January 14, 2017
This morning Em took her entrance exam for High School. The Fencing Team was having a tournament in the main gym for the entire day, so I went to watch while she took her test. She joined me to watch the bouts when she was done. This was the first time either of us had watched a fencing bout. Em was immediately fascinated and asked if she could go to the summer camp for incoming freshman over the summer. I thought it was a great idea…something to broaden her sporting experience. We went home after the final bouts.
Den told me that he was not feeling very well and was going to lay down after dinner. I kept tabs on him as the evening wore on. Around 7PM, he said that he felt cold, so I took his temperature. It was 99.1. Not high enough to worry about, but something to keep an eye on. I checked him again at 8PM. His temp was up to 100.5. Another hour later his temp was up to 102.5. Now I was worried! I immediately put in a call to the LVAD on call number. Colleen called me back very quickly. We talked about what was going on and it was decided to take Den to the ER to be evaluated. (I had started packing some of Den’s things before I got the call back.)
So off to the ER we went, with Em in tow. Traffic was light this late at night and the ER was ready for us. Den went immediately for an EKG (that is always the first stop for him in the ER). Den’s temperature was up to 102.5. His vitals were stable otherwise, but he was altered mentally. He seemed very confused about where he was and what was going on. They took some chest x-rays and sent blood and urine off to the lab. They suspected some kind of infection, but it would take some time to narrow it down. The doctors ordered 2 IV antibiotics and an abdominal ultrasound.
The antibiotics seemed to work very quickly. Den’s mind seemed to clear within an hour. It was decided that Den would be admitted to find the cause of the infection. Em and I headed for home to get some sleep around 2AM. Den said that he would call me when he got to his room and we (Em and I) would come back in the morning with the personal stuff that he needed.
It was very hard to sleep, but I think exhaustion took over once I had finished gathering up the items that Den would need for a few days in the hospital. I had called Meg on our way home and she said that she would come down tomorrow afternoon to stay with Em. Thank goodness for Meg…she has saved my skin too many times to count!
Den's LVAD 