*I wrote this e-mail to my mom a few minutes ago and realized that I the processing that I usually do in my blog I was doing in her e-mail. So I just copied it here. I know it is a little repetition from yesterday but a little more detail....my mom is also a nurse so sorry also for the nurse speak.
Hey Mom- sorry I woke you up the other night. It was good to talk if even for a few seconds. Honestly I was just really tired with two long nights behind me, up every two hours to keep Josh drinking and comfortable. The only thing I could think about was another two weeks ahead of us like we'd just done with Tim. Josh had been sleeping at our house for two days and then around 10pm the second night he walked out to where Beckie and I were sitting saying that he was now peeing blood. I knew he was getting progressively more dehydrated, been puking for two days and really not drinking much but when he said that my heart dropped- he was quite a bit worse than I was giving him credit for. Josh went to bed and Beckie and I sat and prayed. Of course we prayed for healing but Beckie also asked for wisdom and clear decisions. She asked for peace in those decisions. When we were done praying I really felt sure that I should just put in and IV, let Tim and Angie know what was going on and re-evaluate in the morning. So I headed in to wake Josh back up and Beckie to wake Tim. I tried for half an hour to get an IV in and I just couldn't do it- the veins just kept collapsing. Beckie didn't have any luck either as Tim and Angie were asleep for the night and not picking up. That made for a long night of waking Josh to drink to prevent any further damage and laying awake wondering if he was getting too sick to be in Soroti, if I shouldn't be doing something, anything, more.
In the morning I got my hands on some phenergan so he could keep a little more fluids down and we switched his malaria meds to something stronger so it felt like we were on the right track.
And then I added another patient to the mix. I got a call that one of the former child soldiers, David, had collapsed out in the village and was unresponsive. I headed out to the village to figure out what was going on. (More about David later as I want to dedicate a whole post to his story)b but the short of it is he ended up at my house where I put a line in him (a lot easier than Josh!) and gave him some fluids and pain control. He spent the day sleeping on the couch while Josh spent the day sleeping in the guest room. I'm not sure either of them moved much.
Evening came and Josh was vomiting past the phenergan. Still not urinating enough and it was very bloody. I tried one more time to get an IV in without success. He was just too dry. I made some phone calls to figure out where we could go to find someone who could get ANY line in. The german nurse who worked at Amecet helped me get into the clinic they use at night for their little dehydrated babies. Josh was way miserable to get out of bed and over to the clinic but Stephanie was super helpful and within an hour we were back at home with a hep loc. Only to discover it was really positional and didn't want to flow well at all. And we were all tired, especially Josh. So I just hung the bag at a slow drip and tucked him in. At midnight it wasn't running but I flushed and re-positioned and managed the slow drip again. By one am had 500 cc in and a subcutaneous line. Ahhhhh!! I could have cried. He had gotten only half a liter when I had estimated he needed at least 3 liters, 4 by morning if he was still tolerating the high rate. Now I was back to making him drink but the only thing he could keep in was water and only small amounts at a time. Made for another very long night. When I called Angie at 7am it was all I could do to hold it together I was so discouraged and frustrated. This was day 5 of his malaria and he was only still getting sicker. His eyes were yellow from jaundice and I couldn't tell the difference between his urine and the tea I was drinking. The plan was quickly made that we needed to head to Kampala. That is when I lost it just a little and called you. Thanks for praying, listening and encouraging!
On our way out of town we stopped again at the clinic and got a new IV. This one flowed better so for the 5 hour drive to Kampala he got a liter of NS, 500cc of D5% and 500 cc of LR. God also made it so that we could pass through the roads that are closed right now due to the flooding. We were expecting that we would have to add more than an hour over rough roads if we would have had to go around but we were able to get through. We got in to see the doctor around 4pm who confirmed that we were on the right meds. She had some blood work done and tested his urine. Her report? He was pretty well hydrated and he was looking a lot perkier. If only those fluids had gone in 24 hours ago.... it is amazing what a difference enough water and a little sugar can make.
Well, I gave another liter last night through the night to stay caught up. He says he drank today while he rested all day at the guest house. He did vomit all of tonight's supper and his eyes are still a little yellow but I have seen him sipping without my prodding. I think Josh and I are headed back to Soroti in the morning. Tim and Angie will follow in a day or two. I'm really ready to sleep tonight without my alarm going to remind me to check a line, help someone to the bathroom, hang a new fluid bag, or encouraged intake.
Thanks again for being there when I called. I'll try really hard not to panic you again by calling in tears! :-) I hope things are going well and I love you!
Your favorite daughter,
Jennifer
No comments:
Post a Comment