Long Day

Update.....Right after posting this, Lillian spiked a fever. After speaking with Dr Lungs, he said he took a look at some of the preliminary findings and it looks as though something bacterial is growing in the lungs.  We are to give the levoquin 24 hours and see how she does from there...




We arrived to the hospital for Lillian's chest xray and bronch.  We were to be there at 1030am.  Upon completion of the xray, we went to surgery and things moved rather smoothly until the administered the versed.  They gave it to her and then it seemed to take them forever to come get her.  They also insisted she have an albuterol treatment, which I don't like...but pick your battles, right?  Anyway, they took her back and they did biopsies and sent them for several different tests and cultures, some of them will be sent to Yale for study and those particular results won't be back for 4-6 weeks.  He is supposed to call me in the next week with results from some of the cultures.  We sat in the waiting room for quite a while and I started to get that uneasy feel of wondering what was taking so long after the doctor had spoken to us.  We finally got called back and were told that she actually coughed up quite a bit of blood.  Typical is pink tinge secretions, but she had spewed up blood.  They had to call the Dr Lungs back to look at her again, and he said we just need to keep an eye out for anymore.  He took some lovely pictures and even gave me a copy.  He did find some granulation tissue at the stoma site and said we just needed to keep an eye out for breathing issues.  He also pointed out the words I've always dreaded hearing...tracheal malacia.  I always sorta thought in my head we had dodged a bullet, her not having that particular affliction, but apparently some has developed.  He seemed pleased with the results, but it always makes me uneasy when they tell me there is something new....as many bronchs as she's had and no doctor as ever diagnosed that.  Now we wait.  He did order her back on Levaquin due to her recent coughing that has stirred up.  Thank you for prayers.  It has been a long day and she has just now started acting like herself.