Thursday, November 15, 2007

please send prayers, good thoughts, or whatever

The Hermit is in the hospital.

But first, the good news. I just talked with him and he sounds a lot better than he did before. So I don't think the situation is critical.

For the last day or so he had been having some difficulty with balance, and also with talking. He looked and sounded drunk, although I knew otherwise. The talking part was the weirdest. He said he was thinking normally, but he had a delay in retrieving the right words and his speech was slurred.

I told him he needed to see a doctor NOW. Typical male he is, he insisted "I'm fine!" He finally agreed to go to urgent care this morning and they admitted him.

His doctor initially thought he had had a stroke, but tests did not indicate it. We are convinced it is Lyme disease. He was treated for it about a month ago, with ten days of antibiotics. Which is NOT enough to wipe out an acute Lyme infection. Three weeks at the minimum, a month is better.

He is planning on checking himself out tomorrow, regardless of what the doc says. Like I said, he sounded way better, not 100%, but a lot better on the phone after taking one antibiotic pill.

I gotta go do chores and pick up kids from school and chop wood and start a fire and stuff. Be back later this evening.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keeping him, you, and the entire family in my prayers

Anonymous said...

My thoughts and prayers are with you; I hope everything works out ok.

MojoMan said...

Best of luck to you, the kids and the Hermit. As one who had a brush with Lyme recently, I know it's spooky stuff.

gtr said...

Eeek! Good luck and best wishes to you all!

barefoot gardener said...

I will be keeping you in my thoughts...

Ummm, would it be completely out of line to have you tell that meat-head to stay in the hospital until they know FOR SURE what is going on or the doc says it is okay?

I will be worrying...keep us posted.

Sue said...

Yikes. I'll be thinking of you, him, and the whole family tonight.

Deb said...

Everyone- thanks. I calmly explained to the kids that Daddy was in the hospital, but it was just so they could make sure he was okay. It's really hard, having to tell your kids that their dad is in the hospital. :(

Mojoman- What were your symptoms? Do you think your treatment took care of it? The more I read about it, the scarier I think the implications are for leading a normal life afterwards are.

Barefoot Gardener- No, I do not think it would be out of line at all! He should take the opportunity to relax and concentrate on being well. Men...

I got my book from the library today on alternative treatment for Lyme disease. I may have to stay up late reading.

Thunder said...

Hope everything goes well!

LauraHinNJ said...

Sending along thoughts for his quick recovery.

Nickie said...

How scary!!!

RuthieJ said...

Hi Deb,
I have one of those 'stubborn' spouses also. I hope all goes well with the Hermit. I'll keep him and you as "Super Mom" in my prayers.

arcolaura said...

Thinking of you.

On the lighter side: when Garth fell at the end of August, the kids were inside and heard some crashing and yelling etc. James said he knew it was serious when he heard Garth say "Forget about phoning the hospital, just take me there!" But Ruth said she just figured, "Whatever, he already fell off, nothing I can do, I'm going back to sleep!"

MojoMan said...

Deb: My Lyme was officially 'early stage.' After a positive screening test, a sample was sent to the Mayo Clinic for a Western Blot Test to confirm.

Other than being grumpy and jumpy because because it was taking so long to figure out why I was sick, I don't think I had any neurological symptoms. I had flu-like symptoms with chills and sweats and just felt weak and sick. Then I started getting aches and pains from every little strain. It was a sharp pain in my chest when I lay down that got me to the doctor to begin enduring all kinds of mis-directed tests. The docs never did figure it out. My wife told me to tell them about the ticks.

Three weeks of doxycycline seems to have done the trick, but stories like yours have me worried about relapses. I think (hope) because we caught it early, the drugs did the trick. I, too, felt the effects of the first pill.

Be aware of bogus information out there. Even real MD's have different opinions about this disease. That leaves plenty of room for lots of quackery.

Anonymous said...

Hope he's doing well!
Lightnin

Anonymous said...

All my best healthy good energy is being sent your way!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, I hope he's okay and that is indeed "only" Lyme's disease. You guys are in my thoughts and I wish him a speedy recovery.

Deb said...

again, thanks for all the good wishes. He is home now and, I think, doing better.

Arcolaura- Funny, that's kind of how I would have reacted had I been in Ruth's shoes. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a bit too laid back.

Mojoman- hopefully yours was caught early enough. By the symptoms, it sounds like it may well have been.

The info out there is so hard to sort out. It seems like Lyme is so controversial, with doctors and insurance companies insisting chronic Lyme does not exist, and people insisting it does. I think no one really knows...I guess those spirochetes are pretty bizarre creatures with many ways to escape the body's defenses.