This morning we reached out to a friend in the ward who came over with our neighbor and gave Chris a priesthood blessing. The words spoken were calming to my soul. I'm fairly used to the hospital life, but the idea of going back facing additional complications was too much to bear. Last time we were in the ER was a few days before he ended up in the ICU in October. It was a frustrating experience and one where nothing was accomplished and we were sent home with no help. We had been to see multiple other doctors that week and felt like the ER was finally the place that would get answers. Knowing in hindsight that he was likely in kidney failure then, it has been a fear of ours to return to the ER with all of the additional complications that have been added since. But the blessing promised that God was aware of us and what we are going through and that we would be in good hands.
It was a slow and quiet day in the ER. They ran lots of tests and there was lots of waiting. Lots of blood work, multiple EKG's and even x-rays. Our nurse Chris, and our EMT Mike were great. With chest pain the obvious concern was a heart attack, and a blood clot was also on the list of possibilities. The EKG's were slightly different than his previous one, but his troponin levels (an indication of a heart attack) indicated that he wasn't likely having a heart attack. His blood levels showed his calcium levels were very low and they gave him an IV of Calcium. They decided that it was in his best interest to be transferred up to the bigger hospital. So after a long day of waiting in the ER, he was transferred by ambulance to Huntsman. Because last time he was transferred via ambulance it took a while for us to get connected back together again, we asked and they were willing to let me ride along. Scott (the EMT) and I had a good conversation on the way up and I'm sure the view from the front seat was much better than the back. My sweet cousin Nicole was willing to stop and grab a few things and drive Grace up for us to bring home.
Arrived at Huntsman around 5:00. They ordered more blood tests and yet another EKG. We got to watch some lovely videos about being a fall risk in the hospital (did you know that 11,000 people per year die from complications from falling in the hospital).
After a while the on call doctor came to talk to us. He really thinks that the cause of most of his symptoms is probably the low calcium, which could be because of the new medication that they added at last infusion. However there are a few other things they need to check on. There could be problems with his heart, such as pericarditas (inflammation of the lining around the heart). They also want to rule out a blood clot. Cancer increases your risk of a blood clot, as does one of his chemo meds. He is on a blood thinner to prevent them and within "therapeutic range" with his dose, so it's luckily a low risk.
So here were are, back at Huntsman settling in for the night. After so much time in the hospital last year, we were hoping to make it this year without spending a night, but I guess making it almost 7 months isn't too bad. This time we have a room with a view of the city, but sadly it's a valley filled with smoke and a blood red sun. He just took a cocktail of meds and is on another infusion of Calcium and Magnesium.
Our hope is that this is just a short turn in the road, and that it is only a short diversion and we'll be back on the main road again soon. Hopefully it won't mean any major changes to his chemo meds since they are working in the battle against myeloma.
Here's to hoping we will only have to stay one night.
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