Update On Hubby

wolfen

It has been determined that my hubby has Sepsis. Docs are still unsure where the infection is coming from. One theory is an infection in the chemo port, but not certain, so he's being treated with broad range antibiotics. He had 2 litres of fluid drained from his abdomen and is feeling a little better. At least he is coherent. He was allowed tiny sips of water, but chokes each time, so mostly just mouth swabs. Since his mouth is dry, it's difficult for him to speak clearly. He still has difficulty staying awake.

He wanted to be transferred to the hospital adjacent to MDA, but the Intensivist there refused to take him. It was felt that he would receive the same level of ICU care where he is now located. Obviously there will be no cancer treatment for a while, hence no need to be near his team. He was somewhat upset by this, but his surgeon is out of town this week and chemo onc, next week. MDA apparently does not have partner doctors to take over for a patient when the main doctor is unavailable. I was a bit surprised by this hospital's attitude as his problems stem from the cancer treatments. I am mostly pleased with his current ICU care and the hospital is only 3 miles from me, but I am not the patient. I was upset, however, that the dietician failed to make an appearance today to begin some tube feeding and water consumption. He doesn't have much urine output even with the bags of fluid.  He will be in ICU as long as the Sepsis remains.

I was a bit surprised that he is referred to as a pallative care patient and the social worker jumped right on me to discuss "Advanced Directives", but it is an ICU unit and this is reality.

Please forgive me for not responding to posts right now. Each of you are in my thoughts. Will update tomorrow with further info.

Luv,

Wolfen

 

Billie67

Oh dear....
Poor hubby, poor you! I'm so sorry this is all happening to you. I sincerely hope they get this infection under control so he can resume treatments. I do remember being hospitalized for a week due to severe hydration and I couldn't do my treatment for a week either. Crazy thing is...my rad onc is in the same hospital! I thought they'd at least take me down there and then just take me back to my room afterwards but both the hospitalist and the onc said no way.
I hope his stay will be short and I will pray for you both. Remember to take good care of you too. Get some rest!
Billie

phrannie51

Oh honey....

sepsis!!  Of all things, I wasn't expecting that....thinking under my cancer tent, I was sure what was going on would be related to dehydration, or chemo....or you know....something due to treatments....but never sepsis.  You have not gotten one single break during all this, and my heart aches for you.  I imagine that when it comes to ICU's, the treatments for infection would be pretty much the same, and the same intensity of care.  Tho I certainly understand hubby's want to get to MDA where all the rest of his care is being done. 

You both have been tucked in my pocket for some time now....I wish there was something I could do for you, Wolfen.....put a little of your heaped plate onto mine.

Holding you close.

p

donfoo

So sorry to hear

I wish your hubby a speedy recovery. Sepsis is quite serious but it seems he is getting the best care now and his health will improve now that he is under constant care, monitoring, and receiving the necessary treatments to knock back the infection.

Stay strong and stay well yourself as I am sure the stress of this all can only be an added burden on your already overflowing plate.

best to you

don

CivilMatt

enjoy the lull

Wolfen,

 

I am glad the latest emergency has subsided and both of you are feeling better.  Rest when you can, stay strong and vigilant.

 

I am staying optimistic for the future for the both of you.

 

Amazed,

 

Matt

Skiffin16

Ice Chips...

Sorry for the ordeal..., but at least being in a facility is the best place to be under the circumstances...

Try ice chips for hydration, at least he should be able to tolerate those if he's having some problems with fluid, and helping keep his mouth moist.

JG

rachel12yrsuv

Wolfen,
No need to answer me
Wolfen,

No need to answer me ever, just know that I am always thinking of you and hubby. What a battle he is fighting and you the most precious caregiver anyone could ask for along his side the whole way. Thank goodness you over rode his Nay to hospital or God only knows where he would be now.
Sometimes hospitals can be. Such a b..ch to get info from, when my dad forcefully took me to hospital,thank God or I would have been Sepsis on top of the other crap, I had Mrsa and they never told anyone, here there was a purple tag on door, but nobody picked it up, and they had some stupid clown(we don't like clowns in my family, creepy) at the door waving and I couldn't see so my mom said come in and he said I can't your quarenteened...that's how we found out, a CLOWN!

