Outpatient? oh no, please stay

6:40, leave for the hospital.  Except for the major major wreck blocking one of the main roads to the hospital, it was uneventful. 

9am the anesthesiologist does all of their regular questions ... I've discovered I've become quite numb about all of these 'risks'.  THEY FREAK.OUT every time and I just can't live in that moment.  BTDT too many times.  So I'm probably perceived as quite cold about it but the truth is ... I know it's a risk.  I know what could happen.  I am aware more than they could ever know.  But I also know that he's been sedated numerous times and so far, all has gone well.  I have to live in THAT moment. 



9:11 they take him back.  There's always that moment I discover I have stopped breathing.  It's usually as he is wheeled away from me.  Thankfully Kaley is with me and I'm immediately forced to deal with her and her needs like breakfast (otherwise I know i wouldn't eat). 

10:11 I do a time check and realize he is not back yet. 

10:25 I see him wheeled past me to the recovery room.  I breathe again.

10:32 I am allowed to go in the room with him.  He's still asleep from the general anesthesia but he didn't have to be intubated (yay).  Procedure went well.  Uneventful.  Even still, the anesthesiologist called the pulmonologist and they decided a night in the hospital for observation would be the safest for him.  Uh ... ok.  Overkill.  I think so.  Irony is that this is the first time I didn't grab my overnight bag.  Guess I will do without anything for the night.  Probably nothing I can't do without for one night. 

11:30 We are still in the day hospital recovery room.  Now we're just waiting for a room. 

This afternoon, we were supposed to go to see the Hematologist to address the anemia.  But now?  I guess they'll have to come to us.  That should be interesting to see what they want to do since we're admitted anyway. 

Last time he got a GJ placed, he started retching within an hour or two of it being placed. I know that makes no sense.  But what is new when it comes to Manny?  There was no food in it, just the tube being there and it caused troubles.  That's what led me to believe it was something like the Visceral Hypersensitivity.  And sure enough, that was confirmed with Boston's results. 

I was leary about that happening again. But we're an hour in and nothing so far. 

I don't know what the plan is about starting to use the GJ either.  We'll see.  Should be an interesting ride.  As Doc says, "Put on your seatbelt!" I am scheduled to see the GI outpatient on Tuesday.  I guess we'll address it all then. 

12 got upstairs and I really don't think we need to be here for the reason they have us here ... but maybe he'll need to be here for some strange reason later and we already have a jumpstart.  That has happened before.  Hope not. 

12-6 Hanging out chillin'.  Just waiting.  Can't really leave the room and he's not sick so it's just like hangin out with no way to do housework.  Cartaya offered to let us go until he found out about the little fever from last night.  Then he gave me the look for not bringing him in last night.  Then I told him about the anemia and he was convinced we needed to be here anyway. 

6pm, Hematologist came in.  She thinks this might "just" be iron deficiency but is not 100% positive due to a few of the strange variables.  Not a clear picture of anything.  We discussed that she could do a bone marrow study in the future if we can't stay ahead of the anemia.  I told her that I was certainly not pushing for that to be done and would only do it if necessary and we crossed that bridge. 

So for now, the plan is to have IV iron tonight and one tomorrow before we are discharged.  Then I will set an appointment to see them again in 2-4 weeks and get more blood tests then.  This will be the first time he's receiving iron without a transfusion and that will really be able to help differentiate if this is JUST iron deficiency or if it's "more".  So the Iron in isolation is going to be an interesting experiment that we haven't tried yet.  (Before, we've always waited until he crashed before we did anything about the anemia ... this time, I didn't want to wait that long and she agreed that this is better!) 

I've been reading a lot about Red blood cells in the past few hours.  Fascinating to me.  Is it the under production, over loss or over destruction of the RBCs that's causing the anemia.!?! There's a typical presentation of those so one can tend to know which it is.  But Manny has a strange mixture of them so it's unusual (are we shocked?!).  So in my very unexpert opinion, we seem to have a mixture of anemias ... probably some iron deficiency accompanied by anemia of chronic diseases.  Throw in that he's has a few really bad infections/sicknesses lately that kicked his butt and this all complicates the picture. 

So ... it will be interesting to see if Iron in isolation is going to be enough to jump start his blood cells.  If not, he may need a transfusion still in a few weeks. 

8pm vitals check ... Manny has an axillary temp of 99.  Translation? That means he likely has a 100 temp and 100.4 is the magic "temp" here that could keep him here.  Fever is probably the only thing that would delay our departure goal of Friday. 

9:30  He is finally tired enough to go to sleep.  See, WE got up at 6 and have been going hard all day. But him?  He got a nice long nap this morning (with the help of sedation drugs).  Me? About to pass out I'm so tired.  Oh, and because I have no overnight bag ... I'll be doing it in my jeans and dress shirt with unbrushed teeth. 

So night all.