Misty made it home Saturday late afternoon. She is slowly but surely having less pain from the inflammation of the kidney and ureter. The doc did say that she could be off any pain meds after a period of time but only if she continues to take the antibiotics. She felt good enough last night, 7/21/09, to actually do school work for her last Masters class. She did start having a good bit of pain late in the evening though. She went all day and only needed one pain killer. That is fantastic! We really appreciate all the prayers. We certainly believe they are answered.
When we got home I went around seeing what all was needed as far as food and supplies. I knew our awesome friends had brought some food by. I had no idea that there was no more room left in our deep freezer because it is full of prepared meals. There was also a pair of large dishes full of roast beef and fixin's! It took three nights of our large family eating the delicious stuff to make it go away lol. With Misty still being in pain when we got home, and on through Monday, one of our friends came over with her kids (who happen to be our kids' friends) and stayed with misty while I got some work done. Then Tuesday the same thing happened as another friend came over with her kids. What a wonderful group of friends we have. I don't know what else to say. We are blessed.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Angelic Update
We finally got to see the specialist this afternoon. He explained that an invasive procedure is not likely due to Misty's progression. This is because all her blood work and tests are coming back "sterile", meaning they are clear of infection. He also said that she will likely go home mid weekend. She still has inflammation and irritation that is causing her some deep pain. They are still using Demerol as she needs it seemingly less and less. She is not entirely out of the woods but things are looking very good. On the current plan she will end up at home by Sunday and will have to continue taking antibiotics to keep her blood and urine sterile until the end of the pregnancy. If not, then this situation would relapse as the baby and uterus grows and puts ever more pressure against her kidney and urinary tracts. So overall we are cautiously optimistic.
Again, thank The Lord for His magnificent plan and for the great members of our family and group of friends. Surely, these people have shown that the "Body of Christ" is manifested among us.
-Daniel
Again, thank The Lord for His magnificent plan and for the great members of our family and group of friends. Surely, these people have shown that the "Body of Christ" is manifested among us.
-Daniel
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Trial of an Angel
The angel of course is my wife Misty. We are sitting here, as I enter this post, in the High Risk Pregnancy Center at the Women's Pavilion of Centennial Hospital in Nashville, TN. You should not be overly alarmed, though we do appreciate prayers and concerns for Misty and the baby's health. If there is anyone who reads this post who doesn't already know I apologize for not getting to you sooner. We have relied somewhat on a rather large and heaven sent group of friends to help up work out the logistics of information and getting our children cared for.
Here is what happened so far...
Last Tuesday, July 7th I believe, Misty began complaining about some back pain that simple tylenol or percogesic was not working on. She is one tough gal, so, whatever pain she complains about tends to be something that would have ALREADY hospitalized most others. At some point that evening she had me rub that area on her back for a little while trying to relieve the pain. She was able to take a couple extra OTCs that helped her rest better but not good enough. Wednesday it began to get more serious and having seen the slight lump in her back that seemed odd I suggested that this could be a kidney infection. Being the long suffering lady she is, she explained that she had been through this before and it felt like a strained muscle. Wednesday night she had experienced some chills and shivering and eventually she got up around 11ish and got in a hot shower while complaining about the muscle not relaxing. I checked on her for a moment and then called the mid-wife about the situation. She said that if the problem persisted to call her and she would come over.
Thursday morning Misty was shivering much more and getting feverish so around daybreak I called the mid-wife and she came to the house within moments it seemed. After taking a sample and a quick test the mid-wife determined she indeed had an infection. She gave a short list of options and suggested taking Cystex (which we had) for the moment and Cyprofloxacin that she would call in to the local drug store. All the reasonable doctors and caregivers would suggest the same. It takes a little time for the Cypro to work so we gave it the 48 hour window to allow it to do its work. In the meantime we managed pain with a heating pad I got from my mother and whatever OTC might help.
