Blood being transfused
My suitcase was packed, my records were up to date and Saturday dawned and Dutch would not even eat enough so he could take his meds.
His stools were pitch black (sorry to be so graphic), which told me he was bleeding internally. I called the doctor and was told to bring him in.
Hours in urgent care, tests and doctors are almost a blurr now but we did wind up in the hospital. This time I asked for a single room (wait 'til we get THAT bill...) so I had the hope of getting any rest.
Before he wouldn't eat and now he couldn't eat because they put him NPO in preparation for the Endoscopy they planned for Sunday morning to check for a source of the bleeding. Dutch was quite down, both mentally and physically. Although one of the nurses was able to snag a cot for me to sleep on, there was no sleep between constant checks and tests and one eye and ear listening for his every move.
When the Endoscopy showed no sign of bleeding anywhere that probe went, doctors scratched their heads, wondering what to do. Frequent blood tests monitored the extend of the bleeding and I saw the many doctors on his case in the proverbial huddle, trying to decide what to do. Scripps is a teaching hospital, so there are interns and residents and attending docs. Then there are the on-call docs for the specialists- both heart and gastro... the list goes on. I was told that they could have him swallow a camera which would take pictures all the way down his intestinal tract or they could somehow "mark" his blood cells and then take an x-ray to show where they went astray.
Monday morning at 4 AM the nurse announced that he would be getting a blood transfusion and was given a dose of Benadril to ward off who knows what. Can't remember it all. What it did do was make him even more lethargic and sleepy and unsteady on his feet. Trips to the bathroom were labored, wobbly affairs and even turning around in bed was a difficult chore. With this picture before us, it was difficult to imagine going home anytime soon. A few hours later after some more blood tests, the "team" decided that the blood loss was not extensive enough to warrant going through more tests and that indeed, he was GOING HOME!!
One of the doctors took me aside and asked repeatedly if I thought I could handle taking care of Dutch and if I had help and was there a closer hospital I could take him to in the event of an emergency. He was very sweet and caring and I could tell that he thought that things were not looking good. A day before we had a similar conversation with the attending doctor. We discussed our prayer for wisdom to know when to pursue treatment and to know when to call it a day. She said that we should treat that the same way we treat every day life: with trusting God for guidance, hope in eternity and the confidence that God will give us strength for each day.
Appointments were made for follow-up care and lab slips given so his blood could be checked again. We already had had a follow-up appointment with our main cardiologist that afternoon and it turned out that Dutch was discharged from the floor just minutes before his appointment. This doctor's office is just down one flight of stairs. Putting Dutch in a wheelchair got us there easily enough. Dr. H listen to the whole story, looked at me and said: "And they discharged him????? His heart is fine, but come in a week so we can check on him again and do blood tests." I had been told to see our local doctor but getting this appointment made that unnecessary and easier. All of their reports are computerised and accessible to all doctors within the hospital so it's easier to keep track of it all. We still love it when we go there and the doctors say they know all about us because they just read the chart on the computer and we don't have to bring them up to speed each time.
So now we're home. When we arrived, dinner was already sitting sitting at our front door. Aren't friends just the best? A couple of days have gone by and even on the first day home, Dutch felt so very much better! His strength, spirit and outlook have changed for the better drastically! Once the Benadryl wore off, the effect of having new blood flowing through his veins is so obvious. Today we marvelled again at how thankful we are to the person who donated this blood! We can't say enough about that!! Because of our liver problems, we have never been able to donate, but if you can, how wonderful of you to do that!
Last night we talked a little about seeing friends in church and other places. Dutch said how difficult it was for him to be talking with them. "What do I say when they ask me: 'How are you Dutch?' " All of his life he always answered that question with: GOOD, GOOD! GOOD!! But now he feels that this answer is dis-honest. He doesn't want to go over his whole story to everyone who asks, so he decided that it's better he doesn't see anyone. When we left the hospital, he commented that he felt like "dead man walking" and appreciated the fact that I understood that. We so often talk about dieing (sp??) but it is usually in the sweet by and by. Looking at it like it may happen even today gives it another face. "Should we call Forest Lawn so we can pick out a casket?" He asked me? "Will they come clear down here to get me or do 'we' have to get a local mortuary?" I assured him that it would be no problem to take care of all that so we dropped the subject.
The day after we came home, one of our Pastors came to visit and Dutch loved talking to him, being encouraged and being assured that he didn't have to worry about me because everyone at church would be there for me when I needed them. Dave also read Scripture which placed our focus right back where it should be: Jesus! We wondered what heaven must be like and how transient our short life here is. Then our neighbor came for a quick visit. "No, I don't want coffee, I'll just stay a couple of minutes" I sat by and watched as they talked, chuckled and laughed, told stories and reminisced. I kept watching Dutch for signs of fatigue but over 2 hours later, they were still going strong. Sid gave Dutch something to think about besides his troubles and it was good! At the hospital there was one lab technician who had that same gift. Dutch has been pocked so many times, had one IV in each arm and just no veins left from which to draw blood. This guy began telling jokes and soon had us both trying to solve his riddles. I watches his mouth move and his voice smile as he intently looked over Dutch's arms and miraculously found one more place that would yield some blood. He was good! He kept Dutch busy with jokes so he didn't hardly notice being stuck once again. What a gift competence is!
The last couple of nights, Dutch was able to climb the stairs to our bedroom again and we no longer needed to sleep downstairs. Today we went for a walk in the harbor again. Life is good! How blessed we are!
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