Thursday night I noticed Tom's ammonia level might be going up again. He also seemed a little more lethargic. So, I pretty much decided we were going to get up Friday morning and head to Birmingham. Even though Tom had a doctors appointment scheduled with his PCP here in Nashville on Monday, I know what a difference 2 days can make - especially on the weekend. Tom, of course, didn't want any part of it for fear he would end up in the hospital again.
On Friday morning, he got up announcing how good he felt. I told him that was a lame attempt to call me off but I didn't bite. I called the UAB Liver Center at 8 a.m. only to be told that ALL of the medical doctors were in California at a conference. Did I tell you ALL of his doctors were there?!?!? Basically, the person at the Liver Center told me if we came down we should go to the ER but she didn't really have anyone who could see him. I asked what happened if a liver became available - she said the surgeons were there but they wouldn't "see" Tom on just a regular office visit. This is the kind of luck Tom and I tend to have.
So, my next call was to his PCP here in Nashville to see if there was any way I could get Tom in that day. There was a 4 pm appointment available. I told the nurse I wanted Tom to have his blood checked because if something was not right, I wanted to be able to take him to UAB if he needed to be admitted to the hospital. After a few minutes on hold, she told me to be there at 11:30. We were seen by Dr. Rutland right on time. They drew blood right there in the office (we didn't even have to go to the lab which was just one floor down). Dr. Rutland also had them draw enough to send all of the required labs to the UAB Liver Center. If these results are worse, they will submit them and Tom will move up the list. So, I'm kind of hoping the results are just a little worse to help his cause. Dr. Rutland told us he also wanted us to keep the Monday appointment (which is now at 9:15 am). He was very "on the ball" about assessing Tom's condition. He also told us three times before leaving the office that if anything came up over the weekend to be sure to call or go to the Emergeny Room. I told Tom I really liked this kind of attention!
Dr. Rutland called a couple of hours later and told us Tom's potassium level was high. He called in an RX and also told him to stop taking one of the diuretics. Tom has lost about 30 lbs since he got home from UAB! We will be back at the doctor in the morning - probably for more blood work.
In the meantime, things seem a little better. Tom, the puppies and I walked up the street and back yesterday. Today when I got home from church, he suggested we go out to lunch!
I've mentioned before that from the beginning of Tom's illness, I have told myself (and others) "one day at a time". My devotion for Friday morning was "one step at a time". Every time I tried to plan out the day, whether to get to Birmingham early or late, what to do with the dogs, etc. God changed things and it required me to focus on "one step at a time". Things did work out and hopefully they will improve Tom's chances overall. I was not liking my life at all on Friday. Although I didn't have time for the "why me?" pity party, I did have a conversation with God that went something like "God, I don't know what you are trying to teach me in all of this but it's not working and I'm not getting it so I think You should give up and try teaching me something different and maybe a little easier". We'll see what happens.
This morning, our Sunday School lesson was on Suffering. Does God cause suffering?, why does God allow suffering? Of course some suffering is caused by human sin, other suffering is caused by nature. The Bible does not promise us a "perfect life". Christ suffered also. We may never know these answers this side of Heaven. The great news is that God is with us during our suffering, just as He was with Christ when He suffered on the Cross. I can't imagine going through this without God and the knowledge that He will always be with me. It's also obvious that God speaks to us through devotions, Sunday School teachers and lessons and of course, the Bible.
So we will "press on" not just on one day at a time, but one step at a time.
I'll be following up with the UAB Transplant Coordinator on Tuesday to verify that the blood test results have been received. Hopefully she will be able to tell me at that time if they raised Tom's MELD score. The docs are supposed to return on Wednesday.
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