Why I felt like I wanted to die!

And then I got sick.  Really sick.  Like the Physical Therapist said that she was calling the hospital when she looked at me.  I knew I did not look all that good, but I passed it off as being associated with the pain of the surgery.  After 6 hours in the emergency room and two nights in the hospital:

A.     I am feeling better than I have at any time since the surgery,

B.      I think I can start making some progress in my rehab

Bilirubin is the stuff in one’s blood that recycles blood cells through the liver and then is dumped into the digestive system.  It is yellow.  The baseline number in the body of it is about 1.  By the time I was admitted, my level was 15.  My eyes and skin were a sickly, sickly yellow.  After lots of interviews with doctors and nurses, all while watching U-M-Notre Dame with Mik and our friend Gene, I was admitted.  I disappointed one doctor who was pretty insistent that I sign a DO NOT RESCUSITATE order before being admitted.

Though it was clear no one knew what the heck was going on, I had diarrhea, zero energy, and no appetite.  I was, strangely, with no treatment starting to feel just a little better, the UM loss notwithstanding.  I was interviewed the next morning by a very sharp Gastro-Interologist and he started to put together the extraordinary bruising I suffered in the surgery and my overwhelmed liver.  There is also some evidence that Xeralto, a blood thinner, could have had an impact.  Also, I had been taking about twice as much Tylenol as I should have been.  He scheduled an MRI of my liver, then he mentioned that my Bilirubin level was 13 times normal was I came in and now, with no treatment, it was down to 10.  Trending correctly.  Some talk of not knowing what exactly might have happened was already being used.

By Sunday morning my levels were down to 5.  I am conscious of the fact that we are all one diagnosis away from our lives changing forever.  Cancer was discussed, but not in a serious way at this time.  It has been part of my fear.  Not yet.  I feel much better, better than at any time post-surgery. Hopefully. I can focus on just working on the knees and start making some progress.