Friday Update For Ben

Just as we were going out the door this morning to head for the hospital, the house phone rang, but I didn't get to it in time, so then my cell phone rang. It was the ICU doctor. He needed my permission to give Ben some blood. I hate it when I get those calls, because I'm always thinking the worst. The main change in Ben's condition today is that they consider him "infectious" so we had to wear gowns, gloves and masks whenever we went into his room. Until they can actually figure out what infection gave him the high temperature, this will continue. The cultures have been coming back negative so they are thinking he has C.Dif or Claustridium Dificile. You can Google this if you want. It's a common infection patients get when they are being given so many anti-biotics. Right now he is on four anti-biotics. They are Diflucan, Vancomycin, Merrem and Flagyl. Most of these are to fight yeast infections, help stop his diarrhea and to fight the C.Dif. He is still sedated and intubated, but he does open his eyes a little and he reacts to my voice and he will squeeze my hand when I ask him to. They had to give him a blood transfusion because with all the liquids they are giving him, his blood count is getting low. His B/P dropped a lot this morning, so they put him on medications to raise it back up. He still has a little fever. It was running between 101 and 102 while I was there. Once when I was in his room, a Kidney Doctor came in and said she is watching his kidney function. She said it has taken another hit, but because his is urinated quite a bit and the color of it is good, she is optimistic that he will get all function back again. I would go in and sit with him for about 20 to 30 minutes and then I'd have to go back out to the waiting room with Lynn because I just get so stressed seeing him that way. Once I started crying while his nurse Alana was in the room with us. She saw him wrinkle his forehead and act like he was stomping his foot and she said she thinks he was trying to tell me not to cry. I would hold his hand and he would squeeze on it then kind of shake it, so I know he knew I was there. Once when a tech was putting a new picc line for his IV, he was kind of agitated. I was waiting outside the room while she was working so she would tell him I was outside waiting to come in and she said he would calm down when she told him that. Lynn and I went into the chapel to get away from the other people in the waiting room and I sat and prayed a little. It was a nice release. After we got back to my house this afternoon, we headed out for a walk and we get about 1/4 mile from the house and my cell rings. It's ICU telling me that the GI doctor wants to do a procedure called Paracentesis. They needed my permission to do it, but told me that they had to test him first to make sure his blood would clot. They told me there were three slight risks with the procedure. The first was bleeding, the second was infection and the third was bowel damage. During the procedure they stick a needle in his stomach and draw out fluids to do cultures so they could figure out why he is still distended. After running the tests, they could not do the procedure because his blood is too thin. They are now giving him Vitamin K to thicken it up. Problem was, they had already given him morphine to make him relax when they did the procedure, and then they didn't do it. But at least the morphine is making him sleep. I don't like it when they give morphine. I received a phone message from a social worker at Kaiser, but when I tried to call her back, I had to leave her a message. She said she was just checking to see how I was feeling and if I had plenty of support at home. Please continue the prayers.