D-Day

Today was D-Day for Karl...Doctor Day. He had two appointments -- one at 11:30 a.m. and one at 2:30 p.m. Unfortunately, Karl's creatinine level was very high (7) and his blood pressure was very low. So, as I write this, Karl and Mom are in the emergency room at U-M waiting for lab results so he can be admitted. Yes...again. We should have known; Karl has been sleeping a lot lately.

His new primary care physician, Dr. Mott, conferred with infectious disease control and they think Karl's having another adverse reaction to the antibiotic he's currently taking. Dr. Mott wants Karl to be in the hospital so they can figure this out once and for all. Seems like we've heard that before. (Pardon the frustration).

Anyway, I thought I'd let those of you who check on the blog know so that you can say an extra prayer for Karl. He sure needs 'em and we know they work!

Blessings,

Kerry

Gefülltes Schweinefilet

Thought I'd give you a brief update as to Karl's progress: he's hanging in there. The strong antibiotics he's infusing are causing the typical problems, which is causing some of his counts to be out of whack (a technical medical phrase, I believe). In order for his potassium and creatinine to be at normal levels, Karl has to drink an enormous amount of water. But, by golly, he's doing it. Three liters is the minimum, he's been told.

Karl is feeling much better, although he's still not a hundred percent. I imagine it will take time to get back to normal. It took him a few days to get rid of the extra fluid he was carrying due to the IVs he received at the hospital. The swelling finally went down enough for him to get out of bed for a bit the past few days.

Karl's gotten his appetite back and has been craving, of all things, carne asada. He talked about it for two days and looked up multiple recipes on the Internet. Mom finally got around to making it Thursday night and that seemed to satisfy his craving. I'm just hoping he doesn't crave something we can't make! The menu's a little more plain tomorrow...I'm taking him meatloaf for lunch and stuffed porkchops for dinner while Mom heads to Cleveland with a friend. I'm going to tell him the meatloaf is a wonderful French dish: Boeuf avec soupe à l'oignon et le ketchup and the pork is German: Gefülltes Schweinefilet. That'll throw him off (hopefully).

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Blessings,

Kerry

Home

Karl is home! He will give himself infusions of antibiotics every eight hours for the next two weeks, but that sure beats being in the hospital. He is still very puffy from all of the fluid they gave him. In fact, he's not sure he can transfer himself into his wheelchair because his joints are so stiff. However, he is confident that will remedy itself soon -- within a day or two -- and he'll be able to get back to some sense of normalcy.

I haven't talked to any doctors so I'm not sure what the consensus on Karl's diagnosis is, but based on piecing together what he's told me, it sounds as if there were a few issues that when put together, were a nasty mix. We know he definitely had pneumonia that went septic. Whether it started here in Michigan or Maui is unknown and moot. His kidneys were affected by the sepsis and began to shut down. In Maui they gave Karl antibiotics and steroids. U-M docs think the folks in Maui didn't keep him on the antibiotics long enough and had him on the steroids too long which means the pnemonia didn't go away completely and his kidneys could never get back in the fully-functioning mode. Of course there was the whole allergic reaction in Maui for which U-M doctors could offer no explanation. Regardless, Karl is now home and doing much much better. All of his levels are near or at normal.

His mood is getting better each day, but you can imagine how depressing this must be for Karl. At this point he says he'll never go on another vacation and instead of a tropical paradise, he thinks Maui is, well, quite the opposite. I'm sure as time goes by the bad memories will fade and he'll change his mind. Plus, we'll be working on him.

We know without a doubt that your prayers were instrumental in helping Karl get better. We are so thankful for your love and concern.

Blessings,

Kerry

Virtual wedding guest

It's been a busy last few days, but thankfully, things have settled down a bit for Karl. Today he was moved from ICU into a regular room at University Hospital. If anyone's interested in visiting, he's in unit 6B, room 435. Doctors still have not specifically pinpointed the cause of his infection. First they said it was a screw. Then they said it was another infection in the kidneys. Then they said it was his lungs. Now they're saying it may be an issue with steroids given to him in Maui. Regardless, they say they'll get to the bottom of it.

