Tuesday, March 29, 2016

The Bad News, The Good News, and The BEST News!!

First, the bad news. Don’s abdominal pain increased to a level that was almost unbearable last Monday. So, after our monthly visit with the home dialysis care team at the Fresenius East Center, we headed for St. Mary’s Hospital and checked him into the Emergency Room. Don’s primary care physician (PCP) Dr. Robertson in Benson had suggested that he get checked for mesenteric ischemia, as noted in my last blog post. The ER doc agreed to order the angiogram (CTA with contrast) and keep Don in the hospital overnight.

On Tuesday morning, in prep for the angiogram Don’s nurse was delivering an FFP (fresh frozen plasma) because he has been taking warfarin. Just as I walked into his room, he had a reaction to the FFP, with his blood pressure hitting 210/120 and he was sweating profusely and shaking uncontrollably. Two nurses, two techs and the doctor were trying to take care of him when it was decided to transfer him to the ICU. I followed them and it didn’t take long for the ICU crew to stabilize him. The procedure was rescheduled for Wednesday morning.

Long story short, a multitude of tests were conducted during the next several days, and all of them turned up negative, leaving the cause of Don’s pain a mystery. It was discovered that he has Barrett’s Esophagus, and possibly a small stone in his gall bladder. Neither of these could be causing the pain.

That’s the good news. Don has no cancer, no polyps, no growths or abnormalities. His innards have been scanned from top down and bottom up, scoped, and examined every way imaginable. His body seems to be doing well. However, the pain persists.

Today Don and I met with a nurse practitioner who specializes in pain management. She is working to reach a level where Don can tolerate his pain since the source can’t be found. The doctor on duty this week isn’t as interested in finding the source of the pain as last week’s doc, and wanted to discharge him today. Don knew he had the right to appeal the discharge, which he did, and will be able to stay another day or so to work with the NP.

Now for the BEST news. Two phrenologists (kidney docs) have reviewed Don’s creatinine and GFR and have concluded that his kidneys have rebounded to a level where he doesn’t need dialysis! WOW! Prayers answered! After 9 months we understand that it’s very rare for kidneys to recover, but we’re so happy Don’s are in that small minority!

When we first learned yesterday that this might be the case, we both hoped against hope that it would prove true. Now that we have definitive results and advice, we became absolutely giddy in our joy! Time to celebrate! We’ll still watch his kidney function with frequent tests and continue to have him monitored by a phrenologist, but we no longer have to perform dialysis! HURRAY!!!

I have no pictures from this week, so here’s a happy selfie of me and Gigi.

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27 comments:

  1. Oh, my gosh! That is WONDERFUL! All your hard work has paid off now! W.C. and I are thrilled for you both!

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  2. That is wonderful news! I'm so happy for both of you!

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  3. This is wonderful news, now to get rid of the pain......Good luck!

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  4. That's absolutely fantastic. God is Good. Hug him for us. Now you can travel with ease. Praise God is all I can say.

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  5. Great news about the dialysis but would be nice to find the source of his pain!

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  6. That's absolutely fantastic. God is Good. Hug him for us. Now you can travel with ease. Praise God is all I can say.

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  7. What a wonderful surprise!! No more dyalisis. We will continue to pray that the Dr.'s find a the reason for the pain better yet that the pain will go away

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  8. WONDERFUL WONDERFUL NEWS!!! Now hopefully they can relieve his pain issues. Hugs and prayers to you both..

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  9. We are so happy for this wonderful news. Enjoy the joy!!#

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  10. We are so happy for this wonderful news. Enjoy the joy!!#

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  11. God answers prayers!! Charles and I are ecstatic for you both! Now, let's get that mystery pain fixed

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  12. God answers prayers!! Charles and I are ecstatic for you both! Now, let's get that mystery pain fixed

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  13. What good news, and you and GiGi are showing your happiness. Give Don a hug and now lets hope the pain gets handled. Hugs D & M

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  14. Great news that Don doesn't need to continue the dialysis! Hope he gets his pain under control soon.

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  15. That is indeed great news ... hopefully the pain will be diagnosed or resolve itself as well.

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  16. Wonderful news with the dialysis, now they need to get the other issues resolved. LIVE STRONG!!!!!!!

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  17. Wow, what unexpected and wonderful news! Now, if they can only come up with an explanation of his abdominal pain. Covering up the pain without understanding what is causing it does not sound like a good solution to me.

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  18. Awesome news about the dialysis. Prayers do get answered but the source of the pain needs to be found and the pain needs to be controlled. Lynn and I will continue to pray for a solution. Happy trails to you both.

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  19. That's fantastic! Hope his pain goes away.

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  20. That's fantastic! Hope his pain goes away.

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  21. That is, indeed, wonderful news! So happy to hear it and happy for both of you! Keep on rolling! Hugs!

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  22. Awesome news about NO Dialysys. My best friend and I both suffer from bouts of abdominal pain, unknown cause. I do have adhesions so feel that they are the culprit and after a miserable few days things settle down "til the next time." Joan has even gone to E.R. via ambulance in the past the pain is that bad + no reason can be found. She does have trouble swallowing pills + food, does Don? Rarely do I have swallowing problems. Just trials of aging I reckon! Keep on keeping on is my motto!

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    1. Hi Patty, Don doesn't have any trouble swallowing pills - he usually takes them with either Nepro (a diabetic/dialysis shake) or applesauce. Yes, aging isn't for sissies! And we're looking at alternative methods of controlling the pain. Sorry to hear you and your friend have similar problems.

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  23. What wonderful news, kidneys being restored . Sounds like help from ' above ' !
    Rejoicing with you. 😊😊

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  24. Sharon and Don, I have been off social media for the most part the past several weeks. Your great news is AMAZING! I am so happy for you, and hopeful that the pain can go away faster than the kidney issues managed to. Prayers of healing and thanksgiving and hugs coming your way!

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