Second Verse, Same as the First

Well that didn't take long. We're back in the big house again, Alvarado, that is. They even saved our corner room for us! My super star husband is digging deep once again to deal with more crapola. Like I say, "Shit happens, carry a big shovel!"

Last night Phil really started hurting from the pleurisy and struggled to find a comfortable position just to be in. Earlier in the day he'd noticed a rash on his arms and legs and we thought he had developed a reaction to one of the antibiotics from his hospital stay. Yee-ha! Something else to add to his list of miseries. Benadryl was taken, promptly turning him into a zombie which the kids found amusing at dinnertime. When he finally turned in for the night it took at least 3 minutes for him to walk from our family room to our bedroom ~ scary slow. And this morning he got short of breath taking a shower. This is Phil Conrad I'm writing about here ~ runner of high altitude trails, skier of double black diamond runs, climber of Olympic Peaks, ultimate frisbee player, cyclist, tennis player, swimmer. This was hard to watch, and more so because he was in agonizing pain. He couldn't take a full breath and his chest and left shoulder hurt with most movements, especially when leaning forward. He had to sleep sitting up yet even that was uncomfortable.

By the morning he had a fever of 101.2 and his blood sugar was elevated. It was time to call Kossman. We had a follow up appointment at 10:15 but it seemed likely he'd want to see Phil sooner. Unfortunately the good doctor was so slammed that all he could do was have us come half an hour early to get started on labs. Fortunately, at the rate Phil was moving, we'd just make it on time! Once there, it was obvious he'd be going back to the hospital. He was still febrile so blood cultures were drawn and his hospital chart was called for along with his previous cultures from microbiology. Kossman did a thorough exam and found Phil's lung capacity was diminished. At the least Phil was septic, neutropenic (he has a WBC count of 200 total), had a pleural effusion (fluid in his lung bases), and probably had a viral exanthem (rash). So back to the hospital he goes for IV antibiotics, antifungals, pain meds, fluids, blood products, a chest X-ray, EKG, more labs, and a couple of consults.

Once here the action was fast and furious. Within 1 hour of admission he'd had his port accessed, labs drawn, EKG done, chest X-ray taken and admission intake put into the computer. Amazing. Oh, and he'd had a delicious (right) lunch delivered to his room as well. So, now we wait to hear the results and let the nurses hang their bags of IV fluids and antibiotics and pain meds.

Hopefully the news will come quickly. If there is an effusion Kossman will have to decide whether or not to "tap" the lung. With few WBCs there is definitely risk involved in tapping the lung to remove fluid. But there are therapeutic and diagnostic benefits to doing it as well. We shall see. In the mean time, my family and I will see about getting Phil some more humane meals while he has to be here. They have excellent patient care but their menu falls far short.