High Everything

We got into the hospital what, 12 days ago?  For most of this time Liam was sleeping.  They gave her a new drug - Neurontin (I think, eh?).  Its purpose, as I understand it, is to treat neuropathic pain.  In plain English it's a type of pain that....nah, lets not go there.  The readers are welcome to find out on their own.  The US Open is on TV and Mickelson is on the Tee.  I'm not in the biz of understanding medical terms at such critical times, let alone explaining them.  But I will say this:  the new medication is given to treat pain.  It was given to begin with in too high of a doze - now we know it.  The Drs played with the dosage for the past two weeks, but the princess continued to sleep (ironically in perfect timing for those who're interested to follow the World Cup on the hospital room TV).
Anyway, she slept and slept and we got worried again.  In addition, she had bad smell coming out of her mouth - no matter how well we (I mean them, I mean somebody) had cleaned it.  And she was coughing thick mucus.  Eventually, 2-3 days ago a blood test showed sinus infection. WHEW, that was a relief, believe it or not.  Since then Liam shows signs of feeling a bit better.

Usually when Liam's restful (asleep), her heart rate is sort of normal - 70-80.  But in the last two weeks it's no less than 120 and at times climbs to the 170s.  Scary.  It's still high.  Her blood pressure was high too, but now I think it's ok.

In the last 12 hours there was some serious miscommunication in the hospital, the result of which they STOPPED giving her Kepra, the seizure medication.  Sure enough, today toward the end of dialysis she had several small seizures.  As I'm writing these words the situation was restored to where it should be.  It's just scary how things like that take place.  The scary part is that I can't say a bad word about anybody from her medical staff.  We learned to love and respect all the Drs and nurses and experts - and learned to work together as a team.  And things like that still happen.  Scary, did I say that already?


World Cup Addiction
I love football (eh, soccer) and I love the WC.  But I'll be happy when it's all over and done with.  You see, I'm trying to watch all 3 games every day, work as usual, spend time in the hospital, do some exercise, and be a dad for Meitav.  This is waaaaay too much.  And I'm watching everywhere:  on the computer, on Univision in Spanish (don't have cable), in bars, at a friend's house and of course, from the hospital (we have a 7:30 game tomorrow morning, Liam.  Get a good night sleep).  Lucky for me there's Friday night and I'm "locked" in the hospital room with Liam (and the US Open).


The Laundry Basket Guide of how NOT to Write Laundry Basket Guides
Alright, a confession:  For a while now I was trying to write a Laundry Basket Guide to Relationships with the In-laws.  I tried to make it sophisticated and funny and, of course, tied to laundry baskets.  But the truth is that I failed.  So I need to get away from sophistication and stay simple.  Here goes:
My in-laws, Burt and Doreen Wittenberg, known to the intown community as Poppy and Savta (grandma), are so helpful, I don't even know where to begin from.  They sit with Liam in the hospital, in her room, during dialysis, etc.  This gives Rachel the breaks she needs.   They help drive Meitav to places.  They bring meals.  They know the medical staff.  And I could go on and on and on.  And they do it all in good spirit - even when the situation is difficult.  They keep everything positive.  These are just few of the things they help with.
And when they come visit us in the house, there's always laundry for them to fold.  There, I couldn't help it and tried to be funny again.  Some people never learn.  Pathetic.


Keeping The Priorities Straight
When you're really tired - because you watched 3 football (eh, soccer) games already, but there's still golf on TV, it's ok to put Liam in her wheelchair.  She needs the change in position, it's good for the blood flow, it's good for the circulation, it's good for the....hey Rachel, where's the clicker???