A few days ago I noticed some redness and swelling in the skin directly below my lower surgery incision. When I started feeling crummy I passed it off as doing too much. I don't know how I could have thought that, it's not like I've been doing much of anything...but eat, sleep and rest. Believe me, I've been taking it easy but figured I had taken one too many trips up and down the stairs.
After the area became more inflamed and tender I figured I better see a doctor. I saw a doctor yesterday afternoon who said I definitely have an infection but he was pretty sure it had not yet entered into my abdomen. He was glad I hadn't waited any longer. I'm now on a multi spectrum antibiotic for 10 days.
As a note for those who are praying for me, I have a recheck appointment on Tuesday in Michigan. I really would like to be feeling much better by Monday when I head up there. Brandon will be going with me since Scott is traveling in the South on furlough meetings. He may just end up doing most of the driving. Watch out Detroit!
Showing posts with label health care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health care. Show all posts
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tick Tock
Wow, I really falling back on the Israel blogs. I'll get back to them next week.
Before I tell you about my test results I want to thank you for praying for Sabina. You will remember me mentioning her in a post recently. Scott and I were able to stop in a visit with her for awhile today. She is recovering well from the Gullien Barre syndrome which caused her paralysis. We are very thnakful that she has regained feeling and movement in her feet, legs and hands. She may be released tomorrow from the hospital. We were able to give her a couple of books to read, a coke and cookies to enjoy while she finishes out her stay and continues in her recovery at home.
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After a freezing, literally, it was only 5° C in our van, ride to Montevideo I arrived at the British Hospital to have 6 more vials of blood drawn for some tests our doctor in the States ordered. He tends to be an excellent diagnostician and so we are hoping these tests will be the last and we will finally have an diagnosis for what is causing me the chest pain.
After the lab visit we headed to have my color doppler heart scan done which showed a larger than normal mitral valve coupled with a smaller than normal mitral valve. The sound the doctor heard was from the force of the larger valve closing. The cardiologist said that it is a birth defect and isn't the cause of the chest pain. Otherwise my heart is fine and looks great and is functioning well.
Back to the Hospital Britanico we went to have a recheck appointment to discuss my CAT scan and the labs the Gastroenteroligist had run. All of those were good as well. So the next step is to wait for the labs drawn this morning. Send them, via email, to our doctor in the States and wait for his opinion. That won't be until at least the 14th of July.
I continue to have the pain, though less frequent, as in not every day, all day long. I have a few pain free days followed by several days of pain. I continue to look for a pattern and I'm not seeing anything. I'm going to start keeping a diary of what I do, eat, how stressful the day was, how I slept, etc. to see if a pattern emerges. At this point it's the only thing I know to do.
Without question this mystery has been frustrating. But I'm challenged, and encouraged, by the thought that this is no mystery to the Great Physician. God knows exactly what is happening and why. He is allowing this in my life for reasons not yet known and reasons very clear to us. I'm very thankful to have the Lord helping me through this trial and teaching me to trust in Him more day by day!
Before I tell you about my test results I want to thank you for praying for Sabina. You will remember me mentioning her in a post recently. Scott and I were able to stop in a visit with her for awhile today. She is recovering well from the Gullien Barre syndrome which caused her paralysis. We are very thnakful that she has regained feeling and movement in her feet, legs and hands. She may be released tomorrow from the hospital. We were able to give her a couple of books to read, a coke and cookies to enjoy while she finishes out her stay and continues in her recovery at home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a freezing, literally, it was only 5° C in our van, ride to Montevideo I arrived at the British Hospital to have 6 more vials of blood drawn for some tests our doctor in the States ordered. He tends to be an excellent diagnostician and so we are hoping these tests will be the last and we will finally have an diagnosis for what is causing me the chest pain.
After the lab visit we headed to have my color doppler heart scan done which showed a larger than normal mitral valve coupled with a smaller than normal mitral valve. The sound the doctor heard was from the force of the larger valve closing. The cardiologist said that it is a birth defect and isn't the cause of the chest pain. Otherwise my heart is fine and looks great and is functioning well.
Back to the Hospital Britanico we went to have a recheck appointment to discuss my CAT scan and the labs the Gastroenteroligist had run. All of those were good as well. So the next step is to wait for the labs drawn this morning. Send them, via email, to our doctor in the States and wait for his opinion. That won't be until at least the 14th of July.
