Pellet heads!! What's up today?

Totally agree!

 

On the ranch.

 

So it's been one heck of a week .

Last Fri night Lori walk by heading to the bathroom saying she's just felt icky all day. I go upstairs to put food in the cat feeder and I hear her scream my name, and I mean scream. I run downstairs (well sorta my knees and hip don't really allow it) and find her on the floor outside the bathroom, vomiting blood and about to pass out. Being old first thing flashing in my head is "Jimi Hendrix, don't let her lay down she'll choke".
So I get her on her side, kinda propped against the wall so I can grab my phone and dial 911. While I'm talking with 911 she comes to and decides to go sit in a chair. EMTs are there in 5 min. She starts vomiting again but doesn't want to go in ambulance. I just said "no you're going, right now". She vomits up more blood in ambulance. I do a quick clean up of the mess (so the cat doesn't get into it) and I'm at the hospital a few min after they got there around 11.
They get her stable, give her a unit of blood (her hemoglobin was 6.9 should be 12 or higher they said). Did an endoscopy the next morning and found bleeding veins in her esophagus. Doc got them tied off as best she could. Said she'd lost a lot of blood.

Over the weekend they did tests and they're stumped. All her symptoms point toward liver cirrhosis. But all her liver functions are normal, ultrasounds and x-rays don't show any of they blood flow restrictions/damage that would normally be there. They said she has a slightly fatty liver but what she experienced isn't usually what one gets. Docs and nurses kept asking "are you sure you're not a drinker?". We answer "is 3-4 drinks a YEAR excessive?"

They had a horrible time drawing blood (and they needed some every 4-6 hours). Lori has small veins and they roll so it's very hard to get them. At one point 4 different nurses came in before they got a hit. They ended up using an portable ultrasound scanner to locate a good vein in her upper arm and put in an IV. Which clotted up a day later and they had to do it again on her other arm.

She got to come home late Tuesday. So far they figured out she's anemic but are stumped still as to why she started bleeding. So she's having a few different ultrasound tests, another endoscopy and a colonoscopy in the next couple weeks. She's on Nadolol (Corgard) to lower the blood pressure from the liver to esophagus and iron to help the anemia. They dismiss any of the gall bladder/liver/common duct issues she had from 2016-20 ( 2 surgeries, 3 endoscopies for stones in common duct, jaundice ) as having any impact on causing her current condition. She's feeling better other than the extra 20 lbs of water weight gain from all the fluid they kept pumping into her.

First time in my life I've had to deal with a potential life ending situation. Lori said I was surprisingly calm. After she was stable at the hospital I realized my hands were shaking. Guess I was more scared than I let on. Now let's hope they can find a cause and solution.

sam

 

Hope she gets well soon! Sending good vibes!

 

scajjr2

Prayers for your wife, that's some scary chit right there

 

I'm surprised that you can type. Crying sometimes helps, there is little that one can do once 911 is called.

 

Hope they can figure out what is causing Loris issues and gets well soon

 

That must have been super scary for both of you. Good for you making sure she went to the hospital! Whether they figure it out or not, I hope the issue clears up quickly.

Stay calm during the emergency, get things done that need to get done, then panic (get the shakes, feel scared/mad, yell/cry, mind race incoherently) afterwards when there is time. That is the order that will help ensure the best outcome - sounds like you nailed it.

 

WOW! Hope they get it all figured out......glad you were there to call 911.

 

Bit nippy here this AM. Stove is chugging along and so is the propane furnace.

 

Thanks for all the good wishes & prayers. She's doing a bit better.

Today she's doing some research and finds that the psoriatic arthritis she has can cause liver damage ALONG WITH the medication they have her on for it, Stelara. She's been on it for a year now. And none of the doctors mentioned this while she was in the hospital. And they have all her records. And she had a Stelara shot on 12/28. We thought it was unfortunate that the program she was in that covered most of the cost ended (her ortho & derm docs are looking at other bio-logics she could use) but now, not so much. The Stelara worked well on the psoriasis though, not so much on the arthritis end.
One of those "if the disease doesn't kill ya, the treatment will".

sam

 

I hope things go ok. That's some serious chit. Strong unlike.

 

Some of the treatments can do other things to you so there is little difference between them and feeling dead.

 

Ain't that the truth. Some of the 'treatments' are worse, much worse than the cure. Been there, did that and not too long ago either. I'm not one to roll over and play dead. Not what I'm about. We all die eventually, I prefer to die naturally, not from some chemical induced means.

 

Holy crap Sam! I cannot imagine how scary that was. I am praying they find the cause...and then a solution for Lori

 

I’m glad she’s doing a little better….
Absolutely none of my business but if you aren’t already, can you arrange referrals to get her seen in Boston? Some of the best hospitals in the world are just about an hour or less from Kingston.