In the meantime, Karl was able to see his niece's wedding and part of the reception via a live-feed on his computer on Saturday. We told him we weren't going to have the volume on during the wedding in case they had to provide some sort of care for him at the hospital. Of course he protested (jokingly) because he said he planned to starting yelling when the pastor asked if there was anyone who had any reason that the couple shouldn't get married.

We also took the computer to the reception where people were able to send him instant messages. Unfortunately Karl was undergoing some pretty nasty procedures at that point. They believed his arms were giving inaccurate blood pressure readings and so they began sticking needles deep into the arteries in his arms. They poked him at least 20 times. Fortunately, they were right...his blood pressure was much better than what the cuff was telling. In the meantime, in order to raise what they thought was low blood pressure, they gave him a large amount of fluid intravenously. He puffed up like marshmallow and was pretty uncomfortable.

Tonight he was still a little puffy, but feeling better. His creatinine count is still high and staying steady at 4.9, but they feel it will drop. They believe once the steroids leave his system, his own adrenal glands will start making the proper amount and then his kidneys will get back to normal. All of his cultures came back negative which is leading the doctors in this direction.

While he feels he got very good care in Maui, he is very confident in his care at U-M. Dr. Schuetze stops in almost daily and seeing his familiar face gives Karl a huge boost of confidence. They have told him they hope to be sending him home sometime this week, but Karl doesn't want to come home unless he's "fixed." I'm sure he'd like to avoid unnecessary pokes and repeated questions.

I can't begin to tell you all how much we appreciate your prayers, thoughts and kind words. They mean so very much to all of us. And while last week was pretty stressful for all of us, I'm pretty sure this one will be much calmer...mostly because Karl's feeling better and there's not a wedding in the works!!

For those of you wondering, here's a photo of the bride and groom.

Nikki & Darrell Eaton

Broken Record

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but...Karl needs your prayers still/again. We had to take him to the University Hospital Emergency Room tonight. Mom reported that he slept most of the time on the plane and had a tough time keeping his eyes open even when he tried staying awake. It was a red flag. He then went straight off to bed and slept for five hours when he got home. After talking with Mom, I thought I should pay a visit. He seemed extremely tired, very dehydrated and his kidneys weren't doing their thing again. When we got to the ER, his blood pressure was very low (64/34) and his heart rate was high. Within 15 minutes of being seen by the resident, Karl was told he'd be admitted. You can imagine the disappointment.

The resident said these symptoms usually indicate an infection. After just a liter and a half of fluid, Karl's blood pressure was thankfully climbing. The nurse, after hearing that Mom and Karl had just returned from Maui, encouraged Mom to go home and rest. Mom didn't argue. She was completely exhausted. We headed home aroud 8:15 p.m.

Since then, my friend Marcy, who works at the U, said she checked on Karl. His blood pressure is better, but his creatinine is 5.9 (which means he's apparently producing urine again). He will be admitted to CCMU on 6D after they put in a central line.

Prior to that, Nikki, the bride-to-be, checked in on her Uncle while she was in Ann Arbor. They both had tears knowing that he probably won't be making it to the wedding on Saturday. But as she told him, "Unk, I'm glad you're back in Michigan. That's the best wedding present of all...having you here."

To that I say Amen.

Blessings,
Kerry

Finally home

Mom and Karl are home. Finally. They ended up switching airlines in Maui, which worked out in their favor...they got home sooner.

Both are very tired, especially Karl who made a beeline for his bed. But they are both very happy to be home.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and concern.

Blessings,

Kerry

My grandma was a Murphy

When the phone rang at 7:30 this morning, there was no way I thought it would be my mom. In fact, when I woke up around 6:30 I said a prayer that they were having a comfortable flight, that Karl got a seat in first class, and that they'd make their connections without issue.