I continue to have the pain, though less frequent, as in not every day, all day long. I have a few pain free days followed by several days of pain. I continue to look for a pattern and I'm not seeing anything. I'm going to start keeping a diary of what I do, eat, how stressful the day was, how I slept, etc. to see if a pattern emerges. At this point it's the only thing I know to do.
Without question this mystery has been frustrating. But I'm challenged, and encouraged, by the thought that this is no mystery to the Great Physician. God knows exactly what is happening and why. He is allowing this in my life for reasons not yet known and reasons very clear to us. I'm very thankful to have the Lord helping me through this trial and teaching me to trust in Him more day by day!
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Someboday get the umbrella...
it's raining...it's pouring. Fall has definitely arrived here in Uruguay and though the weather today has been very pleasant we have had a few days of rain and cooler temperatures. We need the rain and so we're thankful for it but we sure love to see the sunshine!!!
Not only have we experienced down pours in the weather we are experiencing them in our lives. My health has been drastically affected since late last year. In November I found a large lump in my breast that appeared literally overnight. Thinking it was an infection I waited for it to clear. Eventually seeing a doctor for it and having it checked by ultrasound she was diagnosed with fibrocystic breast disease. Wednesday morning I had a mammogram and another ultrasound and received the very good news that it is a cyst and has no signs or markers of being cancerous. The doctor recommended leaving it alone.
In January, I caught a severe intestinal virus that caused me to lose over 20 pounds in just a few days. At that time I began having pressure in my upper abdomen. That pressure changed to a radiating pain that came and went. As well as having increased problems with mitral valve prolapse. Because my sister has thyroid disease I saw an endocronologist. Last week we received the news that all the tests including a thyroid ultrasound came back normal. For which we are very grateful.
The night we returned from that appointment in Montevideo we headed to the ER because my chest pains were nearly constant and were much more severe. Thankfully, the doctor on call that night is our family doctor. He ran an ekg which was normal. I was prescribed Prilosec and a liquid antacid to rule out acid reflux. Though some of the symptoms have lessened the pain is still there and very distinct. From what I am able to describe to the doctor and from his exam he is now trying to rule out a hernia, or other physical abnormality in my stomach or abdomen.
I need to have an abdominal ultrasound and an endoscopy. The ultrasound is scheduled for the 24th of this month and we are waiting for the date on the endoscopy. I also need to see a cardiologist to have my mitral valve checked as well as rule these problems out as being heart related. We would really like for all of this to be much sooner than the end of the month and Scott is going to work on getting the dates moved up.
We have a trip planned to Israel, with our alma mater Ambassador Baptist College, in May and I am concerned about traveling with this pain and problem unresolved.
Scott has taken much of my load so I can rest. He is trying to relieve as much stress and unnecessary responsibilities from me as is possible, so I can have the energy to focus on my family and the kids schooling.
We are also experiencing showers of blessing as we see God meet these medical needs. And as we receive the grace He is giving in this trying time.
Not only have we experienced down pours in the weather we are experiencing them in our lives. My health has been drastically affected since late last year. In November I found a large lump in my breast that appeared literally overnight. Thinking it was an infection I waited for it to clear. Eventually seeing a doctor for it and having it checked by ultrasound she was diagnosed with fibrocystic breast disease. Wednesday morning I had a mammogram and another ultrasound and received the very good news that it is a cyst and has no signs or markers of being cancerous. The doctor recommended leaving it alone.
In January, I caught a severe intestinal virus that caused me to lose over 20 pounds in just a few days. At that time I began having pressure in my upper abdomen. That pressure changed to a radiating pain that came and went. As well as having increased problems with mitral valve prolapse. Because my sister has thyroid disease I saw an endocronologist. Last week we received the news that all the tests including a thyroid ultrasound came back normal. For which we are very grateful.
The night we returned from that appointment in Montevideo we headed to the ER because my chest pains were nearly constant and were much more severe. Thankfully, the doctor on call that night is our family doctor. He ran an ekg which was normal. I was prescribed Prilosec and a liquid antacid to rule out acid reflux. Though some of the symptoms have lessened the pain is still there and very distinct. From what I am able to describe to the doctor and from his exam he is now trying to rule out a hernia, or other physical abnormality in my stomach or abdomen.
I need to have an abdominal ultrasound and an endoscopy. The ultrasound is scheduled for the 24th of this month and we are waiting for the date on the endoscopy. I also need to see a cardiologist to have my mitral valve checked as well as rule these problems out as being heart related. We would really like for all of this to be much sooner than the end of the month and Scott is going to work on getting the dates moved up.
