It took a lot of testing and assessments but they finally got to the bottom of what’s going on with Michael’s off-kilter lab work and ongoing (somewhat worsening) abdominal pain. It’s fixable with a medication and the doctors are not alarmed. I lead with that because saying he has a blood clot in one of the veins they worked on during surgery sounds very scary but it really is something they can address with a medication and they expect to be able to make it go away. 

The clot is causing some inflammation and pain in his intestines so they prefer Michael go back on a clear liquid diet for the moment, but food has been making him uncomfortable so he’s happy to make the adjustment. They said he’s free to get up and walk around, shower, and basically do whatever he wants while the medication does its thing. Although it could ultimately take weeks to resolve completely, the doctor said that as long as it’s working they’ll simply send him home with some pills when he gets discharged. 

They will also be inserting a specific type of IV tomorrow to give him regular nutrients and also make it easier to draw blood when they need it without sticking him 200 (more) times to closely monitor his bloodwork. This line is different from standard IVs in that he can be sent home with it if need be, so it’s not considered a setback but rather a different way to manage his care. 

I asked the doctor if any of this was cause for alarm and he said, “well, we aren’t excited the clot happened but it’s not a critical situation so he doesn’t need to go back to ICU or anything like that.” They have no reason to think it won’t respond to the medication but even if it doesn’t, they mentioned the next things they’d try and none of it requires a trip back to the OR. They have always been honest with us and we trust them implicitly, so we take a lot of comfort in that assessment. 

His next steps are to drink as many Ensures and electrolyte drinks as he wants, walk as much as he can, and catch up on the sleep he’s been missing. 

Michael has had a very difficult couple of days while they got to the bottom of this. Lots of tests, a million, trillion, bazillion needle sticks in finicky veins, constant sleep interruptions, an increase in pain, and the uncertainty associated with not knowing what’s been going on. He’s utterly and completely exhausted, both mentally and physically. Whatever source of comfort you call upon to send good vibes, please feel free to also send that energy Michael’s way. 

I’ll be back tomorrow with an update once the doctors come through on rounds. ❤️