What a week! I guess the exciting part started Tuesday night when I drove Daniel to the ER. He was complaining of back/side aches, figured it was just kidney stones, so to the ER we went! His pain was excruciating so they took him in, starting an IV to get pain meds flowing. Once the pain subsided (a little) they took a scan of his kidney to find out...rut-row...no kidney stones. Instead there was a blockage in his ureter tube (the tube that connects your kidney to your bladder).
We found out that where the ureter tube is SUPPOSE to connect to the kidney, Daniel's is not connected properly and has been that way since birth. Fluid is suppose to flow from the kidney to the bladder with ease but that hasn't been the case for Dan. Since it's been difficult for fluid to drain out of his kidney, fluid found another way out, thus rupturing his kidney causing urine to spill outside of the kidney. Not good.
Surgery is required to repair the kidney. But before they could operate, inflammation and swelling of the kidney needed to go down. To help along this process Dan had a nephrostomy tube and bag placed in his kidney. A nephrostomy tube bypasses the blocked area, allowing urine to leave the body, thus letting the kidney heal and lessen swelling in preparation for surgery. Please see exhibit A :)
Exhibit A
These are pics of Dan's nephrostomy tube coming out of his back....ewwww.
Daniel has been quite the trooper, and the process isn't over yet! He will have the nephrostomy tube for about 10 days while the kidney heals. After which he will go back to the hospital for his second surgery. The urologist will actually go in detaching his ureter tube from his kidney and reattaching it in the correct place so fluid can flow easily to his bladder and not outside the kidney wall like it had been. More to come on that!
So we stayed 3 nights total in the hospital and this is what we've learned: Nurses don't care what time of night it is, they will wake you up at 12, 2 and 4 in the morning to check your vitals. Hospital food is no bueno. Hospital beds are way more comfy than the roll-away beds for guests. You can never play enough solitaire to pass the time. Drugs are ammmaaazzzing. And a sense of humor gets you a long way.
Thank you EVERYONE for all your calls, texts, wishes well and prayers. We both appreciate it so much! Being away from friends and family isn't easy during tough times like these but we have truly realized how blessed we really are. Stay tuned!
5 comments:
You are a lovelycouple.
May Daniel's recovery from this and the next surgery be uneventful and smooth.
Very best wishes,
http://www.learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/
Wow, that is some crazy stuff! Hope Dan is feeling a little better. At least this didn't happen when you guys were in Europe! We are thinking of you guys!
I'm glad he's getting better, how scary! Hope surgery goes well!
We've been thinking about you guys! We hope his second surgery goes good. Meg, he's lucky to have someone like you to take care of him at a time like this. Also, it looks like I need to have a talk with the hospital chef...where's the organic, vegan food or even green smoothies? Ha ha! ( :
I hope Dan gets better fast! Glad you're in good spirits and can see the funny stuff around you. As for nurses waking you up in the middle of the night, wait until you have a baby! LOL. Seriously, though, be cool and take care of each other!
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