We have a trip planned to Israel, with our alma mater Ambassador Baptist College, in May and I am concerned about traveling with this pain and problem unresolved.
Scott has taken much of my load so I can rest. He is trying to relieve as much stress and unnecessary responsibilities from me as is possible, so I can have the energy to focus on my family and the kids schooling.
We are also experiencing showers of blessing as we see God meet these medical needs. And as we receive the grace He is giving in this trying time.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Seven Little Monkies....
Sleeping in their beds
One fell off and
Didn't break her head.
But she did break her collarbone. Last night we woke up to the sound of Bethany crying after she had fallen off her bed. Everything looked ok when she stopped crying we went back to bed. She must be one tough cookie because she made it to church this morning before she finally gave in to the pain.
Ruth and I headed to the hospital where thankfully the Traumatologist (that's the equivalent of what he would be called in English anyway) was the doctor on call. He ordered an x-ray which clearly revealed that her collarbone was broke clear through. The treatment is the same here as in the States - keep her arm in a sling for a few weeks and keep her activity level down. No more chores, bummer for her!!!
After we got home we took another look at her x-ray and grew concerned over the angle of the bone closest her breastbone. Our doctor in the US returned our page within a couple minutes and we have sent the x-ray scan to him for a second opinion. Hopefully everything is normal and she will heal quickly. We'll keep you posted!
One fell off and
Didn't break her head.
But she did break her collarbone. Last night we woke up to the sound of Bethany crying after she had fallen off her bed. Everything looked ok when she stopped crying we went back to bed. She must be one tough cookie because she made it to church this morning before she finally gave in to the pain.
Ruth and I headed to the hospital where thankfully the Traumatologist (that's the equivalent of what he would be called in English anyway) was the doctor on call. He ordered an x-ray which clearly revealed that her collarbone was broke clear through. The treatment is the same here as in the States - keep her arm in a sling for a few weeks and keep her activity level down. No more chores, bummer for her!!!
After we got home we took another look at her x-ray and grew concerned over the angle of the bone closest her breastbone. Our doctor in the US returned our page within a couple minutes and we have sent the x-ray scan to him for a second opinion. Hopefully everything is normal and she will heal quickly. We'll keep you posted!
Friday, April 13, 2007
And now for the rest of the story...
I promised an entry about Isabel's hospital stay this week and here it is. Here in Colonia at the hospital we use everyone needs to go through the ER, unless you have an appointment with a doctor. Getting appointments with the doctor are a bit tricky, they all share offices and so "our" doctor, or even the pediatrician, may not be in everyday. So when you really need to see a doctor and can't wait you need to go through ER.
Now in the ER you never know what specialty of doctor you may see. It all depends on who is on call, sometimes it's the Pediatrician or the Dermatologist. Thankfully they are all trained in general medicine before they take their specialty trainings. Usually though when it involves children the on-call doctor will call in the Pediatrician, as they did on Monday for Isabel. But in my case a week before when I was really sick I saw the Dermatologist for a sinus, ear and throat infection, go figure.
When we, myself and a friend, first got there with Isabel she was really struggling to breathe. Her first blood oxygen level was down in the high 70's, after a nebulizer treatment she went up to the mid 80's. Here is where the language barrier became a problem. My friend had to run up to the pharmacy to get the prednisone (another story entirely) and while she was gone they decided to admit Isabel, but I thought he was going to send her home. I was trying NOT to panic. Then the nurse asked me to follow her and when we headed up the stairs I was able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing they would keep her even for a little bit.
The hot water heater in the pediatric room was broken so they put her in a private room. Very nice for Uruguayan standards, it had a TV. We had to wait about 45 minutes for the pre-approval to come in from the states for her to get started on the oxygen. In the meantime they gave her a dose of the prednisone and gave her a breathing treatment. This is where we are going to have to remind ourselves that this is where the methods are different but not necessarily wrong. Her treatments came in the form of three rapid succession compressions of an inhaler into an Aero-chamber (a tube with a mask used for children). Hopefully I was able to hide the look of dismay and skepticism. Once the O2 approval came they put a nasal cannula in and got her O2 started. I was surprised that Isabel willing let them put the cannula in, as Adeline despises anything in her nose.
