What?!

We got a call from Dr. K this evening, and he wanted to know how Michael is doing. I told him that he seems to be improving in regards to his appetite and energy level. He was pleased to hear that, but Dr. K expressed concerns about the calcium level in Michael's blood, and said that Michael must have our GP order new lab work tomorrow to check that again. He also said that he wants it done so that the results are available within an hour or two. So, that means Michael will probably have to go down to Hoag's ER because the lab we use would take too long.

This reminded me that we had an internist stop by to see us while Michael was still in the hospital after his surgery. He, too, was concerned about Michael's calcium level and asked us to follow up with our GP. We did, but she wasn't sure what tests to order for him. So, she put a call into the internist at UCLA, and we aren't sure what happened after that. Obviously, this fell through the cracks. Not acceptable!

So, this got me wondering why they are so concerned about this calcium level thing, and after doing a little Googling, it turns out that high calcium is never normal. It leeches the calcium right out of your bones, making them weak. It makes you have to urinate frequently, and he does! The poor guy is up three or four times per night. And, it can lead to kidney failure!!! Hello! Michael only has one of those left!

So, now I am really concerned about this and ticked off that despite our efforts to have it addressed nearly two months ago we are just now getting on it.

Lord, have mercy!

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Update: My mom encouraged me to put a call in to our GP this evening, and so I did. Dr. A was kind enough to call us back and I told her what Dr. K wanted, and that he wanted it lickity split. So, she's having Michael come in tomorrow morning at 8:30, and she will order up the blood work and have it expedited. She said that she was just in a meeting this evening with the representatives from Quest Laboratories, and they were touting that they can have results ready in just four hours. So, she says she's going to put them to the test tomorrow. If all goes well, we'll have results around noon, and she will fax them to Dr. K. That should give Dr. K plenty of time to review the information and make decisions if need be, and our GP pointed out that it will prevent Michael from having to wait in the ER.

I'm still ticked that this ball was dropped previously, but I'm feeling better that our GP is on it now.