Anyway, you just keep pulling hubby along, and he'll fight, but he'l give in and soon, I pray real soon, this will all be past and you'll be enjoing a peaceful exsistance for a change!

God Bless, and all my love and support to Hubby and you(tell him I praying and pulling for him!),

Rachel

debbiejeanne

dear wolfen, i'm sorry u have

dear wolfen, i'm sorry u have been faced with yet another challenge but hang in there.  at least he is where he needs to be and will get the care he needs.  i will keep u n my prayers.  at the risk of sounding ignorant, what is sepsis?  i've never heard of that.  anyway, here's a hug for you and don't forget to take care of yourself.  you have to stay well.

God bless,

debbiejeanne                    

ToBeGolden

What a Fight

You are finding yourself in quite a battle. It's bad when the care team is fragmented, as so often care teams are. Don't worry about responding to our posts; you have enough to keep you busy. Rick.

wolfen

ToBeGolden said:

What a Fight

You are finding yourself in quite a battle. It's bad when the care team is fragmented, as so often care teams are. Don't worry about responding to our posts; you have enough to keep you busy. Rick.

Still Hangin'

Hubby seems a little better today. His temp is close to normal. His tube feed was started at a low rate. He is still NPO as throat is swollen and now has mouth sores(Oh, joy). Still using mouth swabs and was given a mouthwash to swish, but not swallow, so must not be Magic Mouthwash. All in all, he is not a happy camper. With throat swollen, he's still hard to understand and is frustrated by this. He asked me to bring him a pad & pen for writing. He's still not mobile. Right now, I think he's just frustrated in general.

He was given a med mixture with a component to expand his blood vessels to help his body absorb nutrition & meds. The downside is that the blood vessels burst behind the retina of the eye that had surgery for this very problem back in July. So he's unable to see clearly with that eye.

Infection still not identifeid. More blood cultures collected. Was seen by Infectious Disease doc today & I noticed the staff is now wearing masks when they come in, but have said nothing to me. Doc said most infections like this start in the GI tract and may have migrated to the port. No proof yet. Trying different antibiotics.

Debbie, to answer your question, Sepsis is a potentially deady whole body inflammation caused by infection. It's the immune system's response to infection, and right now he has no immune system, and this infection decided to settle in the bloodstream. His WBC is up to .8 today. Don't know what platelets are right now. Needless to say, he's still in trouble.

I'll check in again soon.

Luv,

Wolfen

phrannie51

wolfen said:

Still Hangin'

Hubby seems a little better today. His temp is close to normal. His tube feed was started at a low rate. He is still NPO as throat is swollen and now has mouth sores(Oh, joy). Still using mouth swabs and was given a mouthwash to swish, but not swallow, so must not be Magic Mouthwash. All in all, he is not a happy camper. With throat swollen, he's still hard to understand and is frustrated by this. He asked me to bring him a pad & pen for writing. He's still not mobile. Right now, I think he's just frustrated in general.

He was given a med mixture with a component to expand his blood vessels to help his body absorb nutrition & meds. The downside is that the blood vessels burst behind the retina of the eye that had surgery for this very problem back in July. So he's unable to see clearly with that eye.

Infection still not identifeid. More blood cultures collected. Was seen by Infectious Disease doc today & I noticed the staff is now wearing masks when they come in, but have said nothing to me. Doc said most infections like this start in the GI tract and may have migrated to the port. No proof yet. Trying different antibiotics.

Debbie, to answer your question, Sepsis is a potentially deady whole body inflammation caused by infection. It's the immune system's response to infection, and right now he has no immune system, and this infection decided to settle in the bloodstream. His WBC is up to .8 today. Don't know what platelets are right now. Needless to say, he's still in trouble.

I'll check in again soon.

Luv,

Wolfen

Well, at least there is some improvement...

at first I didn't like the fact that they can't find the source of the infection, but I guess if the antibiotics are working, they'll work wherever it is....I hope it's not in his port!!

