It Takes an Army

Ultrasound shows Queen Nephrotiti still looks great

Some stories are not any fun to re-tell.

An infection last week landed me in the hospital again.  Fatigue that began Wednesday followed by a fever late Thursday prompted a phone call to my UCSF transplant doctor shortly before midnight Friday.   I know by now a 102ºF fever will send me to the Emergency.

I don’t actually feel too out of sorts as I check in to Kaiser though that doesn’t last.  Through the wee early hours of Friday morning I meet a steady stream of doctors, nurses, PCTs (patient care technicians), phlebotomists, radiologist, and more.  They come for blood draw, urine sample, vitals, an IV hookup for fluid and antibiotics; the doctor listens to my heart and lungs, then asks to see my scar so she can press on where new kidney lies.  No pain, I report.   I’m wheeled to ultrasound to get a closer look.  I’m eventually sent for chest X-rays as well.  After I’m back, a new nurse soon arrives, later a new lab tech, even a new doctor; it’s a new shift.  And so, we rinse and repeat.

It takes an army to protect the Queen.

I’m well cared for and thoroughly checked.  I know the drill, and it’s all good.  I don’t know what time it is, maybe 2am or 3am, but I’m exhausted.  I do find five to 45 minutes of down time here and there.   After the ultrasound is completed, I’m seated back in my wheelchair parked in the hallway.  As I await my “driver” to transport me back to my room on another floor, I doze off.   When I stir myself awake, I call to my ultrasound technician, “Uh, hello! I’m still here.”

He’s alarmed and apologizes, “Oh! Sorry, we only have two drivers tonight.  I’ll take you back.”

Funny, they actually are called “drivers,” and this package is delayed.

A preliminary test comes back to confirm that I am fighting a bacteria;  other tests rule out the source of my fever.  Chest X-ray is negative (no pneumonia), and kidney ultrasound is negative (Queen Nephrotiti still looks mah-velous).  My UCSF transplant doctor directs the Kaiser doctor to keep me for the next two days as we wait for blood and urine culture results.  Of course there are still BP checks, blood draws and the ongoing IV infusion of fluid and antibiotics, but the flurry of first arrival has passed.   While my vitals are mostly normal, my temperature still fluctuates.  I’m starting to recognize that when I get chills, a fever will follow.

I’m also feeling more queasy over time.  Saturday I can’t keep any food down, and a headache begins to plague me.  I ask for Tylenol and nausea medicine.  But it takes a change of nausea medicine 12 hours later to finally chase away the queasiness, allowing me more restful sleep.

By Sunday morning I am finally feeling well.  The doctor checks in during his morning rounds. The culprit has been identified: E. Coli.  He can now send me home with the right antibiotic, but not without a stern directive: This was your second infection to put you in the hospital this year.  You’re immunosuppressed.  You’re much more susceptible so you need to be careful.   Call your doctor at the first sign of any symptom, even if it’s just fatigue.  

Of course I’m too embarrassed to tell him that I just wrote several blog posts about how careful I am to protect myself from illness.  😁

Now that I’m home, I’ll re-read them after a good night’s sleep.

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Thanks for all the well wishes, prayers and offers to help from the few of you who heard.  I was too sick to write this blog post until I got home.  Thank you, Lee Family, for delivering the smoothie to battle my queasy stomach!  And proud of my boys, especially Marty, for holding down the fort while Mom took Queen Neph to a Kaiser Spa getaway. (No more breakfast in bed.)

Oops. I forgot to leave watering instructions while I was gone.