....and off we went!

Dad has been feeling progressively worse as this week has progressed. Things came to a head and escalated quickly yesterday........

Mom called me in the morning to tell me that Dad had spiked a fever of 103 Wednesday night, which for an adult, is not good. Although fever is a symptom of pancreatitis, which is what we thought was going on, a fever that high is usually a symptom of some type of infection.....and that's where things lie right now.

Mom and Dad were advised to go to the closest ER yesterday, which was Meritus Hospital in Hagerstown, MD. They provided fluids and pain meds and took lots of labs. None of the labs were pointing to any ONE cause. The ER doc on said that white cell count, liver enzymes, bilirubin were "slightly" elevated, but he didn't seem to know WHY Dad was feeling like poo. Nurse Amy was a gem and did what she could to help Dad feel better, but they were clearly out of their league with this. Meritus consulted with University of MD and Dad's awesome team of doctors at UMMC took no time to make the decision that he would be transported by ambulance to Baltimore that afternoon.....and off we went!

Dad arrived shortly before 6 last night. They already had his room ready to go, and he was watching TV when I finally got here. His room has a great view to the helipad, so every time a chopper comes in and out, I have to watch. Admittedly, I'm a child at times. Because he came from another hospital, anyone entering Dad's room must be gloved and gowned. This precaution is taken until all of the labs run on him come back clear that he's not carrying some unsavory "bug" from Meritus to here. I'm not crazy about the yellow gown, but the purple gloves are a nice addition to my Raven's attire.

More labs were done, and in the middle of the night, Dad was taken for a CT scan. This afternoon, Dr. Darwin performed another ERCP to replace the stent with a new one. Dr. Darwin said that the first type of stent that was put in on Sept 25th, wasn't draining the gall bladder as efficiently as it needed to, so they replaced it with a metal one which really opened up the plumbing. The gall bladder was backed up and became enlarged, creating a nice environment for an infection to take hold. There is bacteria in Dad's blood. Not good. Not good at all. Mom doesn't know the potential ramifications of that, which I'd like to keep that way. I have not had this discussion with Dad yet. I want to wait until he's feeling better. We got him here in time. Dad is here for the duration of this weekend, at least, on non-stop IV antibiotics. This infection must be stopped in its tracks!!!! We hope this does NOT delay surgery, but there is that possibility.

I know some of you readers will be in town on Sunday to watch the Cowgirls lose to the Ravens, or maybe you're just here to watch the cheerleaders. Either way, if you would want to stop in and visit Dad, give Mom or me a call first to see if he's up to it. Right now, he feels entirely too yucky to entertain visitors. Not to mention, he's not seen the inside of a shower in a day (or 2 or.....um....more?). We believe with 2 days of this new stent and IV antibiotics, he'll be a new man by Sunday.

We thank everyone so very much for their help and support. My colleagues at worked jumped in and took over when I had to leave school suddenly yesterday. My "other parents" in Honeywood took Sam for me yesterday so that I could be with Dad. The offers of support have ranged from watching Sam to administering enemas (Thank you, Barb F. Dad says, "You're way too anxious!")

For my prayer warriors, please pray that Dad wakes tomorrow feeling much better. Pray that this infection is "put in its place" and disappears from his bloodstream sooner than later. Pray that my mom finds comfort and learns to navigate the caregiver role with more confidence. (She's a bit of a hot mess.)

Have a good night.....much love to all.....Jen