I waited. I waited until the uncertainty passed, waited until he was home again. For good.
So, now that he IS home, and life IS normal again...I can post about it. Because I don't like posting about big events like that while we are in the thick of it. It's like only writing half a book.You need an ending. Closure. I much prefer to write about the storms after they have passed through. I dunno why...it's just how I roll. I need the ending damnit.
So....as I said, the hubs was in the hospital recently, twice. It started out as what we thought, were kidney stones. We headed to the ER a few Mondays ago, assuming they'd do a CT scan, see a few stones, give him a Rx for some pain pills and send send us on our merry way. A urine test, blood work, and one ultrasound later....it was determined he had gallstones. Not kidney stones. Also, his liver was pretty pissed at him.
They admitted him that night (actually...by the time they got him a bed, it was 4am. And if you are wondering...., no..I didn't wait around that long. I left around 1am to go home and catch a few hours of sleep before I had to wake the wolves for school).
The next morning they were trying to decide if they wanted to remove his gallbladder, or just wait it out. Apparently, when your liver is mad at you, it gets even more mad if you take out his buddy, the gallbladder. They hoped he'd pass the stones on his own, then his liver would chillax, then they could remove his gallbladder.
Well, much like the kidney stones before them....the gallstones were not moving. So on Thursday he had an ERCP, or scope, done to remove the stones. They only found one and removed it.
Well, his liver was still angry and his pain was still just as bad. So, the decision was made to remove his gallbladder the next day. Every single person we talked to said it was the easiest surgery ever. They all said he would feel worlds better as soon as it was out. They said recovery was a breeze!
They all lied.
The next day he still felt awful. He still couldn't eat (oh ya...I forgot to mention....he hadn't been able to eat anything in a week. He'd be in so much pain as soon as he ate or drank). They sent him home anyway. They said.."oh, you'll be fine. Just give it a day or so."
He was released on Saturday, he went back to work Tuesday. He was still in so much pain. He came home from work Wednesday and had me make an appt with the dr ASAP. We went in the next day.
He ordered blood work, stat. He called with the results less than two hours later. His liver enzymes were sky high. He was readmitting him to the hospital right then.
The next day they ran more tests: blood work, ct scan, ultrasound.... You name it. They didn't know WHY his liver was so angry. They kept pushing IV fluids through him, hoping it would help.
In the meantime....
I was trying to balance taking care of the wolves and being at the hospital with him. I'd get up, get them off to school, then I'd high tail it over to the hospital to be with the Hubs. I mean....let's face it, hospitals are B-O-R-I-N-G when you are there all alone. So, I'd sit with him until around 4, when I had to get the kids off the bus. I'd do the homework and dinner thing, showers are bedtime, then back to the hospital I went until around 11ish. It was exhausting.
Then....on Saturday....it seemed he had turned a corner. He wasn't in as much pain. He was able to actually eat! And aside from a minor setback Saturday night (they served chili for dinner and he started to get some pains again after eating. But it was just a case of "too much too soon")...it was looking like he might be out of the woods.
He called me Sunday morning to tell me they'd gotten his results back from his early morning blood draw.....and everything was back to normal!
******insert HUGE sigh of relief here******
They released him early Sunday afternoon. The final diagnosis was that they had simply released him from the hospital too soon after his surgery. His liver enzymes were still high and so when he went home, and was off the IV fluids, they just kept on climbing. Not good.
He took that Monday off work, just in case. But was back at it Tuesday, feeling better than ever.
Looking back, we think this whole "gallstone mess" started in November. He'd had some stomach pains/back pains around Thanksgiving that kept him in bed a day or two, but we didn't think anything of it. We just assumed it was his back giving him grief again. But now we are pretty sure it was the gallstones.
And now....now he's good. All better, all healed. It's a good thing. It's scary when you, or someone you love, is sick and no one knows why. When tests keep coming back normal, but clearly you are not "normal". I'm grateful for the prayers and positive thoughts said on his behalf. Grateful for good friends and family who helped watch our kids while he was in the hospital.
I'm also grateful the Hubs is back. Because, Lord knows I can't handle our wolves alone. ;)
The above photos were from "hospital stay-round one"...the below are from "round-two"...
Yup....we are grateful he's home. ❤️
