Judy Ponton's road to recovery
Beschermde donatie
Here is a journey I hoped I'd never have to share. I hoped we would find the cause of the problem and it would be a quick fix. I hoped she'd be able to return home quickly and that we'd get to see each other and give her the hugs she so desperately needs. I hoped for answers. I hoped...
On March 19, 2021, I received a call from my mom that she was being admitted to the hospital. Her blood pressure was ridiculously low (76/40). After nearly a 7 hour wait in the ER, she was admitted with low BP, low white cell counts, and dehydration. They started testing right away to find out what was going on with her. She hadn't been eating well and didn't have an appetite. Turns out, she had an advanced case of Thrush in her mouth which led to sores all over her mouth and gums.
The first major test they ran was a Nuclear Medicine Scan to assess organ function and to look for cancer. With her low blood pressure and low numbers in her blood, they were thinking she had Multiple Myeloma - a cancer of the bone marrow. On March 23, her platelets were 55 (normal range is around 450). Her white cell count was 1.9 (normal count is 4.5). Thankfully, that scan came back negative - NO CANCER!!
To help her cell count numbers rebound to a safe level, they gave her a blood transfusion. Unfortunately, it didn't help the way they had hoped. Her numbers were still too low. She was moved to Intermediate Care because she required more specialized care. Here, she had daily blood draws to check her numbers. I became proficient in asking about her numbers and what it meant. Not a skill I ever hoped to know.
From here, they found a large blot clot in her leg. Since she is a heart patient (she was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure 3 years ago), they weren't able to administer the blood thinner needed to break it up quickly. They were required to insert a filter into her groin to keep the clot from reaching her lungs. She was then put on a smaller amount of blood thinners even though it is dangerous to do so with heart patients. The clot was deemed more dangerous than her heart condition. She had to wait 3 days for the filter because her blood pressure kept crashing back to low levels.
She had a CT scan of her chest due to fluid in her lungs. They felt she might have come in with pneumonia. They also did an Echo on her heart to make sure it was still functioning at the same level. Thankfully, it was. She was placed on oxygen because her blood oxygen level dropped to 84% - anything below 90% is concerning.
A Kidney Doctor was brought in because her kidney function was deteriorating. They wanted to keep giving her fluids to help her numbers rebound. However, with heart patients, there is a very fine line of how many fluids you can administer before it starts to affect her heart. Her Cardiologist would order one thing and then hours later, the Kidney Doctor would order something else. It was frustrating that they didn't seem to be working together, but rather, working to fix their part of the problem.
Mom started having fevers. She was then evaluated by an Infectious Disease doctor. They thought it might be some major infection that was causing all the problems in her blood. She was given 3 different antibiotics to help fight the unknown infection.
After her supply of oxygen needed to be increased to 10L, a Pulmonary doctor was brought in. This brought her doctor count to eight. Let me repeat that - she was seeing 8 different doctors while in the hospital. They ran every test they could. She had a port line inserted into her chest to help administer the 6 weeks of antibiotics they were going to give her. She was going to be transferred to Miller Rehab Center because they wasn't anything more they could do or any other tests they could run. After 18 long days, they still found nothing that could indicate the cause of her initial troubles. NOTHING WAS FOUND.
Once at Miller, her Rheumatoid Arthritis started to flare up really bad because they had stopped her RA medicine in the hospital because they thought it might be causing her low cell count. When I went with her to her RA doctor, she could barely stand to have her hand touched. They put her on a steroid, Prednisone, for 4 weeks. After that, they will have to re-evaluate.
Her blood numbers were doing better and starting to level off, all except her hemoglobin. Normal range is around 9. When Mom's dropped to seven, they gave her two more blood transfusions. Those seemed to help because her numbers started balancing out and her kidney function returned to normal.
The most recent development is that she started swelling again like she did when she was first diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. She gained 13 pounds in 10 days and still can't get any shoes on her feet. They had to increase her Lasix to remove the fluid build-up in her legs. But an increase in Lasix could affect her kidneys. It seems like a never-ending cycle she is fighting.
As of today, May 1, Mom has received too many tests to list, has seem more doctors than we can keep track of, and has had enough blood draws to last a lifetime. Yet, we still have no answers. We don't know the cause or if it will return. We are scared yet hopeful.
Besides her health, one of our biggest concerns is finances. She retired at the end of last year and was doing a few bookkeeping jobs to keep her in her house and keep her living at the level with which she was accustomed. That all has stopped. We are worried about hospital bills and how we are going to cover anything not covered by insurance. We are worried about all the extra medical expenses that are coming our way. We are worried about so much.
