Just When Things are Looking Good...

When I got home from work yesterday, Michael wasn't feeling too good. He said our air conditioner was making him cough. I rolled my eyes. I shouldn't do that, but it's always something - the air conditioner, the fan, or the window is open. Okay. Anyway, after I fed him a bowl of soup for dinner and he was only interested in about half of it, I decided to take his temperature. He felt very warm to the touch. The digital thermometer read 103.5 degrees. Yikes! I immediately called our GP. While we waited for her to return the page, I took his temperature three or four more times, and it remained at 103.5. When Dr. A got back to us, she advised that he take some Tylenol, and she said that she would call in a prescription for a cough syrup with codeine. She also said that he might have pneumonia, and so if the fever continued he may need to go to the ER.

After he took the Tylenol and the cough syrup he started feeling much better and we went to bed around 9:30. Crisis averted, or so we thought.

He woke up at 2:00 in the morning and started coughing. I told him to get up and take the cough syrup again. When he came back to bed, he was shivering and shaking. So, I got up and took his temperature again, and it was 98.0. Took it a couple of times again to make sure that was right, and it kept showing 98.0. So, we called Dr. A's exchange. They woke her up and she said she could not explain why he would have the shivers and why his temperature was kind of low. She advised we get to the ER. All the while, Michael is saying that it's just because the bedroom windows are open, and it's so cold outside. I'm telling you, I was in a cotton nightgown and it had to have been 78 or 79 degrees in the house. It was not cold at all.

Once we got down to the hospital, it took them no time to see him and assess him. His temperature was back up over 100 degrees by the time we got there. The doctor said the x-ray doesn't really look like he has pneumonia, but that the blood work does show some markers for infection. At this point, they are trying to determine the source of the infection. They are also trying to get ahold of Dr. K at UCLA because he may have some insight as to Michael's condition. The number we have for him doesn't have an exchange, so I don't know if we will be able to hear back from him this weekend, or not.

Michael was admitted to the hospital around 7 this morning, and once he was settled in I headed home for a little bit of sleep. I was able to sleep for a couple of hours, but I don't think I can sleep anymore. So, I'm going to get cleaned up and head back down there. I talked with him an hour ago, and he said nothing new has come up so I can take my time. He's just resting.

Hopefully, he will be discharged later today or tomorrow. We are supposed to see Dr. K on Monday at UCLA, and I really don't want to miss that appointment.

Oddly enough, there are just five more days in the month and that means just five more days for Michael to be a member of this medical group. If this had happened next weekend, we'd be up at UCLA for all this. Please pray that Dr. K and the doctors at Hoag can connect and work together for Michael's benefit this weekend.