Off track
Well. I said “back on track” two weeks ago, and I’d like to formally retract that.
How it started
Last week Dad got a UTI, annoying, common, treatable. He started antibiotics and we figured that was that. Instead he went the wrong direction. First no appetite (more than usual, which is saying something), then vomiting, then so weak and cold he could barley get out of bed. By Monday it was clearly not just a UTI anymore, and Tuesday morning I took him to the ER. “Took” is a tad generous. He wanted to wait a bit to go, but I did not want that, so I won.
Tuesday
The ER figured out fast that the infection had gotten into his system — sepsis — and that his sodium, our old nemesis, had dropped to another new low of 118. That explained the exhaustion. It also explained why he looked like Casper the friendly ghost. At one point the NP told me he was the sickest patient in the entire hospital that day. I believed her.
Then the CT scan explained everything else. Remember the kidneys that were “actually, perfect” two weeks ago? They were both backed up. Some swelling in his pelvis was pressing on the tubes that drain the kidneys, and the doctors were clear that it didn’t matter which antibiotic he was on, nothing was going to work until that blockage was fixed.
They took him for surgery that afternoon to place drainage tubes into both kidneys through his back. It took the pressure off right away, and it means the antibiotics can finally do their job. From there he went to the ICU, mostly so they could correct the sodium slowly and check labs every two hours.
I’ll be honest: yesterday was the scariest day I’ve seen during this whole process. Sepsis is one of those words you don’t want to hear, and watching them move him so quickly and into the ICU was hard. But they caught it early, they moved fast, and he’s in the best place he can be right now.
Wednesday (today), which was better
His sodium is climbing at exactly the pace it’s supposed to. The drains are working. His heart and kidney function have looked good the whole time, which tells us he had more in the tank than the numbers let on. He got up and walked the halls today, and stopped for a few wall push-ups while he was up and at-em. Physical therapy took one look at him and said they didn’t need to see him after today. Hell yes, Dad!
He is wiped out. Nobody sleeps in the ICU, and he had a needle in his arm every two hours last night. The good news is that as I was writing this, they moved him out of the ICU and onto a regular floor. He'll be in for several more days while they make sure the infection is really on its way out, but he's headed the right direction — and hopefully toward some actual sleep.
What would help
Rest, mostly. If you’ve called or text him and heard nothing back, that’s because I’ve had his phone most of the time. He’s not ignoring you, I’m running interference. We're keeping visitors to close family for now, and honestly that's what he needs. Now that he's out of the ICU, I'll let you know when that changes.
I also haven’t mentioned the GoFundMe in a while. If you’ve been looking for a way to help from a distance, that’s the way. No pressure, ever, the messages matter just as much.
Thanks for reading this and checking in on him. It matters more this week than usual.
