Phoenix Rising

I just got in from the hospital.  So much has happened since my last post.  Have a seat and I'll fill you in...

I got to the hospital about 5pm.  Nashville rush hour traffic was a mess. Denny had been put in a private room in the ER (thanks to the efforts of Dr. Murphy).  He looked miserable; laying on the bed with the left side of his neck swollen and red.  He had just come in from seeing Dr. Murphy; after a very lengthy conversation regarding his case.  St. Louis had not sent down the records yet so she was basically flying blind. 

They checked him in through the ER and he was waiting for the CAT scan when I got there.  They had already taken a blood panel.  Blood was actually taken from both arms to see where and what kind of possible infection it could be. 

He was so discouraged and it showed in the misery on his face.  I took his hand in mine, held it tight and said, "This is just one more battle in the war.  Keep fighting.  You can do this."  I think that, just for a moment, fear of the unknown overwhelmed him.  Just hearing me voice that fear took the elephant out of the room (so to speak) and like a phoenix rising, I saw his incredible strength return once again. 

The nurse administered some morphine since his pain level was 8 out of 10.  We waited about an hour for it to kick in.  Finally, she gave him something stronger which helped a little better.  About 10pm, the results of the CAT scan came back.  It showed a clot AND an infection. 

The blood panel will take another day or so before the infection is identified 100%.  However, from the look of the scan, the doctors suspect it is staph and are treating it with heavy doses of antibiotic. The clot is being treated with blood thinners.  Denny has been admitted to Vanderbilt Hospital.   We are not sure for how long; hopefully, just for the night.

Denny, (if you are reading this) I know you are fighting this battle on 2 fronts; physical and mental.  Someday, we will look back on this blog and say, "Wow!  What strength you have!"  Until then, we will eat this elephant one bite at a time.  Stay strong!

Thanks for checking in.  I will post updates as soon as I can.