That's not Erin, that's Brian. Erin is NOT the nurse behind him. This nurse is prepping the machine that, literally, is saving Brian's life.
This is Brian's feet. Or "balloons", as I call them.
This is the machine. Not to be confused with "the machine" from the Princess Bride. This machine doesn't hurt.
This is Erin. Erin is administering Benadryl before starting the PLEX procedure. "It's a LOT", she says.
This is how Brian feels when the Benadryl gets into his system. It makes him want to shake his head, roll his eyes back and forth, and say "Wow man".
This is Brian's blood. See the red tubes? They're not red, they're transparent. Blood is leaving Brian's body and going into the machine.
These are the plasma bags. Plasma is what's left when you remove red blood cells and white blood cells. This machine separates the cells from the plasma, adds new, donated plasma back to the cells and then puts it back into Brian's body.
It takes a lot of tubes to do what this machine does.
This was the part where I started to think about leaving. I don't like seeing blood leave my husband's body, even if it's just going into a machine.
This is how I found Brian when I returned a few hours later. The big, "orange-brown" bag in the back? That's Brian's plasma. It will be incinerated. It does no good to anybody.
This is Brian driving us home after picking the kids up, hours later. He's not allowed to drive after a treatment. He's loopy. But he's feeling better now, especially since they removed the tubes from his neck (better known as a Central Line) He is happy. He didn't like those tubes. When they removed those tubes I ran out of the room. I didn't like watching that.
That looks like quite the process. I can empathize with the central line removal. I had one after Sadie was born and it is yucky. Not only because it is stitched into your neck, but because it is deceptive. You think it's just like any other IV, but, it actually (at least mine did) runs right to your heart so when they take it out it is really long and super-creepy. I sure hope they can get Brian's HUS under control and his treatments work on fixing his kidneys and water retention.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the photos - it really helps us to get a better idea of what's happening. I can't imagine having to go around with a tube attached to your neck all the time...yuck! Thank goodness for Brian that they removed it! So now that it's out, how do they give him the PLEX treatments, if he still needs them regularly?
ReplyDeleteNext week, depending on his kidney function, they may decide to put a permanent one in. It's looking more likely than not. So they'll put a line in under his skin in his chest, and they can access it easily with needles (yuck). But anytime he needs a treatment, it'll be quick! His veins are so small they think it's the best way.
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you for the pictures - it helps a lot.
ReplyDelete(did you happen to find your camera since you took photos yesterday? or is that way too wishful thinking?)
Nope, my camera is gone :( I borrowed my old, OLD camera that I passed down to Mercy awhile ago. She's letting me take some pictures on it, for now!
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ReplyDeleteGreat to see photos! I was hopeful that you found your camera in a "safe" place, since there are some pics on your blog. Sorry to hear that wasn't the case. It's good of Mercy to let you borrow her camera, though! :)
ReplyDeleteWow. WOw. WOW. These pics explain a lot. (as well as your descriptions) What a terrifying thing to have to go through, for B and for you! I'm so thankful that he looks...well, good enough, that someone was smart enough to figure out this procedure, that this machine isn't like the one from Princess Bride (LOL) and that God is still holding you all in His hands.
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