You've heard of Murphy's Law, right? The law that if anything can go wrong, it will. Well, guess what? Mom and Karl are STILL in Maui. The plane that was supposed to bring them home had engine problems. So after hanging out at the airport for an extra three hours, Delta finally decided they were going to postpone the flight until 2 p.m. Hawaii time today. That means they should get here sometime before noon on Thursday.

After the initial shock, I started laughing. Then Mom started laughing. Really, what else can you do at this point? She said Karl now absolutely HATES Maui, to which we both laughed even more. At the airport Mom had to make a strong case for going back to the hotel from which they came. It's a five-minute shuttle drive and has handicapped-accessible rooms. Others on the flight had to go to Makena which is about an hour away. Of course Mom was cracking up at the thought of what her new friends -- the hotel employees -- would say when she went down for her coffee later this morning.

There is an unwritten rule on Hawaii -- you are not to take home anything that's natural unless it's sold or given to you. In other words, you shouldn't bottle up sand, collect shells, etc. because the Hawaiian god Pele will bestow upon you his wrath. I had to ask Mom if on one of her journeys she took home some black sand or something she shouldn't. She said not unless it was stuck between her toes.

Of course there's another way of looking at this whole thing: I think God is watching out for them. While Karl may not see it this way, I think God has intervened on several occasions during his trip. I know one thing: I sure don't want Mom and Karl on a plane with an engine in disrepair.

As we ended our conversation, Mom said Karl was sleeping well on the bed and she had made a makeshift bed on the couch and was going to grab some shuteye. She'd call later with details. Barring any other unforeseen circumstances, I'll let you know when they are safely home.

Blessings,
Kerry

Green light

Doctors today gave Karl the green light for discharge Monday. They took out his IVs on Saturday. While his creatinine is still 3.1, his potassium and magnesium are a little off and he's still a bit anemic, his nephrologist said this is all due to his kidneys trying to right themselves. He said he was sure they will be back to normal soon. His internist also said she was happy with Karl's test results. So, barring any crazy flare-ups, Mom and Karl may be on a plane back to Michigan tomorrow -- Tuesday at the latest.

Thankfully Karl has some frequent flyer miles and is going to try to upgrade to first class so he can be more comfortable for the flights. The first leg will be an eight-hour flight to Atlanta with a three-hour layover and then a two-hour flight to Detroit. They should touch down some time around 4:40 p.m. Tuesday or Wednesday, depending upon when they depart.

I know Karl can't wait to get out of there and we can't wait to have him home. Thank you all for your continued prayers. I'll let you know when he's finally back home.

Blessings,

Kerry

Impatient inpatient

I haven't had access to a computer for the past couple days, but wanted to give you an update on Karl. He was moved to a regular room on Thursday. His creatinine count is 3.3 and dropping and he's a bit anemic. Both of these issues are functions of his kidneys. Doctors believe a bit of Procrit may help his system and at the very least will help increase his hemoglobin numbers.

Karl's voice is much stronger and he really Really REALLY wants to get out of the hospital. But we've been reminding him that we want him to be strong enough to be able to handle a 14-hour day of flying and airports. The inpatient is very impatient.

Mom intends to leave Maui on Tuesday with a Detroit arrival on Wednesday afternoon. (My daughter Nikki is getting married May 1 and she wants to be home for that). We're praying Karl can make the same flight. We've been discussing all kinds of options, but until we know if/when Karl will be discharged, concrete plans can't be made.

Please pray that Karl's health (specifically his kidneys) continue to improve and that his patience not wear too thin.

Blessings,

Kerry

Great news!

This short and sweet post is to let you know that it looks like the doctors guessed right -- Karl was having a reaction to the antibiotic. His vitals are back to normal. His blood pressure is 126/71, pulse is 86 and temp is 98.6! He asked Mom to bring him two sausage McMuffins, two hashbrowns and two milks this morning for breakfast. His rash is gone as well. Mom didn't know if his creatinine numbers had dropped, but we're suspecting they have and doctors have told Mom they will. Mom is now hopeful they'll both be able to come home next week.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. It seems that Karl's turned the corner, but now we need him to make it the rest of the way home.

Blessings,

Kerry