I was at work when I got the phone call. Lili told me not to be alarmed, but that they were going to take Bob to the emergency room at UCLA. To be quite honest, I was not worried, but instead got into “task mode.”
I left work, got home, and took him to the hospital. Along for the ride was Lili, my mother-in-law Eva, and Marina. We arrived about 10:00 a.m.
Vitals were taken, medication information noted, and medical history reviewed. The rooms were full so we had to wait in the lobby until a bed opened up.
Finally an emergency room bed opened about a ½ hour later. Same information again was repeated and re-repeated to each and every nurse and doctor that came in to see Bob. They were so busy in ER today that they had set him up for an IV, but never hooked him up to an IV bag until I got back from an early lunch 1.5 hours later! Aargh!
Anyhow, after hours (I mean hours) of waiting, seeing different doctors and nurses, they finally decided to do an EKG. Bob was having chest pains when he would cramp. The EKG was fine. This sound gross, but a stool sample as well as blood was drawn.
His creatinine level came down again! Praise the Lord. It is 1.9 mg/dl as of today; yesterday it was 2.2 mg/dl. The reading from the stool sample indicated that he has Clostridium Difficile Colitis. You can read more about here: http://www.medicinenet.com/clostridium_difficile_colitis/article.htm
Because Bob’s immune system is suppressed and he’s on strong immunosuppressants (to avoid rejection of the new kidney), any bacteria can cause havoc on his body.
As a result of this diagnosis, he was admitted to the hospital. He’ll be there approximately about 2 days or so. He will be taking an antibiotic named Flagyl http://www.medicinenet.com/metronidazole/article.htm.
He’s now been moved to private room in the Gonda Observation Unit, in the newer part of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. That’s the update and I’m sticking to it!
We finally got home @ about 8:00 p.m. We are soooooo exhausted! I am somewhat at ease at the fact that he will be well taken care of at UCLA. However, I do miss him at home. I want him to be better, but I know that God has a plan for him and this long road to healing.
Please pray for recovery. His kidney is doing well, the creatinine levels keep coming down (yay!); this bacterial infection is just another hurdle to overcome. I reprimanded Bob that he MUST wear a mask and keep his hands clean anywhere he goes for the next 2 months. You know how husbands are; they think they know it all… Ü I still love him though!
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