To spleen or not to spleen...

Jason’s still in the hospital. There was a lot of back-and-forth regarding removing J’s spleen. It’s frustrating from our end, sure, because we’d all like to have found the miracle answer and move on with our lives, but the reality is that we can’t be sure what the problem is, since it’s not always present on the left side; from time to time, he has this pain on his right, in the area of the bile ducts of his liver.

What is possible is that he may have two distinct things going on at the same time; they just happen to both be happening mid-abdomen. I’ve mentioned the cholangitis before, so I suppose that now is as good a time as any to explain the spleen thing, or at least as much as I know about it. Jason’s spleen is about 2x or more than the size of a normal male of his size and age. He has portal hypertension in the liver, which can lead to excess “stuff” backing up into his spleen. This can cause a variety of issues, but until we can determine this more definitively, the risks of removing the spleen (which, in a normal person, are big enough – just throw in J’s issues and we’re talking risky business) are too great with the possibility that the problem will continue to exist after removal.

So, we wait. We’re going to watch what happens over the next couple of weeks to couple of months. Certainly, ending up in hospitals and ERs four times in a week isn’t good, but if that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes. I am going to include more of Jason’s health issues in my own logging. Perhaps this will provide doctors with a pattern from the perspective of a 3^rd party that is always present. 

It's Official

I really can't ever brag publicly about when life returns to normalcy. I'm convinced the cosmos are listening and said "Ha! That wasn't enough? Here, take some more!!"


Actually, put into perspective, this isn't that terrible... 


Wednesday, Jason started to cramp up in the morning. Except, that it seemed to start off as back pain. We went in to the local hospital, assuming it was what they'd been talking about all along: cholangitis. They treated it as such, though he was having pain around his spleen, also. Pain killers and more pain killers... such is the story of our trips to the hospital. They sent us home, we went to Jamba Juice, came home, Jason was a tad nauseated, but came with me to my hair appointment and got his done, also. 


All night he stirred. More back pain. Then more cramping. Hard cramping. So, we did as we have been directed to do; we went to the ER. Pain killers, pain killers, pain killers. Did I mention that nothing less than Dilaudid and Fentanyl will work because Jason's tolerance is so up there? We got out early in the morning and he insisted on going to work. His work is light and he had a ride home. I went to work. Things seemed okay, though looking back, he seemed a bit agitated on and off. 


Then there was Monday.


Well, well, well... we were  back at the ER with more pain. I honestly don't even remember if I made it into work or not. Or did I meet him there later. Oh yeah, I met him there later in the afternoon. Then it started snowing. Hard. We got out, went to Target for some pharmacy and some miscellaneous food items, then home. 


Still, I was worried. By the time Wednesday rolled around, Jason was having throbbing, moving toward stabbing pain. I urged him to talk to the liver transplant team himself, and they said to come down to their hospital, since they may treat it differently. Jason tried to brave it out, but around 7:30, it became clear that things were only getting worse so we went to the ER.


The ER was PACKED. I guess the last two weeks has seen a big spike in admits and injuries. Lots of flu and colds going on out there. Please, just stay away from my husband; he doesn't need any more. Thankfully (ha!) Jason's transplant status got him out of the coughing, sniffling, sneezing waiting room pretty quickly.


We got into the room around 1AM, and I was too exhausted to come home. I kind of figured it would take as long, so I packed some clothes under the stupid guise of going to work the next day since this hospital was so close to downtown. Har, har. I got only about 2 hours of pieced-together sleep, so I wasn't much use. I stayed the day, managed my emails from the hospital room and went home that night to shower, sleep, and ready myself for another day.


It's Saturday now, and Jason is still in the hospital. I think they're going to take his spleen out, it's just a matter of when. It's just a matter of how many hospital trips does it take to get to the center of this medical tootsie pop. I'm about to head back, and will hopefully make it in time to talk with the surgeons. 


Post more later.