Kandid Memories: Urgent Care & The Emergency Room

Last Sunday Jared started getting a sore throat and Monday he had signs of the stomach flu. By Tuesday things got progressively worse and by Wednesday he become so dehydrated he had lost 8 lbs., couldn't swallow, and could hardly hold himself up. He had become extremely lethargic and wasn't able to keep anything he ate or drank in or down.

That evening I took him into Urgent Care. We were there almost 3 hrs. They gave him 2 I.V. bags with electrolytes, a hefty dose of Zofran, and then sent us home. He was able to get a little sleep that night but still wasn't feeling great and fighting a fever. The Urgent Care doctor really wanted us to follow up with the Neurologist the next day to make sure things with his new MS rx wasn't playing a factor. He started taking a new prescription called Tecfidera. It's an oral medication which Jared loves cuz he doesn't have to do daily injections. However, it hasn't been out on the market very long, and it does have some significant side affects like, nausea, diarrhea, stomach upset, and it can affect his white blood cell count. So we needed to follow up with his Neuro. to make sure this wasn't related to his medication.

We called his Neuro. the next morning, and she let me know that since Jared has M.S. that I should always take him to the Emergency Room not the Urgent Care when he gets ill like this. The E.R. is just better equipped and can run more tests and give him the full measure of care he needs. So... I guess I know for next time. :P

She also sent an order to the lab for him to get blood work done (which she was shocked they didn't do that night at Urgent Care) to get a white blood cell count and check for other underlying factors that can show up in a blood test.

We got the results Thursday and they were all normal. His white blood cell count was in the normal range and nothing else appeared in his panels to give us any further concern. She did mention however, that since his body has undergone such a tremendous strain to watch him carefully for signs of a relapse. I have to admit I lost it a little when I got off the phone with her after she said that. We've had some stressful things for 2 months now, and I think I just couldn't handle one more thing, and I had to have a good cry over it.

As God always does he sent his angels to my aid, and my sweet Visiting Teacher called and asked me if I needed anything and immediately arranged meals to come for the next few days and offered to make arrangements for the kids to go Trick or Treating, and I just felt so much weight lifted. It meant the world to me!!

By this point Jared was pretty tired of being a pin cushion. They gave him more I.V.'s, more Zofran, and some Hydrocodone for pain. They ran his blood work and did an abdominal CT. They ran tests on his urine as well. They wanted a stool sample, but I think the thought of that terrified Jared so much it might have been the very thing he needed to cure his "issues". LOL!!!

Initially the E.R. doctor thought he might have Colitis. His intestines upon examination seemed to be inflamed. After the blood work & CT came back they ruled that out. They came to the diagnosis of severe stomach flu. However, he needs to follow up with his Primary Care Doctor to make sure he's back to 100% this week.

He's gaining his strength back and it's so good to see him able to keep food and liquids down now. I don't know what kind of flu bug this is that's going around but it's no joke!! Wash those hands people!