Setbacks

I was working away in my office Tuesday afternoon, when Mr. Ginley called me and asked me to come down and help him on the commode. 

Glory Days in the beforetimes

This made me uneasy, because his system has been like clockwork, and mid-morning is his time to do his thing. Also, he'd had a couple of black stools, and I was worried. I headed downstairs and got him situated on the commode. Then I went and got everything ready to clean up afterward.

"I'm falling forward," he mumbled. I ran back and held him up. He had an odd look on his face and said he felt weird. Then he threw up and passed out.

On the phone, I was explaining to the 911 operator what happened, giving a brief history of his stroke and fearing the whole time that it was happening again. She kept me on the phone until the paramedics got there. In the meantime, Mr. came to and was mumbling but clearly not all there. 

They got him up and out to the ambulance. I ran around the house, unplugged the crock pot where the stew had been cooking, put on some regular clothes, overfed the cat, and ran out to the car. 

The windshield was covered in a couple inches of snow with ice underneath. I turned on the engine and brushed and scraped. By the time I was finished, the ambulance had left. Fortunately, the hospital is right down the street, and I knew the drill.

I arrived, gave my name, and stood in the emergency waiting room, calling the near and dear to let them know what was going on. After awhile, I was called back to his cubicle. They gave Mr. anti-nausea medicine and the testing began.

No flu or COVID. Vitals were good. His heart was fine. His head was fine. So far, so good.

Our daughter-in-law, Jill, was kind enough to bring fresh pants and socks so we could change Mr. Ginley out of the puke-laden togs he was wearing. She stopped at Target and got him Ohio State pajama pants, soft and cozy as well as theme-appropriate. She also got a bunch of Scooby snacks and electrolytes for moi, all very much appreciated. We got him out of the yucky sheets from his ambulance ride and settled him in.

Late in the evening, they said they were admitting him, that they would likely do a probe of his stomach and small intestine the next day. I went home, cleaned up the mess, finished some work, and headed off to bed, where I tossed and turned and managed to eke out four hours of shuteye.

The next day, I arrived at his new digs, which were quite nice. He was attired in a fresh hospital gown and looked okay but was very quiet and not like himself at all. I could only get one word answers out of him. Mark came to see him, as did Joe, but he was still out of it. 

In the afternoon, they whisked him off to surgery, where they discovered a large bleeding ulcer in his duodenum. (That's the part of the small intestine that connects to the stomach, I had to look it up.) They clamped it and sprayed it to stop the bleeding. I sat with him through recovery, and we returned to his room.

Thursday morning, he was still droopy, and his blood count was low. So they set him up with a pint of Fairview's finest, and that seemed to do the trick. By the end of the day, his color was better, and he was more like his old self. And by Friday morning, he was able to converse with Mark on their favorite topics.

Well, that solved one problem. Next up: the dreaded kidney stone. Those of you who have been following the saga from Day 1 know that when he was at Parma Hospital for the first leg of his rehab, they tried to resolve an issue with an overly large kidney stone that was blocking things. They were unsuccessful because the stone was too large. The verdict was to wait a bit until he was more stable post-stroke.

Well, here we are, and now it's mission critical because the stone is totally blocking things. So on Monday, Mr. will be having another "procedure" to install a tube that will drain the fluid behind the stone. Then, at some future point in time (2-3 weeks), he will go back and have the stone broken up and a stent installed in an outpatient procedure. 

After the surgery on Monday, he'll be able to come home. One day before the ramp is due to be installed. So...we'll have to gurney him home. 

Well, needs must. I have his bed freshly made up and waiting for him, and we will both be glad to have him in it. 

Please keep the prayers, well-wishes, and healing thoughts coming our way. They are most appreciated!