September 2,2010 - One Hard Day

Brian and I were up early today so that we could be at the hospital by 7:15 to get a INR test done before 8, which was the time we were to leave for Abbott- North-Western Hospital for my surgery at 10 AM.
It turned out that even after holding my Warfarin last night that my blood did not thicken any so it was still too thin for surgery. So it was canceled again today. I spoke with Dr. Oken's nurse and she was upset with them down in the Cities as there are things they can do to thicken the blood but they would not hear of it. She finally got to talk with the Dr who will be doing the surgery and he explained why they would not touch me until my blood has sufficiently thickened. It so happens that the abscess is sitting tight up against a main artery in the pelvic region. The slightest error can nick that artery and I could bleed out before they would be able to get in and repair the damage.
When we heard that we both decided that pushing to get the surgery done was not a good idea. It is going to be a very delicate operation because of its location and they and I do not need to deal with any more nightmares than we already have to deal with so we wait some more. Jeannie asked what she could do from this end to help. It was decided by my primary doctor that I should receive two units of plasma followed by another INR test. SO I ended up in the chemo chair again today and they began to give me the two units of plasma.
The first unit went well but 10 minutes into the second unit I started to itch, not long after that and my throat started to swell. I was having a reaction. Then the uncontrollable trembling started . Jeannie and Jan quickly stopped the plasma and started treating me for an allergic reaction. An injection of Benadryl stopped the itching, followed by an injection of a steroid which stopped the swelling in the throat. They covered me with three warm blankets from the warmer and I warmed up after that. Benadryl wipes me out and so I took a long nap while they continued to monitor me. My blood pressure came back down to normal and my oxygen levels went back up. Once I was stabilized and alert they gave me a Vitamin K shot. Jeannie talked with the pathologist and he said that I should not have had a reaction to the plasma and suggested that after I was stable they should try me on another unit of plasma. Jeannie talked with my primary doctor and she and Dr. Strei agreed that it would just be safer to give me a Vitamin K shot. The whole experience left both the nurses, the doctor and I wanting not to go through that again. So I got a shot of Vitamin K, took another nap and got my INR rechecked. It was at 1.5 by the time I left at three this afternoon. The dr. doing the surgery in the cities wants me to be at 1.4 or lower so I'll hold the Warfarin tonight and return to the hospital at 7:30AM for another INR check. If it is still too high I'll likely get another Vitamin K shot and go to the cities for surgery in the afternoon. The plan is to get me into and out of surgery as quickly and as safe as possible.

I need lots of prayers for the surgeon and medical staff that will be treating me. Prayers for wisdom, guidance, clear minds and steady hands for them and for peace and calm for me. I trust the Lord with all my heart but I find that I am not as trusting of people. I recognize that they are human and as such can and do make mistakes. That is why I need the Lord to intervene on my behalf. With Him by all of our sides, I know all will be well.