Back Surgery, Blood Clots and Barf-A-Palooza 2010

That is the best way to sum up last week (AKA: the longest week of our lives). Here are a few more details.

After many years of back pain and trying every other alternative, Brian was finally scheduled to have back surgery last Monday. We were all so hopeful that this would help his pain but still nervous just because it was surgery. On Sunday evening, his parents (from Colorado) arrived to help us out while he is in recovery and to spend time with the kids.

On Monday morning Lilly woke us up early at about 5am, throwing up.

This was the beginning.

I decided to just stay up with her and rock her, knowing Nate would be up shortly and she threw up several more times. I began to feel exhausted and weak, but was hoping it was just the lack of sleep.

It wasn't.

Several hours later, after Nate threw up all over his Grandpa and I was getting sick too, I knew it was more than that. Thank God Brian's parents were here because I was too ill to go with him to the hospital for his surgery (talk about a horrible feeling). Thank God my mom lives here, and was able to leave work and come help me with the kids once everyone else was gone since I could barely make it to the bathroom by myself and definitely did not have the energy to take care of anyone else. I threw up, and up and up and up. My body hurt all over.

In between bouts of throwing up, I learned that Brian's surgery went well and he was resting. I even got to talk to him a couple of times.

The kids were back on their feet hours later playing and acting normally, but I didn't start to feel better until Tuesday afternoon, about the same time Brian got home from the hospital. Brian seemed very uncomfortable and sore, but nothing unexpected for just having major back surgery.

Wednesday Brian's parents stayed home with Brian and the kids and I went back to work. Brian called me at noon to tell me his mom had been throwing up all morning. Another one down. But luckily she got it out of her system pretty quickly.

Thursday we were all on the mend and thing were looking up. Or so it seemed. Thursday night Brian started feeling nauseous (UH-OH, this is what we were afraid of. Not this on top of everything he just went through!). We became a little more concerned when he started shivering.. badly.. and his hand and wrist around where they put in his IV became black and blue. We had him under about five blankets when he told me his hand was numb and tingling. I called his doctor who then instructed me to take him to the ER right away.

We were in the ER for about four hours that night. It was awful. He was in so much pain. They saw nothing abnormal on his blood tests, but the ultrasound of his arm showed a blood clot which the doctor said was what he thought was the source of the fever and shivering. They gave him his first shot of Lovenox, a blood thinning medicine, and instructed both of us that I would be giving him the same shot twice a day for the next five days. Brian, not a huge fan of needles, gave the doctor a pretty firm "nope, not doing that", to which the doctor replied the alternative would be to admit him to the hospital for about five days.

So today we are on the last day of the shots, and he has taken it pretty well. :) Meanwhile, he is moving around much better since our trip to the ER and seems to overall be feeling more like himself.

Saturday, Brian's sister flew in from Colorado to join the party. We warned her to stock up on her vitamin C before she came so she would not be a part of the barf-fest that had been going on since Monday. We figured she was safe since it had been several days with not sickies in the house.

We were wrong.

My phone rang as I was walking into work on Monday. It was Brian calling to tell me that his sister had been throwing up.

UGH!!! ENOUGH ALREADY! I felt so bad. They were able to get the kids to the babysitter so they could both get a good day of rest, so I THINK things are FINALLY starting to look up (FINGERS CROSSED)!

Brian goes back to the doctor today to follow up and make sure the blood clot is gone. His post-surgery follow up is week after next I think.

All prayers are greatly appreciated!