Well, I’m still here. The doctors said I might be able to go home by Friday. They were still concerned about the positive blood tests, even though they might be false positives, so many specialists became involved. Yesterday I had a wave of specialists come in to see me. I had visits from Infectious Disease, Dermatology, Gastroenterology and Ophthalmology.
Infectious Disease was concerned about the blood test. The decision was made to remove my tri-fusion catheter, since it could be the source of the infection. I would be going back to a PICC line. This was done by Interventional Radiology. I will be a couple of days before the PICC line is put in, so I have a IV in my hand.
Dermatology was concerned about the skin rash. Over the past week or so the rash started to change. Instead of the dark bumps, they started to spread and fade together, becoming larger dark patches. They also weren’t sure what it was, so they took a couple of punch biopsies of my skin near upper chest and stomach. My first impression was that it seemed to be something spread by touch, since it was only on chest/stomach/groin/leg area and wasn’t on hard-to-reach places like my back. It also didn’t appear under my catheter dressing. We’ll know more in a couple of days.
Gastroenterology was concerned about my GI tract. I have a really bad case of thrush, which impacts my ability to eat. I also have something going on in my throat, and with the stomach issues they might want to scope my throat.
Ophthalmology was brought in to check my eyes as a preventive measure. They just wanted to make sure that I didn’t have an infection in my eyes.
My mother-in-law said when I first checked in that hospital never keep you for just 24-48 hours. They need to get their money’s worth. I guess she was right.
