A puzzle wrapped in an enigma

Karl certainly has NOT lost his sense of humor! I walked into the emergency room at University Hospital on Tuesday and found this:

The stickers were certainly alarming and I wondered what on earth they could be scanning in his head that had to do with his kidneys. Of course he said they had given him a brain scan and didn't find anything. Turns out they had given him and EKG and a wastebasket wasn't nearby so he stuck these on his head just for fun. Everyone that walked past his room and looked in did a double-take. Then they smiled and went about their business.

I am so thankful for Karl's sense of humor. He was admitted to the ICU on Wednesday about midnight. (It was a long day/night in the ER while he waited for doctors to make up their minds about whether he should go in the ICU or a regular room). Upon arrival after seeing the stickers on his head, one of the nurses declared, "So we have a comedian on our hands." On Wednesday afternoon they transferred him to a regular room (5B-5425 for those who are thinking of a visit). Several teams of doctors came by with theories about what's happening to him. The conclusion is that Karl is definitely having an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. He also has an external yeast infection caused by the antibiotics which is being treated topically (blood cultures were negative for an internal infection). The problem is that an allergic reaction to antibiotics does not explain a drop in blood pressure. As he told the doctors with a wry smile, "I'm a puzzle wrapped in an enigma."

A team of endocrinologists came in on Wednesday and said they wanted to run more tests on his adrenal and pituitary glands. They've already determined his thyroid needs more attention so they upped that medication. On Thursday his internal medicine team came in and declared that Karl would probably be released soon. About an hour later his renal team came to ask if they could do a kidney biopsy, which means he'll be there another day, at least.

Of course the risks for Karl are a little different than for you and me. Karl is not your typical patient. Then again, he's not your typical human! He inspires me. After explaining everything that could possibly go wrong -- from bleeding, to infection, to the loss of a kidney -- Karl said, "put me on the schedule. I want to get to the bottom of this." The nephrologists hope they can pinpoint the cause of the problems and minimize damage to the kidneys.

We are thankful they are looking at all angles and we hope they can figure out Karl (the team of psychiatrists have yet to be seen)! In the meantime, I'm praying the biopsy goes well today, that there are no complications and that they find it's an acute, rather than chronic, issue that can be treated easily and again, with no complications.

Blessings,

Kerry