Hello once again dear ones --
The first day of July! Craig sure isn't missing any summer weather around here -- cool and cloudy, in the 60's.
Today seemed like a day full of surprises.
Here are the numbers: Creatinine the same at 3.7, BUN higher at 107. Neither of these is what we were hoping for. However, sed rate is down from 80's-100's to 50's which is very good! Weight still up 20-25 pounds due to fluid retention despite Lasix 80 mg IV twice a day.
So the nephrologist recommended dialysis this morning, which although he had mentioned before, still surprised both Craig and me. He will be able to remove the excess fluid and the toxins (BUN) and is hopeful this will make Craig feel better. Unfortunately, it will not help the low serum albumin situation -- we are waiting for the steroid to work on this.
Because Craig was on Coumadin, the doctors now need to reverse that so they can place a central line for the dialysis. He is receiving fresh frozen plasma tonight which contains clotting factors. The idea is to do dialysis for 3 days in a row -- the first day for 2 hours, the second day for 3 hours, and the third day for 4 hours (which is the usual amount of time). Then they will decide how often it needs to be done after that. It will be done at Swedish Hospital rather than a kidney center because it is hopefully a short term situation.
Craig actually felt better today. I asked him if it was because he was hoping to avoid dialysis by being able to report improvement in symptoms or if it was because he was looking forward to dialysis in hopes of feeling better. He wasn't really sure. It is so hard to know if one is doing the right thing.
I need to take Nick to the airport tomorrow at 5 am for his trip with the Seattle Childrens Choir to Wales, England, and Scotland. He will be gone for 11 days. Prayers for safe travels and a safe journey.
Love, Sharon
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