Posted by Becky
Leif's neutrophil (white blood cells, i.e. his immune system) count is still zero, so they're watching carefully for signs of infection. No fever yet, though.
His hemoglobin count dropped quite a bit between yesterday and today, so today after he got a unit of blood and one of platelets, he got a CT scan. They wanted to check his butt, and also see if he had any internal bleeding. They did find some extra fluid in his abdomen that is likely to be blood plus other fluid. There is no way to tell where it might be coming from. The amount that's currently there is not a dangerous amount, but they don't want there to be any more. So, they're discontinuing his Neupogen shots for the moment. That is the shot that stimulates his bone marrow to produce neutrophils, but it can also lead to a ruptured spleen - which of course would be very bad. So no Neupogen for now. They are also going to put him on some aminocaproic acid (Amicar). That's a drug that will encourage clotting.
Aminocaproic acid can also increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis. That's the problem that people can get on flights to New Zealand if they don't stand up and move around often enough; basically a blood clot. So Leif will need to stay active while he's on this drug. They're also going to give him compression socks and a Sequential Compression Device for his legs. An SED inflates and deflates and sort of massages his legs. The doctor says that people say it feels good.
He doesn't have any symptoms of abdominal bleeding, like abdominal pain or dizziness. We will be watching for anything like that.
Despite all this and a lot of drowsiness due to the painkillers Leif is on for his back pain, he feels as good as he's felt in a while. His appetite is returning after a number of days of not feeling hungry. They are going to check his blood levels every 6 hours to watch for signs of more blood loss, and they also check his temperature frequently since he is at such high risk of infection/fever.
Although the CT scan was supposed to check his butt, the radiologist didn't say anything about it. It is hurting a bit more, though and is swelling up a bit. For a while you couldn't really tell where the incision was, but now it's visible again. They're treating it by starting him on Zosym, an additional antibiotic. If he gets a fever, they will add yet another antibiotic.
Leif's neutrophil (white blood cells, i.e. his immune system) count is still zero, so they're watching carefully for signs of infection. No fever yet, though.
His hemoglobin count dropped quite a bit between yesterday and today, so today after he got a unit of blood and one of platelets, he got a CT scan. They wanted to check his butt, and also see if he had any internal bleeding. They did find some extra fluid in his abdomen that is likely to be blood plus other fluid. There is no way to tell where it might be coming from. The amount that's currently there is not a dangerous amount, but they don't want there to be any more. So, they're discontinuing his Neupogen shots for the moment. That is the shot that stimulates his bone marrow to produce neutrophils, but it can also lead to a ruptured spleen - which of course would be very bad. So no Neupogen for now. They are also going to put him on some aminocaproic acid (Amicar). That's a drug that will encourage clotting.
Aminocaproic acid can also increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis. That's the problem that people can get on flights to New Zealand if they don't stand up and move around often enough; basically a blood clot. So Leif will need to stay active while he's on this drug. They're also going to give him compression socks and a Sequential Compression Device for his legs. An SED inflates and deflates and sort of massages his legs. The doctor says that people say it feels good.
He doesn't have any symptoms of abdominal bleeding, like abdominal pain or dizziness. We will be watching for anything like that.
Despite all this and a lot of drowsiness due to the painkillers Leif is on for his back pain, he feels as good as he's felt in a while. His appetite is returning after a number of days of not feeling hungry. They are going to check his blood levels every 6 hours to watch for signs of more blood loss, and they also check his temperature frequently since he is at such high risk of infection/fever.
Although the CT scan was supposed to check his butt, the radiologist didn't say anything about it. It is hurting a bit more, though and is swelling up a bit. For a while you couldn't really tell where the incision was, but now it's visible again. They're treating it by starting him on Zosym, an additional antibiotic. If he gets a fever, they will add yet another antibiotic.
I'm really impressed how detailed and accurate your reports are - they're much appreciated. The zombie report, however, was a little fuzzy and probably needs to be refined a bit. I hope the storm decides to leave you alone, but from the tracks I see it might get up there in a few days. At any rate, be careful. Love to you both!
ReplyDeleteTrue, the zombie report entered into wild speculation, I probably need to back it up with some Bayesian statistics before I can enter it into the Ignoble Awards.
DeleteThe storm here was mild wind and rain, although it did come through the window and get some things wet that were one the window shelf. I was not expecting that. Thankfully, one of the things that remained dry was my computer.