By the way, it is kind of complicated to become a "follower" of this kind of blog--on the right you probably saw the invitation to be a follower.
But to avoid that, just email yourself the address of it and go to that email every time and click the link. Or if you know how to bookmark, you can bookmark it and find it that way. Some of you are computer savvy, some not, I know!
Tonight's entry is called "Wild Bill Drennan and the Mystery Fever"
By the time I got back late this afternoon, he was even hotter to the touch, so I called in a nurse, and his temperature went up to 101. A few hours later, it was going up to 102, so they gave him a Tylenol--I won't tell you where--BLESS HIS HEART, THE POOR BRAVE BOY!
Then his fever came down a little bit, but he got chills.
So he is pretty sick.
It doesn't seem to be lung-based, at least to my uneducated mind, because his lungs don't hurt, and aren't attracting his attention by acting weird.
But they are going to give him a chest X-ray anyway.
They suspect more that it's some kind of systemic infection, and they're going to draw blood and run tests till they find out what is going on.
You know me: Poster child for Pessismism Gone Wild. I'm thinking, tell me it is NOT a superbug or whatever they call that! I just read the news about this super-bacteria called (shorthand name) C-Diff, and how it's epidemic in hospitals in the south right now, and it eats the inside of your intestines. Oh, great. I'll sleep GREAT tonight! In fact, SOMEONE ON HIS FLOOR WAS DIAGNOSED WITH IT TODAY! The nurses were talking about it and, okay, you already know I'm a spy on nurses. So I asked if they would check Bill for that, and they said only if he shows symptoms of it. How can he show symptoms of an intestinal illness when he hasn't had food or water in his intestines since Thursday?
Okay, Beth, calm down. It is REMOTELY POSSIBLE that the MEDICAL EXPERTS AT DUKE HOSPITAL might know SLIGHTLY MORE than I know about these things.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
And his tachycardia is completely NOT improved one bit (heart beating way too fast), and he can't keep his oxygen level up without being on oxygen, which he should not need at this point. What else? Oh! His urine drain got twisted and no one discovered it until I found it, and it was full and would have backed up into his kidneys? Oh, I don't know! I'm not that calm, so maybe it all seems worse than it is.
The night had a strangely beautiful ending though, for me. Bill was ready to sleep and we said goodnight, and just then a nurse came in and asked where I was staying. I said, just a block and a half away. She said, "It's DARK outside! Do you realize how DANGEROUS it is around here? Do NOT even try to walk ONE BLOCK alone in the dark! You have NO idea!"
Well, I needed to PANIC ABOUT BEING MURDERED right at that moment like a Saharan camel needs sand. So in a state of complete anguish, I went down to the lobby and tried to see if there was a way to get a cab for one block. The guy said no, and that it was such a short walk, I should try it, and he thought the nurse exaggerated.
Well, that was NOT COMFORTING either!
So I just started to pray to God. I said, "You have to help me! You just have to! I have no one, and I'm scared, and stressed out, and out of ideas, so you're all I have left!"
Just then--TRUE STORY--I see this Security Guard standing there outside. I've never seen one before. He works for the hospital. So I go up to him and ask him what to do. I told him about Bill and how I didn't know anyone, and what could I do? He said, "Lady, you have enough on your mind right now. I'm going to walk you home." I nearly fainted! He radio'd his boss and said he was walking someone to their hotel. And then he WALKED ME TO MY HOTEL!
I was almost in TEARS and could NOT stop thanking him all the way!!! He was SO NICE! I told him I wasn't sure he was human, that maybe he was an angel. He liked that and laughed.
I asked if he liked his job, and he said he is looking for another job, but jobs are hard to find.
If you're reading this and if prayer is your thing, could you just send up one good punch of a prayer and ask God to find him the job he wants? Just one prayer.
I'm going to look into how to write a letter to his boss tomorrow.
Wow. In the darkest most unexpected places, the tiny little light of mysterious love shows up and simply blows your mind.
May love find all of you tonight, too, and may God bless that security guard. And Wild Cowboy Bill, too.
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