Thursday, June 27, 2013

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Explanation to family:

"We are again in Clinica Alema in Temuco. At three-thirty Wednesday morning Elder Babcock fell while he was coming back to bed from the bathroom. I couldn't help him up.  He seemed to have no strength but his mind was clear and he just wanted to get back into bed. I covered him with a blanket and told him that I was calling the Zone leaders and we were going to the hospital   No one answered. I called them again and still no answer, so I started getting ready for the trip to Temuco. The four elders live together, so I called a different phone the third time, and the zone leader answered. He had the Mission President on the other line telling him that I had called the mission home and asking them to help us.

Evidently, all the elders thought the call was a wake up alarm and began their morning routine. Then one of them finally realized that it was 4:00 in the morning. Two of the elders got to go back to bed for three hours more hours of sleep, but the zone leaders came and helped me get Elder Babcock dressed and into the car.

Elder Girsberger drove us to Temuco and they stayed with us through the morning. Elder Babcock was admitted to the clinic and the ER called Dr. Rivas, the neurologist. After many tests, there are still many questions to be answered. Side effects of the meningitis and the medications continue. Elder Babcock has an infection of the sinuses and sometimes his right leg and right arm do not work. The brain is fine, but they are checking the spine column and other things

We're back with our hospital friends, but they were not so glad to see us. Dr. Concha is involved again. I took her picture last night and Elder Babcock will be able to give her the Book of Mormon, after all.

We do not know how long we will be here this time. We hope not long. It has been a noisy night with many interruptions but some sleep. At 3:00 am the right leg and arm worked. At 5:30 am they didn't. He got some right arm back, but not much leg. Many questions waiting for answers.
Ken just got pneumococco 13 a new vaccine that should work better than the three he had in the past. They have had an MRI scheduled since before breakfast so Ken has been fasting waiting for that. He is also going to have a short sinus surgery. They are worried that the sinus infection could be fungal. The right arm and leg still stop working every once in a while. They put the vaccine in the bad arm. He wishes they would hurry up with the MRI so he can eat before he has to start fasting for 8 hours before the surgery.
I showed Dr. Rivas a list of ideas the mission doctor got from a neurosurgeon in Salt Lake. He seemed to appreciate it, acknowledging different things as good. He has ruled out transverse myelitis which he is familiar with. They are doing an MRI of the spine this afternoon and a biopsy surgery of the sinus infection at 9:00 tonight. They are concerned that it might be fungal. 

The MRI was supposed to be this morning, so he wasn't able to eat breakfast or drink anything. And he has to fast for 8 hours before the sinus surgery, so the doctor finally told him to hurry up and eat a late breakfast before 11:00. They don't know how to do lunch early here, so I got him an avocado and nuts from the car and he had bread and avocado (theirs plus mine) and lunch meat and yogurt for the day. They brought tea instead of hot milk, so that was another little frustration for him. 

The right arm and leg are still intermittently dead. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. For example at 3:00 am he could walk to the bathroom and back, but at 5:30 he could move neither his arm or leg. Sometimes he can just feel the skin, but can't make the muscles do anything.

Dr. Rivas also wants to investigate the possible lesion on the bladder, because it is another weird thing. He also confirmed that the sodium in the blood level was low. Dr. Concha ordered a Pneumococco 13 vaccine for this morning. In the past Elder Babcock had three different Pneumoccocco 23 vaccines that should have helped. Dr. Suazo, the ear doctor was a little concerned when he found out that they had given it to him this morning. The Doctors are trying to communicate with each other, but sometimes there are surprises. It sounds like Elder Babcock will be here for a few days, but Dr. Rivas got him changed from UTI to a regular room. They didn't have a regular room to move him to, so they are designating where he is to be a regular room price wise. So he doesn't have the monitors anymore which makes things a lot quieter.

It sounds like we will be here for a few days. I have been thinking of Pewman Ruka again, but since he won't have the monitors I may try to sleep here again tonight. I will have to sneak out sometime this afternoon and get some food for me.

The MRI was a disaster in that it didn't happen. Ken had pain and fever from the pneumonia vaccine and couldn't hold still for an hour. He actually couldn't remember that hour. 

They took him for sinus surgery about 20 minutes ago. They do things late here. It was supposed to be at 9:00. A biopsy of the infection will help them know how to treat it. 

They still don't know what is causing the low sodium and the loss of function on the right side.