All test results came back today. An infectious disease Dr. came to talk to us. Larry's oncologist called me, finally. His infection was caused by Viridans Streptococcus milleri. This is another bacteria that is becoming more antibiotic resistant. There still is no definite source of infection. The concensus among the doctors is that it started in his GI tract somewhere.
His heart ultrasound came back with no evidence of endocarditis. If the infection returns they will have to do a procedure to look further into the heart to make sure that no infection is present.
All the blood cultures taken of the port line showed no infection present. They will not have to remove the port. We breathed a sigh of relief on this one.
Last 2 blood cultures taken from his arm were clear so it looks like they were able to get the sepsis under control. Larry will go home with an antibiotic. A nurse will come to our house to teach me how to administer it into his port line. The infusion should take about 15 minutes a day. He will be on this regimen for 12 days.
His oncologist warned me that this infection could reoccur at any time. If it does, Larry said he will have to reaccess everything. We are praying that God will give him a break and allow this chemo to do its job against the cancer cells. He is scheduled to have the 2nd round of chemo in 2 weeks as long as his blood counts are good and his cultures continue to come back negative.
We are hoping that the remaining week is uneventful. A few days of boring will be good.
We want to thank everyone for their phone calls, prayers and concern. Love to All.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
HOSPITALIST RANT
Why isn't Larry's oncologist calling me back? Why is the Dr who visited Larry on Sat and Sun still here on Monday? Why is she making medical decisions WITHOUT talking to his oncologist? Who are these Dr's who keep visiting Larry with all these very scary assumptions? What the hell is a HOSPITALIST DR????
I must have asked that last question a dozen times over the last few days, attempting to understand. It was as if my mind could not accept this new method of medical care for patients in a hospital. This morning I called the other area hospitals to see if they had the same practice. Has the medical community gone mad or have I.
Primary care doctors, your family Dr, or your Oncologist, Cardiologist, no longer make patient rounds if you are in the hospital. The medical community has now decided that Dr's are overwhelmed with the number of patients they have, so are easing their load by taking away contact with their patients who are hospitalized.
They now employ Independent Hospitalists who handle in patient care. North Shore University Systems has an all online medical history system, so a Dr. who knows nothing about you can read your history.
Now, my reaction here is very personal, since the last 3 1/2 days have been hell. Yet when I cannot get Larry's Dr to return my call that means there is a big problem. I know where he is today and I am very close to deciding if I should stop by his oncology dept and request an immediate consult.
The Hospitalist Dr who is handling Larry's case is very nice, but that is not the person we chose as our Dr. I do not know anything about this Dr. She is not listed on their website of Dr's. When she starts making decisions that effect his health, like deciding which antibiotics he should be receiving by IV drip or choosing to eliminate one of them, my anxiety level reaches an unhealthy level. I then have to immediately access what is happening and dig deep as to what questions have to be asked. Is my voice calm, no. Am I being as nice as she is, no. Am I stressing my hubby out more, a big yes!
This situation has changed my confidence in North Shore being able to give Larry the quality of care that he needs. Damn, we do not need this feeling of loss of confidence at this time!
I must have asked that last question a dozen times over the last few days, attempting to understand. It was as if my mind could not accept this new method of medical care for patients in a hospital. This morning I called the other area hospitals to see if they had the same practice. Has the medical community gone mad or have I.
Primary care doctors, your family Dr, or your Oncologist, Cardiologist, no longer make patient rounds if you are in the hospital. The medical community has now decided that Dr's are overwhelmed with the number of patients they have, so are easing their load by taking away contact with their patients who are hospitalized.
They now employ Independent Hospitalists who handle in patient care. North Shore University Systems has an all online medical history system, so a Dr. who knows nothing about you can read your history.
Now, my reaction here is very personal, since the last 3 1/2 days have been hell. Yet when I cannot get Larry's Dr to return my call that means there is a big problem. I know where he is today and I am very close to deciding if I should stop by his oncology dept and request an immediate consult.
The Hospitalist Dr who is handling Larry's case is very nice, but that is not the person we chose as our Dr. I do not know anything about this Dr. She is not listed on their website of Dr's. When she starts making decisions that effect his health, like deciding which antibiotics he should be receiving by IV drip or choosing to eliminate one of them, my anxiety level reaches an unhealthy level. I then have to immediately access what is happening and dig deep as to what questions have to be asked. Is my voice calm, no. Am I being as nice as she is, no. Am I stressing my hubby out more, a big yes!
This situation has changed my confidence in North Shore being able to give Larry the quality of care that he needs. Damn, we do not need this feeling of loss of confidence at this time!
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