Scott's Hospital Admittance
Saturday
morning, January 14th, we decided to take Scott to the ER. For months
we knew something was wrong, his quality of life was miserable, and we
were really struggling to be cheerful and to readjust our lives to ease
the stress. Our doctor said weight loss was the number one goal for him
and to get exercise in. On his work trip, he decided to get some
exercise in and it tipped him over the edge and gave him a new symptom
of not being able to breathe. For several days it felt like Darth Vader
was choking him, and on Saturday his breathing got even worse. All night
he could hardly get any rest with all the panic, and the slightest lean
backwards closed his air ways. The ER was the right choice. The doctor
read his chart history, saw he was overweight, and broke the news to us
in a reluctant smile that it was sleep apnea and it finally caught up
with him. We listened for awhile nodding, and then I asked "so you
really think it's sleep apnea? Is there anything else it could possibly
be?". She shrugged and asked, "well, are you having trouble
swallowing?". After talking to us a bit more, her eyes widened, "Oh,
you're feeling this right now? So not just at night?". It was a bit of a
horror to realize she was misunderstanding us the entire time, but she
had him have a neck cat scan. Three hours later (and three hours after
her shift, she stayed!) she returned saying there was something, and
that she wanted to be there to the end for us. She couldn't tell us what
it was, but only that there was something, and that was what was
causing all the symptoms. She had Scott submitted to the hospital
immediately.
What's happening to Scott? Basically, an Superior Vena Cava vein (which is the big, one-inch vein that drains all the blood back from his head and upper body back down to the heart), has been squished closed by an enlarged and hardened lymph node... and that's not good, just so you know. He seems to be getting worse, and I'm so happy we brought him in. Even at the hospital, his arms are now noticeably swollen. He can walk, but that's about it and has to take it easy (not work out). Today they did a biopsy of the fluid in his neck, which has been choking him, and we will hopefully know a bit more in 2-3 days of why the lymph nodes are swelling. A doctor told us the results might not tell us anything... but we can go the optimistic route and say it has to say SOMETHING. It looks like Scott is going to have to have his portion controlled, delicious hospital food for awhile longer. The bottom line is though, they need to figure out what is making his lymph nodes swell and possibly, continue to grow.
George and Emilie had a hard time staying in the room to visit, but they had a wonderful time yesterday with daddy. George especially loved playing his math game, and Emilie loved wrecking havoc. They both were sweet little monsters, pressing alarm buttons and running away from me down the hall... we did eventually get in a nice movie though, and they stayed put for the most part for that!
Today it was just me down the hill and my mom babysat my poor now-sick babies. Yes, dropping toys on the hospital floor and then sucking on them apparently will make you sick. George now has a high fever (can't tell how high, all our thermometers seem to be broken, but around 102F), and Emilie might be catching it too. The positive side, them being sick today, made them more manageable for my mom who isn't use to baby sitting them. George basically watched TV all day and is really in the dumps. Thankfully TV is really distracting! Tomorrow we hope to see Scott again, but I'll have to see how the kids are doing. Since they got sick from the hospital, I don't feel guilty taking them back as long as I keep them close and in our room (which they probably got sick from anyway), but I'll have to see how they're feeling. Going down the hill is a big production, takes an hour drive each way, and is pretty hard on them. We had a video chat with Scott this evening, and just might have to have another with him and the kids tomorrow.
What's happening to Scott? Basically, an Superior Vena Cava vein (which is the big, one-inch vein that drains all the blood back from his head and upper body back down to the heart), has been squished closed by an enlarged and hardened lymph node... and that's not good, just so you know. He seems to be getting worse, and I'm so happy we brought him in. Even at the hospital, his arms are now noticeably swollen. He can walk, but that's about it and has to take it easy (not work out). Today they did a biopsy of the fluid in his neck, which has been choking him, and we will hopefully know a bit more in 2-3 days of why the lymph nodes are swelling. A doctor told us the results might not tell us anything... but we can go the optimistic route and say it has to say SOMETHING. It looks like Scott is going to have to have his portion controlled, delicious hospital food for awhile longer. The bottom line is though, they need to figure out what is making his lymph nodes swell and possibly, continue to grow.
George and Emilie had a hard time staying in the room to visit, but they had a wonderful time yesterday with daddy. George especially loved playing his math game, and Emilie loved wrecking havoc. They both were sweet little monsters, pressing alarm buttons and running away from me down the hall... we did eventually get in a nice movie though, and they stayed put for the most part for that!
Today it was just me down the hill and my mom babysat my poor now-sick babies. Yes, dropping toys on the hospital floor and then sucking on them apparently will make you sick. George now has a high fever (can't tell how high, all our thermometers seem to be broken, but around 102F), and Emilie might be catching it too. The positive side, them being sick today, made them more manageable for my mom who isn't use to baby sitting them. George basically watched TV all day and is really in the dumps. Thankfully TV is really distracting! Tomorrow we hope to see Scott again, but I'll have to see how the kids are doing. Since they got sick from the hospital, I don't feel guilty taking them back as long as I keep them close and in our room (which they probably got sick from anyway), but I'll have to see how they're feeling. Going down the hill is a big production, takes an hour drive each way, and is pretty hard on them. We had a video chat with Scott this evening, and just might have to have another with him and the kids tomorrow.
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