Lunchtime update on LadyAriyana

[wendyzski]

Just talked to her again.

They've managed to get nearly 4 units of blood and one of plasma into her so far, but it's going slowly. She was originally supposed to be released today, but lately she's noticed that when she says "and when I get home tonight" they are giving her funny looks, so we're not sure. She's gonna fight hard to get home - not just because of the mom-stuff but also to get some actual sleep.

Doctor:Well you get a good night's sleep and I'll see you in the morning
Ari: Have you ever BEEN in a hospital?

(In addition to having the usual hospital noise and fuss, she's still got IVs in both arms - one for blood and one for fluids - so she can't sleep on her side or stomach like she usually does. And "breakfast was gross")

They think it's some kind of girly-issues. They've had the OB-GYN that delivered Breena 4 yrs ago come down to consult, and done a couple of ultrasounds. She's been bleeding more than "normal" for a long time, but I guess it snuck up on her so she didn't notice how bad things were getting. Apparently her body got very adjusted to that kind of blood levels, because they arent quite sure how she managed to not pass out with hemo levels that low.

She's covering well with humor bet you can tell she's tired and scared. Charles is with her, and Chelsea is home from school to watch Breena. I'll check again later this afternoon.

Comments

[creepingcrud.livejournal.com]

I can pretty much guarantee you they'll want to keep her one more night to check her hemoglobin and hematocrit in the morning and make sure she doesn't have any other source of blood loss going on (IOW they'll want to make sure that the blood she's getting will stay in her).

Also, yes, one of the worst things about a hospital stay is that we (medical workers) make it very hard for people to get enough sleep. So, people whose bodies are already seriously stressed aren't getting the sleep they need for recovery. It's kind of maddening.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

That's what I was thinking - Her levels were only up to 7 with 3 units and some freezy-plasma in her already. But she keeps saying "I'm pink now - can I go home?" She is also afraid of needles, so having an IV in each arm plus assorted draws has her pretty wigged out.

Thanks for the info - between her doc's tendency to be kind of vague with the information and her tendency to downplay what's wrong, it's hard to get a good read for exactly what is going on and how worried/relieved we should be.

[creepingcrud.livejournal.com]

...yeah, they're gonna want her to stick around, for sure. Shan't ask what they were in the first place, but 7 after 3 units? On my floor if someone's hemoglobin (hgb) comes back less than 8.2 or so they usually get 2 units right away and then recheck. In all honesty, she might need even more than they're currently planning for. 7 is really, really low, and I don't even really want to know what she was walking around with before she got admitted.

That said, I recommend an emotional posture of "cautiously relieved". It sounds like she was dangerously low, but the worst is probably past. No idea what they're going to need to do to correct the long-term anemia issues, but this is likely to shortly become a chronic health concern rather than an acute one. I'm guessing they're probably going to want to get her hemoglobin up to 9ish (still low - 11ish is the bottom end of normal) with an assurance that it's not going to drop quickly if they let her go home and follow up as an outpatient.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

It was 4.1 when she went in.

She went to the doc on Wed and they took blood for tests, and the next morning at 9:05 the nurse called and said "Go to the ER NOW!"

And "cautiously relieved" with stripes of "don't EVER let things get this bad again before you tell someone!"

She has no insurance so has been getting by on infrequent clinic visits for years now, which is probably how this got so far out of hand. If she'd been getting regular checkups I think this would have been discovered and fixed long ago.

[microwench.livejournal.com]

Please tell her I'm thinking of her. I send big hugs and much love. Thanks so much foe keeping us posted.