By Friday night she had slowly built more pain and less actual relief from the symptoms of the kidney infection. More OTCs were not working and the trembling remained. Saturday we called the mid-wife again and she sent us to a walk-in clinic where we thought she was to receive better pain meds and a much better antibiotic. Things didn't happen quite like that but you try your best to trust professionals and use the advice to find the best results. To complicate things Misty is just too tough. The whole idea of going through the ER and getting poor service, as is often the case for us, accompanied with all the fallout of having done it and being no better for it just remained the last option.
Saturday evening rolled around and one pain pill seemed to help or at least take the edge off while, we hoped, the prescriptions and other treatments such as plenty of cranberry juice were going to get rid of the infection. At just about 11 o'clock again Misty woke up with trembling and shivering so violent I thought she could be convulsing, going into shock, triggering early labor as she was 32 weeks along, or who knows what. We both knew then she had to go on to the ER as there was nothing else to do. She got back in the shower, got the chills to calm down, and I called my mother to come stay with the kids. We got to the hospital at about 11:45 Saturday night. They were actually pretty good at getting a basic picture of the situation. The only bad experience was a young nurse trying to catheterize Misty for a sample when all they really needed was a cup. The young nurse was really causing Misty a lot of pain over and above what she already felt. The nurse otherwise seemed great so I do not want to make any more of it. Things just didn't go right.
The ER folks figured out she had all manner of low counts in her blood and a severe kidney infection. Importantly was noted low potassium and sodium with high nitrites if I remember exactly. After nearly 4 hours hanging around in the ER Misty was admitted to the OB wing due to the pregnancy. They made a bit of a pin cushion out of her though the poking and prodding is a necessary evil. They hooked her up with umpteen fluids, antibiotics, and light pain meds. Part of the reason she had such low electrolytes is that her appetite had been shot since the pain set in days before. It seemed as though the staff had all the information we had about the past week and that should have lead to certain conclusions.
The nurses and lab took blood and urine samples two or three times a day. They finally hooked her up with some morphine and regular tylenol to help break the pain and severe trembling which was always followed by a 6 or so degree jump in her body temperature. I have been with this woman more than 17 years and was there for the birth of all 5 of our kids and I have never seen her in such pain and restlessness. Even with regular I.V. administered rounds of morphine she still did not rest well due to the pain. The veteran doctors and staffers all said that they had never seen such a case as they had with Misty. Much of the fatigue was brought on due to the fact she was getting copious amounts of I.V. fluids and she drank lots of water. That resulted in up to four trips per hour to the rest room. She was drifting in and out of consciousness from absolutely no rest and no appetite. How can anyone rest like that? She was getting to the point of having illusions and not being able to give time or place to any thoughts whether reality or not. My heart breaks to even think of it. She is one heck of a fighter though. She plows through pain and adversity all the while trying and sometimes succeeding at cracking a good and fresh joke.
This is when anyone who has been through such an ordeal and step back and thank The Lord for having such a caring group of family and friends. I gotta say that all the years of my life I asked God to help me find the kind of people who are willing to go the distance in our time of need and who appreciate others who would do the same. There is no doubt that He has provided us with those kind of people. They are proving it all day and each day this endures. Between my parents, Misty's brother, and a long list of said friends, our kids are being taken excellent care of and I am able to be sure that I or a very trusted friend is with Misty at every moment. That means so much to me. In fact, one of the friends stepped up in an unexpectedly and great way. After I had asked several times about options for getting her some kind of relief that wasn't happening under the current routine I was thinking there may not be anything more to help her rest. The one friend had come to sit with Misty while I took a shot at getting some work done. While I was gone this friend managed to almost conjure up a way for Misty actually start getting the right medicine that would provide a measurable difference. They stopped the morphine and started back with delauden. Not only that but they gave her a pump too! By the time I got back Misty was actually making sense and her countenance had changed dramatically for the better.
