out of the room and completely broke down. A nurse grabbed me and held me. She walked me to a empty waiting room. Had me sit and brought a glass of water. I called our neighbor, she is a social worker. Told her what happened, she said I'll be right there. She got there and kept a hand on me. She could hear what the doctor was saying when he came out of the room. She said he's okay, it went smoothly. She stayed with me until I said I was ready to leave. His blood pressure had come up with the medications. His nurse (Matt) said you try and get some sleep and try to calm down. Don't worry I will call you if the need arises. At 1:00 I called to check up on Steve. Matt said he is resting good, blood pressure is at a acceptable rang and his heart rate has come down. Please get some sleep, Steve needs you healthy. I did fall asleep for 4.5 hours.
I was back at there at 6:45. Matt was still on duty. He said he's doing good. And I can tell you got some rest. I apologized for breaking down, I don't usually do that until I am alone, but the word die triggered me. He said don't apologize you needed the release.
The Gastrologist came in this morning. Said the lungs sound good, no noises. That the CT scan didn't show the blockage if it had the prep wouldn't had been done. That ultrasounds were done and he is pretty sure it is Chrons. So as soon as the lung and kidneys are stable, he will do the endoscopy and colonoscopy, remove the blockage, tubular grows and whatever needs to be removed. Then the Chrons can be brought under control with medications.
We don't have insurance. a medical financial lady has helped us fill out papers. She said with what little money (unemployment) he got this month we will qualify for 75-100% of the hospital bill to be written off. Gave me a number for another place to get an appointment that she believes we will qualify for temporary Medicaid. That medicaid will pay for the doctors & ambulance. If we don't qualify that when we get the letter saying what percentage we qualified for to call the doctors and ambulance and ask if they will honor what peace health is doing. Have an appointment for Wednesday at 10:00. That lady said there maybe other programs we will qualify for also, until he is working & is eligible for insurance. That eased the mind some.
Thank You for reading this long post. I needed to let it out.

I am a medical assistant who works for general surgeons so I actually have seen very similar scenarios. I’m sorry your husband is miserable right now. Once they get the blockage out and his vitals start normalizing, he will feel better. Aspiration is very scary!

 

[Twoleggedmotherhen]

They tested Steve to see if the breathing tube could be removed. He took commands, they turned the machine to where Steve breath on his own. He made it to 30 minutes, then labored breathing, oxygen level started going down. He failed the test. Breathing tube stayed in. Was told by night nurse they may try another test in the afternoon. Doctor said no testing until tomorrow, not going to put stress on his body. Letting him rest for the rest of the day. He hasn't been sedated since 3:00 am. He is not fight the tube.
They tried to stop one of the IVS for the heart. She shut it off and his BP went low. Turned the IV back on, BP rose back to the acceptable range. The other one she started weaning him off of. Beginning amount was 0.05 was down to 0.03, BP stayed at the lower acceptable range.
He has a temperature 38.8 C was the highest. Been giving him Tylenol through the IV, has a cool cloth on his forehead and a little battery fan on him. I asked about that. Nurse told me if his temp was high (over 39C or did have any low fever) they would be worried. Having a elevated temp is a good sign, shows his body is fighting the infection. Said he went septic from the aspirations and he has pneumonia from it. But his lungs are clearing. Little rattle at times. He has a lot of secretion and has coughed up a lot that they suction out. He slept most of the day, was awake some, when he was awake he was alert.
He is getting nutrition through IV. Said he is Malnourished. That his body wasn't aborting the nutrients. Talked with nutritionist today. She asked if I noticed him loosing weight. I said no, he wears sweats at home even to bed, so I didn't see his body. She said with baggie clothes you wouldn't see it.
Looking back, things make sense. Him sleeping a lot, not much energy, saying he isn't really hungry. Now I know the signs. And I will be on him like flies on chicken poo.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

All of this medical stuff is very alarming and stressing for anyone without thorough medical knowledge, and watching your special one go through it.
Remember to take small meditative moments for yourself. Go eat a good meal. Take a nap. Enjoy the sunshine.

What's his most recent blood lab looking like? Transfusions should have helped anemia tremendously, but it's not always a perfect fix. Anemia and malnutrition such as with Crohns will easily cause the heart rate, pressure, etc concerns. A few days on the IV should bring much improvement from my experiences. I hope I'm not just over repeating your doctor's. Some Drs are great at explanations and some really forget the average person is overwhelmed and in the dark.

Thinking of you!

 

[D-Bar-B]

Prayers for you and your hubby.

 

[Twoleggedmotherhen]

Thank You Everyone to all. He failed the breathing test again this morning. Doctor said not ready yet, since it is not because he isn't awake, they will only do it once a day. Just taking it day by day The lab numbers on his kidneys are improving. Temp is normal. Blood Glucose is back to normal. Getting IV nutrition with fat added now.
I called the store where he was to start after the orientation. They asked me to let them know how he was. I told them what happened and he is in ICU on a breathing machine. But before the colonoscopy he said he didn't know if he had a job any more. Was told you assure him we still want him. We want him to get better and not push it to where he would hurt himself. Is there anything we can do for you? I said no.
His brother and nephew came up to see him. When we were going to the parking lot together, his brother jumped me. That I needed to get a f*ING job or get our of his life. That I put too much stress on him. (Did this 8-9 years ago, when Steve was in the hospital). I said if it wasn't for me, he would be dead. Cause he would never put you down as next of kin. You didn't even know about the time he had double pneumonia before we ever got together. Steve accepted my medical issues years ago. You don't know my medical and you never will. That is between me and Steve. I am the one who has been there for him for the past 20 years of marriage as of today and 1.5 years before that.
I called my dad in tears. Dad said tell him to stay the f away from you. If he comes up, just tell Steve you have to go home for a bit and leave.