I hate that he's had all these complications, and that the "fix" for them, brings on other complications....what a merry-go-round.

I'm hoping that since he's only 3 miles away, that you're getting some sleep.....are you????

p

Noellesmom

wolfen said:

Still Hangin'

Hubby seems a little better today. His temp is close to normal. His tube feed was started at a low rate. He is still NPO as throat is swollen and now has mouth sores(Oh, joy). Still using mouth swabs and was given a mouthwash to swish, but not swallow, so must not be Magic Mouthwash. All in all, he is not a happy camper. With throat swollen, he's still hard to understand and is frustrated by this. He asked me to bring him a pad & pen for writing. He's still not mobile. Right now, I think he's just frustrated in general.

He was given a med mixture with a component to expand his blood vessels to help his body absorb nutrition & meds. The downside is that the blood vessels burst behind the retina of the eye that had surgery for this very problem back in July. So he's unable to see clearly with that eye.

Infection still not identifeid. More blood cultures collected. Was seen by Infectious Disease doc today & I noticed the staff is now wearing masks when they come in, but have said nothing to me. Doc said most infections like this start in the GI tract and may have migrated to the port. No proof yet. Trying different antibiotics.

Debbie, to answer your question, Sepsis is a potentially deady whole body inflammation caused by infection. It's the immune system's response to infection, and right now he has no immune system, and this infection decided to settle in the bloodstream. His WBC is up to .8 today. Don't know what platelets are right now. Needless to say, he's still in trouble.

I'll check in again soon.

Luv,

Wolfen

sometimes

In sepsis, sometmes they never find the source of the infection but if the broad-spectrum antibiotics are working, don't worry about it.  Fever is down and they've started the feeding back - he's better.

Swish and swallow - I've seen nursing staffs - really good ones - very confused about this medication. 

My mom once defiantly swallowed what she knew was swish and swallow because a nurse had the audacity to stand there with an emesis pan for her to spit out the medication after swishing.  Ha!  You don't tell an 84 year old woman what to do with medication she knew intimately! I think she stuck her tongue out at the nurse afterward...

Ask your doctor if it is okay to swallow the medication because if it's meant to be swallowed, there is a reason.  The sores are probably not just in the mouth but also in the stomach and that can be causing issues unseen but definitely felt.  May also help the swelling in his throat.

I'm sorry y'all are going through this, Wolfen.

boardwalkgirl

Praying for you and your

Praying for you and your husband. The nurses wearing gowns, etc could be doing it to protect him also. They don't want to carry any germs into him since his immune system is compromised. Glad things are looking a little better

Ruben and Jude

debbiejeanne said:

dear wolfen, i'm sorry u have

dear wolfen, i'm sorry u have been faced with yet another challenge but hang in there.  at least he is where he needs to be and will get the care he needs.  i will keep u n my prayers.  at the risk of sounding ignorant, what is sepsis?  i've never heard of that.  anyway, here's a hug for you and don't forget to take care of yourself.  you have to stay well.

God bless,

debbiejeanne                    

Sepsis is an infection that

Sepsis is an infection that has gotten into the blood stream. It's commonly uncommon, and is treated frequently enough that the doc's know what course to take.

 

debbiejeanne

Ruben and Jude said:

Sepsis is an infection that

Sepsis is an infection that has gotten into the blood stream. It's commonly uncommon, and is treated frequently enough that the doc's know what course to take.

 

thank you.
God

thank you.

God bless,

debbiejeanne

Ruben and Jude

boardwalkgirl said:

Praying for you and your

Praying for you and your husband. The nurses wearing gowns, etc could be doing it to protect him also. They don't want to carry any germs into him since his immune system is compromised. Glad things are looking a little better

When someone is

When someone is immuno-compromised (low WBC, low neutrophils), the nurses and doctors wear gowns and masks to protect the patient.

Swish and Swallow.... can swish and spit, or swish and swallow, I've seen it given both ways. Even if you spit it out, you're still going to swallow some of it!