Mornin' all- I don't have a ton of time today, but I just wanted to write a quick update.
Remember how last week I mentioned that Kenny had been sick all week? His fever had subsided, he was regaining his appetite, but that rash just wouldn't quit. So last week we went to the GP two more times trying to find out what was happening. Through a couple of urine/blood tests, we figured out that his creatinine levels were elevated (that's protein in the blood)- which indicated that his kidneys weren't functioning at their best (at this point they were around a "2"- the highest it should be is 1.3 I think). Finally, Wednesday, he said he felt we should see a nephrologist to have his kidneys checked out -- at this point we'd seen doctors almost every day for a week and a half, and getting tired of adding doctors to the mix. Kenny called his neurosurgeon's assistant and expressed his concerns, and as we still hadn't gotten to the bottom of the rash (and everything that happened the week before), she had us come into Sloan Thursday morning for tests. We met a wonderful GP there who did the exam and scheduled ultrasounds for the kidneys and liver for Friday should we need them (just to make sure we were on the ball since he is scheduled for surgery Wednesday). About an hour after we trekked home from the city they called and said he needed to get back to Sloan to be admitted, because his creatinine levels were now up to 2.9 (so his kidneys were clearly not doing great at that point).
From there was a total roller coaster...with IV hydration, his creatinine levels did start to drop over the first night- not to a totally normal level, but they were definitely coming down. However, once his creatinine dropped, his potassium levels jumped. I'm sure a lot of you don't know a lot about this kind of stuff (I sure didn't before now), but if your potassium levels climb too high, it interferes with the electrical rhythms of the heart. 3.5-5 is normal, 6 is pretty bad, 7 is severe. At one point Kenny's potassium was at a 6.2. So the doctors and nurses did everything they could to help lower that level (I'd go into detail but it'd take a while and I'd probably lose you somewhere in the explanation of how it works). We had some hope on Friday night that the levels were totally normalizing, but early Saturday morning the potassium jumped back up. They did another round of their treatment plan and later Saturday the number had gone back down to 4.7 (phew!). However, at that point, Kenny's anxiety hit the roof, and they could no longer get an IV in or blood out (when you get anxious, your veins constrict). It took 4 hours and the aid of some anti anxiety meds, but they were finally able to get the draw they needed to test his levels and get the IV in. They must have been pretty nervous because a test that usually takes 90 minutes to get back was completed in 20 minutes...and thankfully, the numbers, even without IV fluid, were still down. They ran one more test on Sunday morning to be sure his kidneys were doing their things minus IV intervention (they let him sleep without the IV in overnight), one more EKG to make sure his heart rhythms were normal, and we were on our way. It was a crazy few days, lots of ups and downs and ins and outs, but as I like to say, we're generally pretty fortunate in our misfortune...
The care at Sloan was unlike anything I'd ever seen. His nurses were on top of his every move (and we even knew one of them- we hung out with her a bit down in Manasquan the summer we did the beach house- small world, and VERY comforting to see a friendly face!), and he saw an insane amount of doctors who's only goal was to make him well. From my count (and I'm sure I didn't count them all...) he met with 5 regular doctors (interns/residents/attendings in all), 3 renal doctors, 2 dermatologists, and his neurosurgeon came down with one of her colleagues (I kind of feel like I should be ending this with "and a partridge in a pear tree..."). They were all very accommodating, very friendly, and on top of their game so far as we could tell.
Kenny's former colleague happens to live two blocks from the hospital (it's seriously a 4 minute walk, which is about how long it takes me to get from my bedroom to my basement at home, it's that close), and offered his place up for us to stay. My mom came up and kept Cam at our house, and my SIL and FIL brought Benny boy up to NY so I could go back and forth to feed him (and so we could take turns watching him). Another coworker loaned us pack'n'play sheets for our stay, and countless friends and coworkers checked in with me, round-the-clock, to see how Kenny was doing. I cannot tell you how much this helped us...I'll never ever forget the kindness and generosity of those around us during this time.
So we got home yesterday, late afternoon...just in time for us to eat dinner, collapse, and wake up with a to-do list a mile long...because hey...we go back to Sloan tomorrow for Kenny's pre-op MRI, and Wednesday is the big day. As you can imagine, we're all a little crazed right now, between the 3 night hospital stay over the weekend and the bigger one starting in less than 48 hours. I probably won't write before then, so in the mean time, wish us luck! I'll be back in a few days to let you know how things go. Thank you so much to all who have been thinking of us, praying for us, and checking in with us this whole time-- it's been a huge comfort to us to know so many people have our backs. XOXO!
