I'm sorry I haven't given an update lately; I've been out of town. But Karl has sure been through the ringer and can really use a prayer booster shot.
On Friday Karl's creatinine levels stayed around 4 and his blood pressure was still 75/40. His kidneys were working okay and Karl was comfortable and cutting up on the phone with me and with medical personnel. They did a CT scan on his body but could not pinpoint a specific source of infection. There was fluid build-up around his lungs, but doctors thought maybe that it was due more from all the fluid they had been giving him intraveneously rather than the pneumonia. They ruled out that the infection was due to the port in his chest. Karl slept most of the day.
On Saturday Karl began running a fever. It spiked to 103.8 which is when they decided to put him on a bed of ice to bring down his fever. 'Doctors said the infection had gone septic again. To try to remedy that, they gave him a watered-down version of the vancomycin that caused him to have Red Man's Syndrome in Mayo Clinic. Remember that? They also infused it slower, thinking that would allow his body to accept it without any issues. Mom reported that within 5 minutes of infusion, his skin started getting blotchy and he began itching. Needless to say, they dicontinued the vanco immediately and told him, if asked, to say that he's very allergic to it. Karl was kept on ice most of the night because his fever was still elevated. Mom said she said a prayer over him and he woke up long enough to grab her hand as she was doing so. I talked to him about 1 a.m. EDT; he seemed in good spirits although very tired.
Today Karl is VERY tired. His fever is lower and he's now being cooled by fans, cold compresses and only a sheet to cover his body. Mom said he didn't want to be bothered. The tell-tale sign is that he keeps a sheet over his head. We figure he got little or no sleep during the night and the staff wants him to sleep as much as possible. The good news is that his creatinine levels are almost normal and his blood pressure is more acceptable, albeit a bit low still. They think perhaps maybe they're past the point of Karl being septic. They tapped his lungs and drained a quart of fluid from it. They will run a culture on it. Only sputum in previous cultures has showed signs of infection and as Karl said, they checked every orifice. They tried a different antibiotic on him and we're hopeful this one will do the trick. They told Mom that draining his lungs will allow him to cough and exercise his lungs. There has not been any discussion about dialysis since his first admission to Maui Memorial on April 3.
Mom is hanging in there. I asked her if she wanted me to fly out and help. She said absolutely not. She's been receiving hugs and words of encouragement from the staff and both the hospital and the hotel. She was told by the social worker that she shouldn't worry about flight arrangement, which put her at ease. She IS worried that Karl will be very weak when he's released. But I imagine the social worker will make arrangements when the time comes to address that situation. There is no talk of a release date -- that's way too soon. I'm just praying Mom and Karl will be home for their granddaughter/niece's wedding on May 1. But most of all, I'm praying they figure out what combination of drugs works to knock out the infection so that Karl begins feeling better. That would be a wonderful wedding gift.
We are feeling your prayers and concern and thank you for them.
Hugs and blessings,
Kerry
10 p.m. EDT: Just talked to Mom. Karl's fever is down and he's feeling better. I could hear him in the background chit-chatting with the nurse. Mom said everyone there loves him. No surprise!
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