Yesterday started with a fever and a trip up the hill to SCCA. After taking blood cultures and infusion hydration the fever seemed to subside and we were able to go back to the hotel. About 6:00pm Judy developed another fever. Several calls sent us to UWMC. After checking Judy out they started IV's and antibiotics. All was going well and we were just waiting for the antibiotic to finish and go home. At about 9:00 Judy complained about chest pains. I called the doctor over and within seconds Judy was crashing. She started shaking violently, they called them rigors. She went completely pale and her vital signs plummeted. Her BP was 50/28 pulse was 220-240 and she was out of control. You see this type of thing on TV but in real life it is intense. They struggled to get her stabilized and it seemed to last forever. Coupled with the chaos she started vomiting. She was wearing a oxygen mask, well you get the picture. That just compounded the problem. Since we were in infusion they weren't completely prepared for this type of thing. People were coming from all directions and before I new it we were off to ICU. I could hardly keep up with them. The ICU charge nurse was a guy named Ken, looked like the type of guy you would avoid. He was the most calm and confident person I have ever seen. It was still a struggle in ICU because they just didn't know what had happened. They tried to get her got her settled down with medications but things just weren't going well. The drugs slowed her heart down but the BP was a issue. Things settled down a bit but the process continued through out the night. At first they though she had a heart attack but as the blood results came back it showed no signs of that. They were also treating for a reaction to the antibiotics. As the night wore on the alarms continued to go off. It seemed it was something different every time. Low BP, low blood gases and erratic heart beat those types of things. In the morning the transplant team arrived and the consensus was that it must be an infection. They proceeded to throw all of the antibiotics available to cover they full spectrum, as they wait for cultures to grow. As we wait for that the BP continues to be a problem. They had her on two types of pressure drugs to constrict the veins. The doctor told Judy that he was surprised to see her coherent, he said that most people can't even talk. His surprise was quite sincere. The day brought many doctor visits sometimes the same ones two and three times with many meetings outside the door. They are trying to
wean her off of those drugs but so far it hasn't worked. Blood pressure laying down is fine but standing or sitting it drops to unsafe levels. She can't get out of bed so the catheter is her new best friend. Judy doesn't complain but she is about it! She had a nice debate this morning with the doctor about how bad she wanted it removed but the doctor won that one. We checked out of the hotel today as Judy will be here until at least Monday. Thanks to John and Connie for going over there and packing all of our stuff and I know it was a lot of work because we planned on being there for a month. We have reservations for Monday. The word about Judy got around the hospital pretty quickly because there were visits from the nurses from the transplant floor through out the day. I could go on forever about the events of the last 24 hours, it seems so surreal. As each hour passes Judy appears to be getting better. She still has a long road ahead but with all of your thoughts and prayers she will prevail.
Oh, Judy! You are absolutely amazing. -- Shelley
ReplyDeleteSo, Judy, you decided to throw them a curve ball, huh? Keep them hopping and YOU keep laying, please. Many extra prayers for you today. You are my HERO. Colleen
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