I stayed with her through the night, as every night, helping her around though she did sleep much better, and so did I. The next day another friend shows up to be with her while I shuffled the kids around and try to get some work done. By the time I got the kids in the van headed to another dear friend's house I had missed a few calls. (the back roads are cell phone dead) When I got signal I called the friend back. Misty was too upset for me to understand so our friend explains that the doctor had said Misty could not receive the necessary care where she was and they are sending her to Nashville to a specialist. I quickly got the kids moved and got things together along with many more phone calls and a few hours later we got here.
The folks at Hillside Hospital were great and most notably neighborly. It is a shame there is not a urology or high risk specialist in Pulaski that could keep us close. Here they obviously have the routine down. More detailed and more proactive but not quite as friendly. The noise in the big town is much higher and the relatively high number of thuggish types can be heard late in the evening whether they are just in another room down the hall or six floors below on the street. I do feel confident that Misty will get the help she needs here. I can already tell you, the switch to Demerol in the I.V. had really afforded the rest she has needed all along! She has sawn up at least 5 tractor trailer loads of stave logs already!
Before I stop this meandering long post I want everyone to know the baby is doing great! All his vitals are perfect though our only concern is that this 33 week baby is measuring 36 weeks! Thank You Lord for all the great people in our life and thank You for seeing us through this uneasy time.
-Daniel
Here is what happened so far...
Last Tuesday, July 7th I believe, Misty began complaining about some back pain that simple tylenol or percogesic was not working on. She is one tough gal, so, whatever pain she complains about tends to be something that would have ALREADY hospitalized most others. At some point that evening she had me rub that area on her back for a little while trying to relieve the pain. She was able to take a couple extra OTCs that helped her rest better but not good enough. Wednesday it began to get more serious and having seen the slight lump in her back that seemed odd I suggested that this could be a kidney infection. Being the long suffering lady she is, she explained that she had been through this before and it felt like a strained muscle. Wednesday night she had experienced some chills and shivering and eventually she got up around 11ish and got in a hot shower while complaining about the muscle not relaxing. I checked on her for a moment and then called the mid-wife about the situation. She said that if the problem persisted to call her and she would come over.
Thursday morning Misty was shivering much more and getting feverish so around daybreak I called the mid-wife and she came to the house within moments it seemed. After taking a sample and a quick test the mid-wife determined she indeed had an infection. She gave a short list of options and suggested taking Cystex (which we had) for the moment and Cyprofloxacin that she would call in to the local drug store. All the reasonable doctors and caregivers would suggest the same. It takes a little time for the Cypro to work so we gave it the 48 hour window to allow it to do its work. In the meantime we managed pain with a heating pad I got from my mother and whatever OTC might help.
By Friday night she had slowly built more pain and less actual relief from the symptoms of the kidney infection. More OTCs were not working and the trembling remained. Saturday we called the mid-wife again and she sent us to a walk-in clinic where we thought she was to receive better pain meds and a much better antibiotic. Things didn't happen quite like that but you try your best to trust professionals and use the advice to find the best results. To complicate things Misty is just too tough. The whole idea of going through the ER and getting poor service, as is often the case for us, accompanied with all the fallout of having done it and being no better for it just remained the last option.
Saturday evening rolled around and one pain pill seemed to help or at least take the edge off while, we hoped, the prescriptions and other treatments such as plenty of cranberry juice were going to get rid of the infection. At just about 11 o'clock again Misty woke up with trembling and shivering so violent I thought she could be convulsing, going into shock, triggering early labor as she was 32 weeks along, or who knows what. We both knew then she had to go on to the ER as there was nothing else to do. She got back in the shower, got the chills to calm down, and I called my mother to come stay with the kids. We got to the hospital at about 11:45 Saturday night. They were actually pretty good at getting a basic picture of the situation. The only bad experience was a young nurse trying to catheterize Misty for a sample when all they really needed was a cup. The young nurse was really causing Misty a lot of pain over and above what she already felt. The nurse otherwise seemed great so I do not want to make any more of it. Things just didn't go right.
