Monday, June 15, 2009

Hosptial Stay #7

Not that I am counting or anything...but seriously...7 admissions since March. I told Gess that I am going to plant myself in the clinic today until I get answers.

So...last night we went out to dinner at our new favorite hamburger spot (Hamburger Harry's if you are in Seattle--yummy!). Gess wanted to get out of the house, but wasn't up for much, so this was his choice of adventure. When we got home he didn't feel well so sort of half laid down on the couch and what do you know, he started coughing up blood. Ugh. It was probably about a 1/4 cup, which is the presumptive "you need to go to the hospital" amount. But he refused, arguing that "they" (meaning the doctors) couldn't do anything. This is a valid concern considering. I still suggested that he go, but he decided not to and went to bed. About 45 minutes later I heard him calling me and came downstairs to find him coughing up blood again. This time about 3/4 of a cup. I told him that we were going to the hospital. While he argued with me for a bit, he eventually agreed. The bleeding had stopped by then, so we didn't rush. He asked me if I wanted his dad to come out and I hesitated a bit before saying my normal "no." So he got on the phone and called him (even though it was after midnight Florida time). His dad said that he will be here in the next couple of days. It was be nice to have him here, but at the same time I feel badly since there is probably not a lot that he can actually "do." CF seems to involve lots and lots of waiting.

Anyway, so we took Beauty to our friends' house for a sleepover and then headed to the UW. When we got there the ER waiting room was empty, which I don' t think that I have ever seen. By now, the doctors and nurses have seen us so many times that we don't have to go through the normal "so what brings you in tonight" sort of stuff and they all seemed rather sympathetic.

The on-call pulmonologist came down and she is a doctor that occasionally shows up at the CF clinic (according to Gess at least, I have never seen her there) and is somewhat familiar with Gess, having met him on the floor before. We decided that it was best not to do anything last night since IR was not in the hospital and the bleeding had been stopped for a couple of hours since that time. So, they admitted him to the ICU and I went home to get a little sleep.

No calls in the middle of the night, which is a good thing. Today will be an interesting day to see what happens.

This is just SO frustrating. Ughhhh...

5 comments:

niki36 said...

Coughing up blood is NOOO fun. My husband often says lets go to the hospital, and I usually say no too because what are they going to do? So frustrating! I hope Gess feels better soon.

Just me said...

Man, I hate that this is happening again. How frustrating for both of you. It just doesn't seem possible that they can't find where this blood is coming from. I really hope you get some answers.

Thinking of you.

Stacey

Amy said...

I am SO very sorry Lisa! I really wish you guys would get a break! My heart aches for both of you!!!

Take care of yourself as well :)

CowTown said...

I don't know if this is possible or not (insurance reasons, etc) but can you and Gess go to another hospital and clinic for a second or third opinion? I know you mentioned this on the boards, but really....this is crazy.

Again, I've never dealt with bleeds so I am clueless on personal experiences with this topic. I know your IR guys went in to find the source of the bleeds and couldn't find it. Maybe some one else can find it you'd be done with all this bs.

Just a thought.

I too am so worried about you guys! I feel for both of you and I really want you to have some type of 'normal' again.

I'm glad to hear you got him in there, and that you accepted his dad's help. That should be a good thing so you can rest in between too.

Take care of yourself.
<3

Cystic Gal said...

I'm new to your blog because I just started a blog: http://cysticgal.blogspot.com/

I have had problems with hemoptysis in the past and indeed, avoiding going to the hospital is the impulse since, you know, I'm always afraid that they'll kill me! I hope your husband's hemoptysis clears up, and that you both are feeling better (body and mind) soon!

I also agree with the previous comment- you might want to try another CF doc's opinion. I had a lot of trouble getting help with my hemoptysis before I was finally diagnosed with a particular problem BY MY GYNECOLOGIST, and we resolved the problem completely!!
With love, CG (Cystic Gal)