Hi everyone:
Kathleen had a terrible morning yesterday. When I arrived, she had been vomiting, was alarmingly pale (think "Man from Glad") and weak (she almost fell over a couple of times when she stood too quickly). Her doctor suggested that she come into the clinic for fluids--the theory being that she was suffering from dehydration.
Kathleen's friend Cindy drove to the 2:30 appointment, and I tagged along. At the weigh-in, Kathleen was down four pounds in just five days. Carol, a great nurse at the clinic, drew Kathleen's blood; when the results came back, she looked quite alarmed. Kathleen's platelets were low, and her hemoglobin was running at 5.2gm/dl (normal is 11.7-13.8). The nurse expressed surprise that Kathleen was even conscious, let alone ambulatory, and said it was a good thing she came in when she did.
Arrangements were made for Kathleen to be admitted on a "23-hour hospitalization", which meant that if all went well, she would receive blood transfusions and then be released. Given Kathleen's recent hospital track record, none of us were too optimistic she'd have a short stay. Last night, Patty and I traded places; she stayed the night, during which Kathleen received three pints of blood. The last of it dripped about a half-hour after I arrived this morning.
This morning at around 9am, Kathleen was released and I brought her to her home, where I'm writing this. You would not believe the difference in her within a single day. Today, she's moving around (probably a little too much), and seems quite a bit more like her old self. Her appetite, which had been pretty much non-existent (constant puking will do that to a person), has been, by Kathleen's standards, legendary. It's nice to see.
We're hoping any future visits to the hospital (and there will, no doubt, be more) are short like this one.
Stay tuned...
Love,
Brian
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