So, I am reaching out to you for help. She needs our support. In any way that you can. She needs everyone to share this page. We really need our community to rally behind my Mom and raise her up. Emotionally, financially, and spiritually, please support my Mom.
On March 19, 2021, I received a call from my mom that she was being admitted to the hospital. Her blood pressure was ridiculously low (76/40). After nearly a 7 hour wait in the ER, she was admitted with low BP, low white cell counts, and dehydration. They started testing right away to find out what was going on with her. She hadn't been eating well and didn't have an appetite. Turns out, she had an advanced case of Thrush in her mouth which led to sores all over her mouth and gums.
The first major test they ran was a Nuclear Medicine Scan to assess organ function and to look for cancer. With her low blood pressure and low numbers in her blood, they were thinking she had Multiple Myeloma - a cancer of the bone marrow. On March 23, her platelets were 55 (normal range is around 450). Her white cell count was 1.9 (normal count is 4.5). Thankfully, that scan came back negative - NO CANCER!!
To help her cell count numbers rebound to a safe level, they gave her a blood transfusion. Unfortunately, it didn't help the way they had hoped. Her numbers were still too low. She was moved to Intermediate Care because she required more specialized care. Here, she had daily blood draws to check her numbers. I became proficient in asking about her numbers and what it meant. Not a skill I ever hoped to know.
From here, they found a large blot clot in her leg. Since she is a heart patient (she was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure 3 years ago), they weren't able to administer the blood thinner needed to break it up quickly. They were required to insert a filter into her groin to keep the clot from reaching her lungs. She was then put on a smaller amount of blood thinners even though it is dangerous to do so with heart patients. The clot was deemed more dangerous than her heart condition. She had to wait 3 days for the filter because her blood pressure kept crashing back to low levels.
She had a CT scan of her chest due to fluid in her lungs. They felt she might have come in with pneumonia. They also did an Echo on her heart to make sure it was still functioning at the same level. Thankfully, it was. She was placed on oxygen because her blood oxygen level dropped to 84% - anything below 90% is concerning.
A Kidney Doctor was brought in because her kidney function was deteriorating. They wanted to keep giving her fluids to help her numbers rebound. However, with heart patients, there is a very fine line of how many fluids you can administer before it starts to affect her heart. Her Cardiologist would order one thing and then hours later, the Kidney Doctor would order something else. It was frustrating that they didn't seem to be working together, but rather, working to fix their part of the problem.
Mom started having fevers. She was then evaluated by an Infectious Disease doctor. They thought it might be some major infection that was causing all the problems in her blood. She was given 3 different antibiotics to help fight the unknown infection.
After her supply of oxygen needed to be increased to 10L, a Pulmonary doctor was brought in. This brought her doctor count to eight. Let me repeat that - she was seeing 8 different doctors while in the hospital. They ran every test they could. She had a port line inserted into her chest to help administer the 6 weeks of antibiotics they were going to give her. She was going to be transferred to Miller Rehab Center because they wasn't anything more they could do or any other tests they could run. After 18 long days, they still found nothing that could indicate the cause of her initial troubles. NOTHING WAS FOUND.
Once at Miller, her Rheumatoid Arthritis started to flare up really bad because they had stopped her RA medicine in the hospital because they thought it might be causing her low cell count. When I went with her to her RA doctor, she could barely stand to have her hand touched. They put her on a steroid, Prednisone, for 4 weeks. After that, they will have to re-evaluate.
Her blood numbers were doing better and starting to level off, all except her hemoglobin. Normal range is around 9. When Mom's dropped to seven, they gave her two more blood transfusions. Those seemed to help because her numbers started balancing out and her kidney function returned to normal.
The most recent development is that she started swelling again like she did when she was first diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. She gained 13 pounds in 10 days and still can't get any shoes on her feet. They had to increase her Lasix to remove the fluid build-up in her legs. But an increase in Lasix could affect her kidneys. It seems like a never-ending cycle she is fighting.
As of today, May 1, Mom has received too many tests to list, has seem more doctors than we can keep track of, and has had enough blood draws to last a lifetime. Yet, we still have no answers. We don't know the cause or if it will return. We are scared yet hopeful.
Besides her health, one of our biggest concerns is finances. She retired at the end of last year and was doing a few bookkeeping jobs to keep her in her house and keep her living at the level with which she was accustomed. That all has stopped. We are worried about hospital bills and how we are going to cover anything not covered by insurance. We are worried about all the extra medical expenses that are coming our way. We are worried about so much.
So, I am reaching out to you for help. She needs our support. In any way that you can. She needs everyone to share this page. We really need our community to rally behind my Mom and raise her up. Emotionally, financially, and spiritually, please support my Mom.
Organisator
Lori Rodgers
Organisator
Bartlett, IL