Houston: EMS to hospital

2009-03-16/17/18/19th

Well this week was an exciting for us both.We decided to leave on Monday after I got the car gone over and needed a new battery as the one I had has a couple of dead cells.So we left in the afternoon and wanted to Galveston and just ride the Sea Wall and see how much progress after Hurricane IKE.They have done alot and since the weather was so nice there were alot of folks on the beach.We had Lad and an appt. in Houston on Tuesday and two on Wednesday. Dr. O'Brien decided since Ed's poor arms were being used twice a week for blood draw and it is getting to be about every 10 days for at least 2 blood transfusions his veins were becoming very weak and starting to collapse, he needed a PICC line. http://picclinenursing.com/picc_why.html
Ed agreed to this immediately as he is tired of being stuck and he is bruising so easily now.We were going to have this done on Wednesday after our visit with Dr. Dilley the urologist.His Hemoglobin was 9.7 and his platelets were dropping and were at 32, but Dr O'Brien said we would watch and not worry til they hit 15..So off to the motel we go for a nice evening of rest and a good movie.
Well about 3am Ed started to have some severe pain in his side and it was traveling up to his left shoulder.By 6am I was becoming scared maybe he may have ruptured a blood vessel and needed help so we called the EMS (THANKS TO MICHELE, who he wanted to talk to before we called EMS) and he was taken to the emergency room.His hemoglobin dropped to 7.3 and his platelets were now at 21. So he received his PICC line there and was given a room (which we didn't get til midnight).He needed 2 transfusions, but since it has to be radioactive we had to wait most of the day.We were told he was having Splenetic infarction's. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/193718-overview
His feet are now starting to swell pretty bad,and he has some Pneumonia in his left lung and was put on Antibiotics.He was so happy they didn't have to stick him with another needle,he had a PICC line!He got his transfusions and he had a fit and wanted out of the hospital NOW! so they let him come home Friday.We arrived her about 9:30pm. But he has to go to the Lab and see Dr Qardi Tuesday and watch the level of his platelets.And if they get down to 15 he will have to have a platelet transfusion.
We are now at a stage where we feel Ed should not be left alone,as he really is bored and doesn't eat right.And he still feels he can do anything.But the spleen is still in serious Jeopardy!!! Molly (another sister) is with us this weekend..