hospital stay UPDATE

I sent out an email to many of my friends who check in here so I thought I'd leave my updates here for those who are interested in what is happening.

Yesterday, my pain returned with meals. That indicates the possibility of stones still being in the bile duct. So last night the GI doc ordered an ERCP - basically and endoscopy up into the bile duct and clearing out anything there.

There are some risks with this procedure and I was very worried about it last night and this morning - especially as I hadn't actually spoken to the GI doc.

Well, I know Bill was concerned and praying and I know one special friend in particular was concerned and directed those concerns to God, and I know many of you who received my email were praying.

God heard our prayers and answered them as well. The GI doc came in early this morning and said he'd been thinking about me late last night. He really didn't want to do the ERCP unless it was clearly necessary. So he decided to order a MRCP - a fairly new procedure that is very accurate in determining if there are stones in the bile duct. It is basically a specialized MRI.

So I had that this morning. We're waiting for the results now. The one complication is that my nurse called the technician and asked about my morning meds. He said I could take them. I only took the tiniest sip of water I could... but as he was doing the MRI he complained that I had fluid in my stomach. He said they may need to redo the MRCP again later today.

My request is that we pray that the test will be clearly read and done correctly - even if it needs to be redone. I just want the true and correct reading. I began to worry about this as I was in the MRI... and some song from the sixties came on and there was a line about reaching up above you and holding tight.... I don't even know what the song was really saying, but it reminded me that God is above me in knowledge and wisdom and control. So I reached up to him (well not with my body - I was in an MRI and they are pretty snug LOL) but in my heart and now I'm much more peaceful about the test and will trust the results because he is in charge of all things.

If I have stones, I must have the ERCP tomorrow. If I don't, I will be learning to use some new pain meds and trying to eat and will go home tomorrow.

So there's the current "Hospital Stay" status!

I sure can't wait to get home and start painting again - and writing about more significant things than how my body is feeling!

Thank you to all of you who love me so much and pray for me. And thank you to for those of you visiting for the first time... please come back and learn more about spiritual and emotional journey since I've been focusing so much on my physical journey in the last few posts!

xox,
Melanie

Hopsital Stay

Well, one week later - I made it through the weekend, but Saturday and Sunday I was so weak that I couldn't walk to the bathroom by myself. I know this stage is so difficult on my family.

I saw my Doctor Monday morning and she felt she needed to admit me to hospital. After several tests, it was determined that my bile duct from my liver was inflamed and I either have or had passed a stone.

I do not have a gallbladder so it's not a gall stone - its a stone (or stones) that have formed from the bile that's excreted from the Liver.

Today, I'm waiting to hear whether I get to go home or if I must stay for a procedure that is like an endoscopy but goes in and searches for and removes any stones.

The big issue for me is staying hydrated so that I have less of a chance of forming more stones. This is a huge concern for me at the moment, because I felt I was doing my best at this. I have a few more ideas to try, but my ANS deals with hydration differently, so I don't feel at ease with this issue.

I know the question in every one's mind - is this same problem I've been having for two years. The answer is NO. It's unrelated and the symptoms were very different this past week. Now, I'm not sure yet about the connection of the ANS dysfunction and the formation of stones. But my normal stomach issues have to do with delayed gastric emptying and this was a stone in the bile duct.

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for me. It's amazing to experience miracles and think - I bet someone prayed for that - and then I find out, sure enough, someone did!

BTW - Yes, I'm writing this from the hospital! They have Internet access for patients right from the room! Pretty cool, huh?

TTFN,
Melanie