Posted on 06/03/2004 4:15:05 PM PDT by shaggy eel
Hello,
Thought you'd want to know about Blackie since he hasn't been on line lately.
He had a bronchial infection & went the usual 7 days w/the anti-biotic. Early Saturday AM he had severe back pain, chills & was sweating profusely. He could barely walk but got into bed after taking a pain pill.
He was no better by 6AM so got him to emergency where he was given morphine & was running a fever. They took ex-rays but could find nothing wrong just the usual
bulging disks & arthritis damage he had over the years. Because of the lower back pain they thought it might be prostate but ruled that out too. He was admitted to the hospital & yesterday given an MRI. Turns out he has a bacterial infection in the spinal fluid.
A doctor came to see him about the options he had - like, a spinal biopsy to find out the type of germ it is, or, open his back up & drain the fluid (or whatever they do) fix the damaged discs. It was up to him. He chose the first one. As it turned out they found the type of germ it is & didn't have to do a biopsy & started treating him w/penicillin.
I talked to him this AM & he didn't know what time it was & didn't know if he'd had eaten yet or not he's so full of pain medicine. Early today the doc was in said this has to be monitored & may have to stay in the hosp. several weeks. I'll talk to his doc shortly & find out for sure what's going on.
This infection was probably caused by the infection he had in this lungs.
bump
Blackie, you old son-of-a-gun, you know we're all praying and pulling for you.
Let's do this like we did that other thing - one day at a time!
May God bless you and comfort you, old pard!
Thank y'all for the pings!
Best wishes to Blackie and family. May his recovery be fast and complete
Praying for a full recovery.
Our prayers for Blackie's speedy and uneventful recovery!
My best to you Blackie,
God Bless...
Count on me...Blackie's in my prayers. Please keep us updated.
Get well quick, Blackie. We miss you and will certainly be praying for you and your wife.
Our prayers are with you both and please keep the FReepers up to date on his recovery. Blackie needs to have a goal...like voting Conservative and p*ssing off some democRATs in November ;)
WHen I had Meningitis and Lyme disease (in the hospital for 10 days), they took three full spinal taps, which drained the fluid from my spinal column.
There is a "plug" at the base of the brain above the spinal column that "drops" when there is not enough pressure to hold it in place.
The pain that occurs when this plug drops is the most severe that you can imagine - I understood the apocalyptical quote along the lines of "THey will yearn for death, but death will flee from them"
Imagine this:
Imagine your skull feeling as if it has been enlarged to hold a 16-lb bowling ball. Then, hang that 16-lb bowling ball from the top lining of your menenges with a Christmas ornament hook. Now...one slight movement of your head causes the 16-lb bowling ball to SLAM down on the top of your spine, squashing your brain in the process.
After you awake from the blackout, you find that the bowling ball was reset to the precarious position, and should you move one hair, the process will repeat.
Repeat this process until your spinal fluid is replaced and the pressure rises to hold the plug in place.
It took two weeks until I could move without fear of dying. It took SIX MONTHS to feel "normal" again.
By all means, send your prayers.
Prayers up on his behalf.
Prayers for his recovery, eel............FRegards
I will keep Blackie in my prayers.
Hope the antibiotics do the job, and that Blackie's general health will improve.
Payers for Blackie.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.