A week to remember

[KBCraig]

I didn't know whether to put this in Whining, or Gloating. Now that it's safe for me to crash, I feel whiny, so here it is.

Those of you on FedBook already know about this, but for my other friends: I've had a very interesting week. My 16 year old son had a very sudden onset of illness about 10 days ago. Very sudden, and very severe, and life threatening if the root cause had continued undiagnosed and untreated.

We got a crash course in Guillain–Barré syndrome. For us, IVIG was a miracle cure. He went from being unable to walk, not even raise his arms or legs while lying in bed, to being able to stand and walk unassisted (albeit a bit wobbly) in the space of 48 hours.

It's an expensive miracle cure, though. I've occasionally griped about how much we spend on health insurance that we rarely use. Well, this one time was worth it. Twenty years' worth of premiums got pumped into that boy's veins starting Friday night, and today we came back home after 7 days in Arkansas Children's Hospital.

Guillain–Barré is rarely fatal in the U.S. these days, but the major risk is the spreading paralysis leaving one unable to breathe and confined to a ventilator. Thankfully it didn't progress that far for us. A very observant pediatrician was the first to clue in to what was wrong, after the ER doc and a GP missed it.

While we were on the way home today, Mary told me our sewer was backing up into the house. Oh, joy. My 25' snake couldn't reach the blockage, and the 40' snake won't make the turn to reach it.

Feck.

[Pat K]

Glad your home and your son is better.

Might be time to call in roto rooter.

[Tom Sawyer]

Might be time to call in roto rooter.

Nanobots...



or the Ty-D-Bol Mans's Submarine Force



Glad your son is doing better... scary stuff.

[MaineShark]

I think that would be a situation where the blocked sewer would be almost a relief; problems that can be dealt with directly are always better than health issues.  Worst-case scenario, you have to dig up the pipe and replace part of it.  But you can do that with pipes, even if it's sometimes expensive; not so when part of a loved-one's body isn't functioning right.  No hardware stores for body parts...

Recovery takes time, but if he walked out of the hospital after a week (regardless of how wobbly; most cases leave rolling, and after several weeks), it sounds like the odds are good that he'll recover well.

[Raineyrocks]

I didn't know whether to put this in Whining, or Gloating. Now that it's safe for me to crash, I feel whiny, so here it is.

Those of you on FedBook already know about this, but for my other friends: I've had a very interesting week. My 16 year old son had a very sudden onset of illness about 10 days ago. Very sudden, and very severe, and life threatening if the root cause had continued undiagnosed and untreated.

We got a crash course in Guillain–Barré syndrome. For us, IVIG was a miracle cure. He went from being unable to walk, not even raise his arms or legs while lying in bed, to being able to stand and walk unassisted (albeit a bit wobbly) in the space of 48 hours.

It's an expensive miracle cure, though. I've occasionally griped about how much we spend on health insurance that we rarely use. Well, this one time was worth it. Twenty years' worth of premiums got pumped into that boy's veins starting Friday night, and today we came back home after 7 days in Arkansas Children's Hospital.

Guillain–Barré is rarely fatal in the U.S. these days, but the major risk is the spreading paralysis leaving one unable to breathe and confined to a ventilator. Thankfully it didn't progress that far for us. A very observant pediatrician was the first to clue in to what was wrong, after the ER doc and a GP missed it.

While we were on the way home today, Mary told me our sewer was backing up into the house. Oh, joy. My 25' snake couldn't reach the blockage, and the 40' snake won't make the turn to reach it.

Feck.

I'm glad your son is okay !    That disease is so scary, my stepmother had it and almost died because the hospital didn't catch it for weeks.  She walks with brace things on her legs now and is on heavy duty pain pills for the rest of her life.

Plumbing problems even though I don't understand much sound pretty crappy, ha,ha ................just trying to make you smile.  Good luck. 

[Raineyrocks]

The heck with the "e" in fck, it would probably make you feel better to put the "u" in there. 

[Russell Kanning]

wow
so what started it?

[Lloyd Danforth]

Had government the AMA and and, to some extent, academica stayed out of medicine we might have an eye scan or pee strip that could diagnose or predict such diseases. That being said, I think there a lot of throwing the baby out with the bathwater in conversations I hear about Doctors.

[Russell Kanning]

like throwing the doctors out with the bedpan?

[KBCraig]

wow
so what started it?

No idea. It's not a disease, it's a syndrome caused by an unrelated infection, which is usual asymptomatic. The literature says 60% of the cases don't have a known trigger.

Had government the AMA and and, to some extent, academica stayed out of medicine we might have an eye scan or pee strip that could diagnose or predict such diseases. That being said, I think there a lot of throwing the baby out with the bathwater in conversations I hear about Doctors.

I agree, of course. The evidence that I was dealing with an excellent medical team can be found in the fact that I didn't actually punch anyone out when they asked me for the umpty-'leventh time how it all started. The interns all stood silently by and furiously scribbled notes, the residents went through The. Exact. Same. Routine. Every. Time. The supervising physicians were mostly insightful.

I have to give a lot of credit to one workaday pediatrician in Texarkana, who was the first to raise the Guillain–Barré flag. We'd seen a PA-C in the emergency room, and a GP in the clinic, both of whom were puzzled and suggested tests that would take weeks to even schedule. The pediatrician gave a routine exam for about 15 minutes, left the room, then came back 10 minutes later after having been on the phone with Children's, and told us to pack a bag and get to Little Rock as fast as we safely could. He told us what he thought, and explained the risks, the treatment options, and the outlook.

This guy spends his days dealing with snotty noses and excuses for school, but he keyed in on an accurate diagnosis right away.

[KBCraig]

Oh, and I still haven't found the sewer line. By a process of elimination --pardon the pun-- I know which side of the house it leaves. That also helps me target the right set of drains for the snake and/or chemicals. The chemicals are working all night tonight. Tomorrow, I go back to brute force. Out go the toilets (or at least the one I already need to replace).

It's draining, just slowly. We can flush twice a day, so we use our judgement about what must be flushed, and visit the neighborhood convenience store as needed.     There are always buckets for emergencies.

Before I hire a pro to find and/or fix it, I'll just rent a trencher and rip down 4' around the house until I break the line. It's easier and cheaper to patch than to find by trial-and-error or rent-a-pro.

[Lloyd Danforth]

If it's yellow, let it mellow
If it's Brown, Flush it Down

[Free libertarian]

Here's to a speedy recovery.

On the other issue...does your sewer empty into a municipal sewer line or your own tank / septic system? Sometimes starting at the tank with a water jet (pressure sprayer) can solve problems.  The clogs are sometimes a "hangup" at the junction of the pipe line and the tank. 

[KBCraig]

It's municipal sewer. The city is coming today to flag the line.

[John]

wow. glad your son is on the mend.

(i'm on facebug and didn't c this. facebug is very strange.)