NO GO

We are back home this afternoon! Things didn't go as planned exactly. Tom's fluid is not "free fluid", therefore they could not pull any off. I guess he has the more expensive kind of fluid! The only way to treat it is with a couple of diuretics so Tom is back on the two he has taken most since all of this started. Because it isn't "free fluid" the doctor thinks the shunt is working fine. It still doesn't make sense to me why there is so much in his tissue?!? Anyway, the doctor didn't think it was necessary for Tom to see Dr. Eckhoff tomorrow so we came home. Tom now has an appointment with Dr. Alkurdi in two weeks so we get to go back. That was a LOT of work for 24 hours. No offense to Tom but it's kinda like travelling with a newborn. The is so much stuff: walkers, wheelchairs, meds, snacks, water/soda, etc. We're feeling kind of like the Charlie Brown/Lucy comic where Lucy keeps pulling the football away from Charlie Brown. Tom really took it hard, and so did I. He is so miserable. His back is still really hurting so he can hardly move. The wheelchair made things easier for this trip, it was well worth the money. I told Tom the new goal was to heal his back and get rid of the fluid so our next trip is much easier. There were 10 people having paracentesis' when we were there today. They come and go all day. It's like a ward setting. I've never seen so many pot-bellies in one place - both men and women. Is amazing how many big jugs of fluid they we pulling off. I was trying to figure out if they were all transplant patients but most were not conversational. They man behind us had liver cancer. They all seemed to only have fluid in their abdomen, not in the legs where a lot of Tom's is. It could be because he has so much extra skin from his weight loss. Anyway it sounded like they were all regulars - going weekly or monthly. I really liked the doctor who was "tapping" everyone. Well, that's the update. I wish it was better news. It is nice to be home though.