Our (Long) Hospital Visit

Today was a little crazy! I got up earlier than normal to go into my classroom and get organized for my sub. Both boys were asleep when I left, so I didn't really talk to Bill before leaving. After I got home he told me that he was "better" and the swelling was gone. (Information that would have helpful earlier...) I, of course, made him stand up and show me. Sure enough, he looked normal and the swelling was gone. I already had a sub, so we decided to go out to breakfast, which required Bill getting up and showering. I let Lety (our nanny) go home since I was going to be around and Bill didn't need to go to the doctor. The three of us had a nice time at breakfast and then we headed home...

Holy Cow! Just being up for about two hours made the lower half of his body puff up like a balloon. It was far worse than anything I have ever seen! Not only his abdomen was swollen, but his entire groin area down to his calves was huge! It was scary! I called my mom (since I had let Lety go) and we met halfway to drop off Tyler. Bill and I were off to the Emergency Room. Good times...

Not a shock, but we waited for hours and hours. The ER doctor didn't even fully examine him and said, "It's normal, but we can drain more today." After having it done so many times, it surely didn't seem normal. So, Bill agreed and that meant we got to go to radiology where our friends (the nurses) work. You know you have been there too many times when you see a nurse and say, "Hey, Trisha, how's your daughter? Have you figured out preschool yet?" I can tell you where Susan has traveled and where Kathy's kids went to college. That is how many hours we have spent there. The doctor came in, and I made him actually examine Bill to make sure it was as normal as the ER doctor assumed. He did NOT recommend being drained again since the majority of the fluid wasn't in the abdomen and the infection risk is exponential. He explained that the body sometimes takes awhile to redistribute its fluid, and after draining so much, it's now gathering in odd places.

THE KICKER... by the time the radiologist came in, Bill had been lying down for about three hours. The swelling had pretty much gone back down, in fact, it was almost back to normal. The moral of story is... take it easy and rest and there won't be much swelling! Go figure...