Wednesday, Kim had a lot of back pain, and went to Carle ER. Debby went there about noon, and Kim was found to have kidney stones, and was scheduled to have surgery at 5 pm to deal with them.
Finally, about 630pm, Kim was taken into surgery, so Deb and I went to grab a quick bite to eat. Around 715, the doctor came out to talk to us, and the news wasn't good. Doc said they could not even deal with the stone, there were much bigger issues to deal with. Kim had a raging bladder and kidney infection, and as bad as it was, it was a life threatening situation. Deb started making calls, and other family started arriving. The next news we got was even worse. Debby only was allowed to go back, things were spiraling out of control. Kims heart started racing, and her blood pressure fell to dangerously low levels. Also, she started swelling up, and her lungs were filling up with fluid. She was also coughing up blood. At this point Kims condition was unstable, we were told she was going into heart failure and her survival was in doubt. A few more calls, and all the family, plus Pastor Rich, Larry, and Larrys mom Chris came for support.
While the family was waiting for Deb to run in and out with updates, a lot of praying was done, and stories were told. Then it happened. I went to the bathroom and my zipper stuck. The middle of one of the scariest health emergencies any of my kids have faced, and I have no way to zip up. I had to walk back into the waiting room, holding my fly together, say my zipper was stuck, and throw a coat over my lap. Finally, a pair of pliers was borrowed, so I tied the coat around my waist backwards, and headed back to the bathroom to fix the zipper successfully. I've always been a great source of comic entertainment for the family, last night was no exception. The big laugh at my expense was just what was needed to break the tension, and was glad to oblige. I told Pastor he has sermon material for months.
In the middle of Kims crisis, we received a call that our grandson is in the hospital in Peoria dealing with his own health emergency. If he needs surgery, we may be making a trip to Peoria Thursday to see him before he is taken in.
The doctors were finally able to stabilize Kim enough where the family could see her 2 by 2 for short visits. Most of the family left by 10:30, but Deb and I stayed until around midnight. We felt she was stable enough for us to get home and get some sleep, which we did.
As of this writing, Kim is being pulled SLOWLY off the heart medicine, and her heart is staying stable. She is still in a lot of pain, and is still having breathing problems and coughing up blood. The doctors are cautiously optimistic that she will be out of ICU tomorrow, but has at least a week hospital stay ahead of her. The last we heard the stones may not be dealt with for 3 or 4 weeks down the road.
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