Oh, Universe...just stop.

So, my last post on October 8th related my bitchy reaction to my hypochondriac husband, who actually turned out to have an infection. Well. It didn't stop with that trip to CareNow. Oh yes, you finally get to hear the rest of the story. Because, the Universe sometimes isn't on your side.

After the visit to CareNow, an antibiotic injection and finally figuring out which antibiotics he can take, we head home and try to relax, smug in the knowledge that we caught that infection early and showed it who the fuck is boss! Fuck yeah, antibiotics! Well, by the time we get ready for bed, his temp is hovering at about 100. We're a little concerned but the kidney doctor had told him not to worry unless it gets up to 103 or higher, then it's time to go to the ER. So, we go to bed. At about 4:00 am, he wakes up on fire and dehydrated. We take his temp and it's 103. Gah! Universe :( So, we grab stuff and head to the ER. We called the kidney doctor and he says to tell them as soon as we get there to admit him to this hospital. Not another hospital stay *really sad face* We get to the ER and they get him back to a room and we tell them that he is a transplant patient, has 103 temperature and that his kidney doctor said to admit him immediately. And then we wait. And wait. And wait some more. The ER doc comes in about an hour later and says they need to run tests, etc, and he will get in contact with kidney doctor. An hour after that, the kidney doctor arrives and asks why he isn't in a room yet then goes and gets John ice because he can barely talk or swallow from his mouth being so dry. Also, 2 hours in the ER and they haven't taken blood, urine samples, hooked up an IV to get him hydrated, started him on antibiotics or taken his goddamn temperature! He's also in tremendous pain, but that was the least of our worries. The nurse finally comes in and takes his temp and gets blood and urine samples. She starts an IV, but no antibiotics. His temp is at 103.7 and I am in a panic. I ask when he is being moved to a room, she doesn't know or care apparently. 30 minutes later and it's time for the shift change. And things just go downhill from there.

The new nurse comes in and I immediately ask why he hasn't been admitted and why they haven't started him on the antibiotics. She gets pissy and says she just got on, blah blah blah. She then rips the blanket off of him and says he can't be covered up if he has a fever, so I said she needed to tell the nurse who just left that SINCE SHE WAS THE ONE WHO COVERED HIM UP! DH asked what was he supposed to do since he was freezing and shivering so bad. She said - deal with it. I almost punched her. Instead, as sweet as I could manage, I asked her to find out when he would be moved. And I continued to ask each time she (or the person she was training) walked by the room over the NEXT THREE HOURS. I am about to turn on bitch mode when they come in and say they are going to need to admit him and are moving him to a room. I'm like, "You think?" So 5 hours in the ER with no pain meds, no antibiotics and no compassion.

We get him moved into a room. A shared room. With another sick person. He has an infection and a lowered immune system and they put him in a room with another sick person!! The guy turns out to have kidney disease too and is in there for other reasons (not infection or contagious stuff). As soon as he gets in the other bed, they give him pain meds and start the antibiotic. Like, the nurse had the stuff in her hands when we got there. I love her. He gets instant relief and drifts off. The nurse asks if I knew why it took so long for him to come up? I said we were told the ER was waiting for the orders. She said...you're going to love this, readers. She said they had it down there at 6:30 am. 6:30 AM, ALMOST 4 HOURS AGO! I just stared at her. She said the kidney doctor had come by around 9:30 looking for John. I think he's the one who finally got the ER group to get their shit together. By the time we got to the room, his fever had broke and his temp was down to the normal range.

After that, things were better, to an extent. He was in the hospital for 3 days and the last day he was there, they brought in someone with pneumonia. HELLO - why would you put someone with an airborne infection like pneumonia in with someone else who just got over a kidney infection and has a lowered immune system. His other kidney doctor came in to talk about releasing him and when we told him what the guy in the next bed had, he was upset and said DH should never be put in a room with other patients. No one puts Baby in a corner, and no one puts DH in dual occupancy hospital room!

I stayed home with him the rest of the week and worked from home due to TB scares around town and on campus (yes, that TB) and someone at work being diagnosed with "walking pneumonia" who had been hacking up a lung at work the 2 weeks prior to all of this. I was not going to take any chances, and emotionally, DH wasn't doing well.

We are a couple of weeks out from all of this and he is doing much better. He is focusing on school and trying to finish out this semester after 2 hospital stays. I'm happy he is home and seems much better emotionally and health-wise.

So, Universe, all I have to say is....thank you. Thank you for giving us more time together and thank you for helping remind me the importance of patience and compassion. Fuck. Yeah.