Let’s talk about last week main event. If you can’t hack a little potty talk, feel free to skip this one! Its definitely a bit of a vulnerable post.
We discovered last Sunday that Brady had a bladder infection. Unfortunately, these have become a bit of a chronic issue, happening frequently throughout the summer months and now into fall.
This time around, when we noticed the murky urine, we decided with our doctor to go get blood drawn and urine tested, while waiting a couple of days to see what kind of infection we were dealing with. I think we were all a little suspicious that it could be the same infection just lurking, never quite getting kicked fully to the curb. So since Brady had no physical pain or discomfort from it, no blood, and no other symptoms of infection (ie fevers) that we would wait. Cloudy pee can live a day or two.
But WOW could it ever NOT.
On Tuesday morning, Brady left work after feeling really really sick. His stomach was very gurgly and he was feeling nauseated. Having had chemo the Friday before, and still taking the anti nausea medication for it, we figured it was a reaction to his treatment. So home he came, with coffee in hand for himself, Cher, and I. He rolled in, friendly and upbeat, as is so often the case. He headed right for our bathroom, where he proceeded to have absolutely wild diarrhea. Into the shower. More diarrhea. Back and forth between the two he went, which in itself is a huge effort already, much less when he feels so unbelievably ill. Finally he made it to our bed, where he began shaking uncontrollably. We’ve all had a good shivery fever, I’m sure, but this was a cut above the rest. Out came the heating pad. Rowans weighted blanket. I finally lay on top of him. The shakes would not let up. Did you know those are called rigors?? Isn’t that horrid?? Anyway, he just shook and shook. His head and neck did not feel or read feverish, but his body was very hot and sweaty. I brought him Tylenol to calm the fever and ondansetron for his nausea. DON’T COME FOR ME ABOUT MEDS!!! Regardless, he threw them up shortly thereafter.
Conveniently, we had a scheduled phone call with our family doctor maybe ten minutes after he had gotten into bed. We had very different things to discuss, but we naturally ended up talking about the situation we found ourselves in. We agreed that whatever infection he had was out of control, and he needed to be seen immediately. She said to go to emergency. No time to waste. Get him there. She took it upon herself to end our call, and then to call City Hospital emergency department and speak to the doctor on call there.
In the meantime, Brady was worried about his bowels and eager to get back to the bathroom, but he couldn’t get up. He was absolutely not ok. Not managing at all. He couldn’t fathom getting back into his chair, putting on a shirt, moving at all. Anything that took energy or strength was off the table. He looked pretty forlorn when he told me he couldn’t even imagine how he’d ever get into the van. He knew.
Before our doctor called us back, I had already called 911. It was so awful. They were lovely, but it was just a scary scene. “Keep a close eye on him, and if he stops responding, lay him on his side.” Things like that I do not like to hear. But, I understood, and I received it. Tom, our local fire chief, also happens to be a beloved father figure to both Brady and I. He hauled over to our house SO fast upon receiving the call, and made sure we were managing while we waited for the ambulance to arrive.
And we did manage, well enough at least, until two very lovely paramedics came and helped Brady get into his chair and onto a stretcher. Cher disappeared at that point in an effort to give Brady dignity, which is hard to have in circumstances like that. I had thrown some fresh clothes, his wallet, and all of Bradys meds into his backpack. The group of us walked out and waited in the driveway while the paramedics got Brady hooked up to an IV and some monitors. And then they were gone.
💔 Ugh. HATED that.
Unfortunately, because City Hospital has fluctuating hours, ambulances aren’t allowed to bring patients to their emergency department :/ RUH was our second choice, so that’s where they went.
I won’t lie. It really sucked to have my husband whisked off to the hospital in such bad shape, and not jump in there with him. But. It was less scary than seizure day! We already knew he had an infection. Plus, he was still responding, and even cracking some jokes from his spot bundled up in bed. He was still him. He just needed to get medical attention and I could not be the one to get him there.
He waited in the waiting room at RUH for a good while. Paramedics stayed nearby until he was admitted to a room.
More blood and pee was taken for testing.
And most importantly, he was started on an IV antibiotic right away. THANK GOODNESS! The doctor on staff seemed so confident that Brady was likely on the cusp of going septic, which would mean his blood would be carrying the infection. Sepsis is BAD. SCARY. People die of sepsis. So antibiotics right in the bloodstream felt super smart.
It wasn’t too long before he started to feel a lift in symptoms. His shakes stopped. His nausea lifted. He felt hungry, and normal. He finally got the word that I could come pick him up. I finished putting the first batch of kids down for night, and Cher hung out with the others while I went in to retrieve my husband. Thank you Cher!!!
We finished getting his shoes and such on before they discharged him, and I broke him out of there! We grabbed some JBCs on the drive home since the staff had left to get him food and never came back 😅 He sat for We all know how emergency can get. Its no ones fault, it was just circumstance. He was home, fed, and settled into our bed. That was most important.
Brady went back in the next day for reassessment and a second dose of IV antibiotics. He already felt markedly better! The second infusion took half an hour tops, but NO ONE WOULD DISCHARGE HIM!!! He sat for two and half hours after the infusion was done. Again, no bad blood. Circumstance. Busyness. Its ALL good. We texted with our doctor a bit more and got her unofficial blessing to sign an AMA form (leaving against medical advice) and leave. So he did. He took his IV out in the parking lot, and came home. The ER doctor called him maybe 45 minutes after he left, and left a message saying to please follow up with your family doctor. Already on it!
Brady’s two IV antibiotic infusions were successful and got his infection back under control control. Therefore, they moved him back to oral antibiotics, and life seems to have resumed. Believe it or not, bloodwork is still waiting, but as with blood cultures, they have to have a few days to grow before they can see what actual bacteria is forming. The fact that there was nothing notable brought forward in the first couple of days is very encouraging. Maybe he didn’t hit that point of actual sepsis after all. I sincerely hope thats the case anyway.
The moral of this story in particular FOR BRADY is to go for cultures the moment he sees any sign of infection whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong. We are all for not panicking and for letting things play out a bit. Our bodies were made to fight things!! But Bradys immune system is compromised, to say the least, and while he is in the thick of treatments and therapies and medicine and all the other wild things, we will do all we can to keep his body healthy.