A couple hours later they came in and gave her more Prednisone. Now I was hoping this was just the remainder of what was needed for the day. But I had no way to really ask, and by this time I had no translator. Turns out that it was a continuation of the needed dose. Then the doctor came in and told me what was going on, well attempted to tell me, while I attempted to understand.
Then our language teacher, Cecilia, stopped in and while she was there the nutritionist came in to discuss Isabel's meals. I was relieved because I thought I had a translator. Nope, I got to take a pop quiz. There were only two things she translated for me, one was a question about food allergies, the other was clarification for a request for leche sin azucar (milk without sugar). Their faces were priceless as they were stunned that Isabel would actually drink milk without sugar. Cecilia peeked around the nutritionist and said, "Do you know you just asked for for milk without sugar."
Isabel improved and enjoyed her two days straight of coloring in her coloring book. When they were ready for a room air trial they just pulled her off the O2 and came back every couple hours to check her blood oxygen levels. Much different than what we've ever experienced in the States where they have been on the Pulse Oxymeter constantly, and children haven't ever been taken off the O2 for room air trials in the afternoon. But she did fine and you all were praying and we praise the Lord for that. I'm thankful for this "trial run" now we know what to expect if Adeline is ever hospitalized. Of course, with her food allergies it will be a whole different scenario.
As we head into fall and then into a very cold and damp winter we are told to expect some problems with all who have asthma. I'm glad we have a doctor who is pleasant and willing to work with us. And now I have a new set of vocabulary words to study.
Now in the ER you never know what specialty of doctor you may see. It all depends on who is on call, sometimes it's the Pediatrician or the Dermatologist. Thankfully they are all trained in general medicine before they take their specialty trainings. Usually though when it involves children the on-call doctor will call in the Pediatrician, as they did on Monday for Isabel. But in my case a week before when I was really sick I saw the Dermatologist for a sinus, ear and throat infection, go figure.
When we, myself and a friend, first got there with Isabel she was really struggling to breathe. Her first blood oxygen level was down in the high 70's, after a nebulizer treatment she went up to the mid 80's. Here is where the language barrier became a problem. My friend had to run up to the pharmacy to get the prednisone (another story entirely) and while she was gone they decided to admit Isabel, but I thought he was going to send her home. I was trying NOT to panic. Then the nurse asked me to follow her and when we headed up the stairs I was able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing they would keep her even for a little bit.
The hot water heater in the pediatric room was broken so they put her in a private room. Very nice for Uruguayan standards, it had a TV. We had to wait about 45 minutes for the pre-approval to come in from the states for her to get started on the oxygen. In the meantime they gave her a dose of the prednisone and gave her a breathing treatment. This is where we are going to have to remind ourselves that this is where the methods are different but not necessarily wrong. Her treatments came in the form of three rapid succession compressions of an inhaler into an Aero-chamber (a tube with a mask used for children). Hopefully I was able to hide the look of dismay and skepticism. Once the O2 approval came they put a nasal cannula in and got her O2 started. I was surprised that Isabel willing let them put the cannula in, as Adeline despises anything in her nose.
A couple hours later they came in and gave her more Prednisone. Now I was hoping this was just the remainder of what was needed for the day. But I had no way to really ask, and by this time I had no translator. Turns out that it was a continuation of the needed dose. Then the doctor came in and told me what was going on, well attempted to tell me, while I attempted to understand.
Then our language teacher, Cecilia, stopped in and while she was there the nutritionist came in to discuss Isabel's meals. I was relieved because I thought I had a translator. Nope, I got to take a pop quiz. There were only two things she translated for me, one was a question about food allergies, the other was clarification for a request for leche sin azucar (milk without sugar). Their faces were priceless as they were stunned that Isabel would actually drink milk without sugar. Cecilia peeked around the nutritionist and said, "Do you know you just asked for for milk without sugar."
Isabel improved and enjoyed her two days straight of coloring in her coloring book. When they were ready for a room air trial they just pulled her off the O2 and came back every couple hours to check her blood oxygen levels. Much different than what we've ever experienced in the States where they have been on the Pulse Oxymeter constantly, and children haven't ever been taken off the O2 for room air trials in the afternoon. But she did fine and you all were praying and we praise the Lord for that. I'm thankful for this "trial run" now we know what to expect if Adeline is ever hospitalized. Of course, with her food allergies it will be a whole different scenario.
As we head into fall and then into a very cold and damp winter we are told to expect some problems with all who have asthma. I'm glad we have a doctor who is pleasant and willing to work with us. And now I have a new set of vocabulary words to study.
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