ER

After a great party weekend, adults only, Tom and I came home. Tory looked exhausted from a weekend of parenting teenagers. They had all gone to the movies and out to lunch with Margaret. Trevor and Eleanor had fallen asleep in front of the TV all night. Tory had slept with William in our room. Not condussive of the best nights sleep. We, Tom and I had golfed in the rain, stayed up way too late talking to old and new friends. I had been good the first night then had wine after midnight the second night and ended up talking until three am. probably more like babbling. I really need to knock off the over indulging on alcohal at parties. But I just couldn't keep up the steam without the help of that glass of wine after midnight. the night before I had crashed early to bed after a rigorous game of golf. I wasn't going to be a party pooper two nights in a row. Not many women came on this trip. Some childhood friends of one of the hosts flew out from the east coast to attend this 50th gathering. I was impressed that so many had stayed in contact. I know no one from my childhood that I am still in contact with. You really have to stay in one place for a long time to have those long term friends. And be the outgoing fun loving person that people want to stay in contact with, as our good friend with the many childhood friends is. The house was an old Victorian. Many beds and bedrooms to sleep the many guests. There were also a couple of other homes available for the overflow. Not everyone could stay the whole weekend. some only lasted Friday night, some only came down for Saturday night. I loved meeting all the new faces and seeing the other facets of my friends' lives. The weekend came to an end and we sadly headed home. Everyone scattering again to their different directions. Great memories and and laughs to hold us until the next time. Once home I called for early bedtime. Vacation is over for everyone. School starts the next day and I have to work. It was a great day at work with little bursts of business that even though the day felt slow, the end results were good on the books. I came home to Tom having cooked a great dinner. Marinated flank steak and rice a roni and beans ready when I walked through the door. I gave Tom a big hug. he called for dinner and Trevor trooped down the stairs ready to serve up as much as he was allowed. Riley also came downstairs. He was subdued, complaining of a head ache. After dinner I gave him Tylenol. Tom suggested he take his pills early so he could go to bed and not have to get up again to take them later. I provide the yogurt and spoon. While I clean up the kitchen I watch Riley curl up on the couch. Tom drapes him with a blanket. Trevor and I play chess in the corner while I keep an eye on Riley. Its been a while since Riley has been sick. We are down to 150 mg twice a day of his cyclosporan. My thought is maybe it was too fast, maybe he is relapsing. Tom and I whisper about his headache. I search for a thermometer, getting cranky that I can't lay my hands on one right away. I have to empty out the junk drawer completely to find one. I take Riley's temperature three times and get three different results each one higher than the last. I search for another thermometer, dumping out my travel purse in the end to find it. This one gives 101.6 then 101.9. I dig in the garage to find the binder with all Riley's medical information. The book says call the clinic if temperature is over 100.4. So I make the call. I talk to the on call doctor. While talking to him and asking Riley questions while he lies prone on the couch looking miserable, Riley tells me he has been feeling nausea for over twenty four hours. That he felt sick yesterday. He has been having pain after he eats. he hasn't pooped today but had a small poop yesterday. My alarm bells are going off. pain and nausea with headache and fever in conjunction with the decrease in dosage. The doctor agrees that it might be a good idea to be seen. He will let the ER know we are coming. Another dark drive to the ER. The weather is pouring down rain. My wipers whine at every other swipe irritatingly. Riley has wrapped himself in his shawl I handed him as we headed out the door. I have packed an overnight bag for us both just in case. I also grabbed his Dale Jr jacket for luck. It is also a great conversation piece if we end up staying a while. I figure if we arrive fully prepared then it will be unlikely we will need to stay. So here we are at the ER. The nurses drew blood and Riley took his time to pee in a cup for them. They hooked him up to an IV and gave him some anti nausea meds. though he is not acting nearly as sick as he was earlier lying on the couch, he is trying to sleep. You can hear the nurses station people chatting outside the door. An infant cries down the hall. Riley didn't want sound on the TV, but he didn't want the TV turned off either, even though he has his eyes closed and is trying to sleep. The lights are dimmed but not out as we wait for the lab results. The concern was the abdominal pain, appendicitis. But when the Doctor probed Riley's stomach he did not flinch or feel pain. He said it was only after eating he has been feeling the pain. The headache had become just a dull throb. On a scale of one to ten he said it was a three. I worry about internal bleeding, but he said his pee was normal and so was his poop yesterday. Nothing looked out of the ordinary when I flushed the toilets today. Maybe constipation or gas is all it is. The IV has made him feel better. He has finished the bag. We sit quietly and wait for those all important lab results. Riley gets to sleep in the bed under the blankets. We were supposed to see the doctor next Thursday to get lab results and see about lowering another 10% dosage. The problem with ER visits is they are always at least 4 hours. We arrived at 8:30 pm. It is now 10:30. We probably have another hour of waiting. It will be a long dark wet drive home when we are done. I can see we may have over reacted but its best to be careful. I just didn't know quite how to react with stomach pains, headache and fever with the dosage change and it having been so long and that fever bouncing around on the thermometer. The nurse comes in and says he will be getting an IV dose of antibiotics then he can go home. They are just being proactive but nothing jumps out at them We will get to go home in an hour.