The ER folks figured out she had all manner of low counts in her blood and a severe kidney infection. Importantly was noted low potassium and sodium with high nitrites if I remember exactly. After nearly 4 hours hanging around in the ER Misty was admitted to the OB wing due to the pregnancy. They made a bit of a pin cushion out of her though the poking and prodding is a necessary evil. They hooked her up with umpteen fluids, antibiotics, and light pain meds. Part of the reason she had such low electrolytes is that her appetite had been shot since the pain set in days before. It seemed as though the staff had all the information we had about the past week and that should have lead to certain conclusions.
The nurses and lab took blood and urine samples two or three times a day. They finally hooked her up with some morphine and regular tylenol to help break the pain and severe trembling which was always followed by a 6 or so degree jump in her body temperature. I have been with this woman more than 17 years and was there for the birth of all 5 of our kids and I have never seen her in such pain and restlessness. Even with regular I.V. administered rounds of morphine she still did not rest well due to the pain. The veteran doctors and staffers all said that they had never seen such a case as they had with Misty. Much of the fatigue was brought on due to the fact she was getting copious amounts of I.V. fluids and she drank lots of water. That resulted in up to four trips per hour to the rest room. She was drifting in and out of consciousness from absolutely no rest and no appetite. How can anyone rest like that? She was getting to the point of having illusions and not being able to give time or place to any thoughts whether reality or not. My heart breaks to even think of it. She is one heck of a fighter though. She plows through pain and adversity all the while trying and sometimes succeeding at cracking a good and fresh joke.
This is when anyone who has been through such an ordeal and step back and thank The Lord for having such a caring group of family and friends. I gotta say that all the years of my life I asked God to help me find the kind of people who are willing to go the distance in our time of need and who appreciate others who would do the same. There is no doubt that He has provided us with those kind of people. They are proving it all day and each day this endures. Between my parents, Misty's brother, and a long list of said friends, our kids are being taken excellent care of and I am able to be sure that I or a very trusted friend is with Misty at every moment. That means so much to me. In fact, one of the friends stepped up in an unexpectedly and great way. After I had asked several times about options for getting her some kind of relief that wasn't happening under the current routine I was thinking there may not be anything more to help her rest. The one friend had come to sit with Misty while I took a shot at getting some work done. While I was gone this friend managed to almost conjure up a way for Misty actually start getting the right medicine that would provide a measurable difference. They stopped the morphine and started back with delauden. Not only that but they gave her a pump too! By the time I got back Misty was actually making sense and her countenance had changed dramatically for the better.
I stayed with her through the night, as every night, helping her around though she did sleep much better, and so did I. The next day another friend shows up to be with her while I shuffled the kids around and try to get some work done. By the time I got the kids in the van headed to another dear friend's house I had missed a few calls. (the back roads are cell phone dead) When I got signal I called the friend back. Misty was too upset for me to understand so our friend explains that the doctor had said Misty could not receive the necessary care where she was and they are sending her to Nashville to a specialist. I quickly got the kids moved and got things together along with many more phone calls and a few hours later we got here.
The folks at Hillside Hospital were great and most notably neighborly. It is a shame there is not a urology or high risk specialist in Pulaski that could keep us close. Here they obviously have the routine down. More detailed and more proactive but not quite as friendly. The noise in the big town is much higher and the relatively high number of thuggish types can be heard late in the evening whether they are just in another room down the hall or six floors below on the street. I do feel confident that Misty will get the help she needs here. I can already tell you, the switch to Demerol in the I.V. had really afforded the rest she has needed all along! She has sawn up at least 5 tractor trailer loads of stave logs already!
Before I stop this meandering long post I want everyone to know the baby is doing great! All his vitals are perfect though our only concern is that this 33 week baby is measuring 36 weeks! Thank You Lord for all the great people in our life and thank You for seeing us through this uneasy time.
-Daniel
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