What's Happening?

EDITED BELOW!

My husband has had abdominal pain for 3-4 months, that was not constant, but frequent. Like most men, he minimized it and refused to say anything to the doctor about it. Lately it was getting worse.

On Tuesday, he slipped off the bed while reaching for a cup of water, and I had to call EMS to get him up. They discovered that he had a fever of 102*. He had not complained of being warm, so I didn't know. They told him it would be good to let them take him to the ER, but he refused, with some flimsy excuse about having a lot to do.  (HA!)

My three kids were apprised of the situation, and of course, they wanted him to be seen. But I can assure you that if you look in the dictionary under "immovable object" you will see Jim's photo!!

On Wednesday, at one point he agreed to go to the ER, but when I called EMS, he changed his mind and said "tell them not to come."  By that time, I was crazed, as it was apparent that any time he moved his torso, he hurt. 

Finally, on Thursday morning, he agreed to let me call them. They came, and we arrived at Duke U. Hospital at 9 am. It was a zoo. At one point, there were 80 people lining the halls (on stretchers) waiting for rooms. He had various tests, and we were apprised that he needed surgery ASAP, due to an abcess in his colon. There was a possibility he could become septic, so time was of the essence. 

At about 8 pm, they took him to pre-op. He was insisting that he had to see a priest before surgery, as confession was imperative, in case he died.  Apparently, no priests were available throughout the Triangle area. The hospital chaplain and my daughter called many, but no one responded. Finally, one called. Unfortunately,  he was over 30 miles east of here and traffic was very heavy. 

He heard Jim's confession over the phone (as had a priest friend of his in NYC, by phone) and he was made to understand that was sufficient in times of emergency. He finally agreed to let them take him to the OR.

The surgery took less time than expected, and he was in ICU by midnight. He appears to be getting better, little by little, of course.  Thank God for large favors.....Jim didn't make it an easier for Him by waiting. 

He was moved to a "step-down unit" yesterday afternoon.

EDIT:  as of August 13, 2019, he is still in the "step-down" unit at Duke.