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I am resting happily at home after a scary couple of days.

I have had a UTI for a couple of years. Multiple courses of various antibiotics kept it in check but didn’t cure it completely. It’s never been painful nor problematic – just irritating. My most recent urinalysis seemed to indicate that might finally have been vanquished.

But as we all know, “When life looks like Easy Street, there is danger at your door!”: Enter DIVERTICULITIS!

Rita’s report, from an email to our families while it was going on:

David had some symptoms (cramping in the bowel) back in May, when we were in Vegas. Only lasted a morning, and there was no fever, and seemed to resolve. Then, earlier this week, he had pain in his bowels again and described it as cramping. Having had acute Diverticulitis myself, I asked him about the pain, and he described it differently than what I was familiar with, but my suspicions were aroused.

That went away, then came back for a couple of days. Then it came back this Sunday morning with a fever, so he contacted his doc – was going to email but I suggested calling the Advice Nurse. Went through that round (twice), and made an appt for an ONLINE consult, much to my dismay – I’d hoped for an in person. But his fever had gone down, so we had less immediate worry.

BUT: shortly after talking with the advice nurse, he started having shaking chills [uncontrollable shivering – DG]. He took a bath, which helped SOME. He still wanted to wait for the call back from the doctor; that came just after three.

He was advised to come give blood and urine for testing, and he thought to wait until morning, but found that the labs were open. I told him right away seemed better to me than waiting and we went to get the bloodwork done. He was completely himself, coherent and perfectly mobile, no “cramps” or shivers.

Once lab work was done, we went home. He seemed to be just tired and weak, so I went off to a gathering with friends at 4:30 or so. Called David for an update at 6-ish; he had gotten some initial urine results which looked clear of the UTI, and was waiting on the rest. As he seemed OK, I went home at about 7. He’d fed the cats, heated some soup, was asleep on the couch when I walked in, but he was shivering again and the “cramps” were back and he was not entirely clear-minded. I took one look and told him were were taking a trip to the ER. He nodded, though he was a pretty confused. We managed to get his shoes on, tho he kept trying to insist on his slippers – but I wanted secure footing because he was clearly unsteady and woozy.

I am very lucky that I do not panic in emergencies. I get intensely focused. I pretty much knew I’d be calling 911 and just wanted to get out the front door so the cats would not get traumatized. With David on my arm, we made it out the front door and gingerly and unsteadily made our way down the front steps and walked to the three steps to sidewalk where we sat and I called 911. David was not really aware of just where we were or why. I hung onto the dispatcher for dear life and it seemed so long until the firetruck and ambulance convened in front of our house, but I imagine it was just a few minutes. David could tell them his name and birthday, but not a lot about how he got to be sitting where he was. Sort of remembered he had been feeling unwell, and tried to describe that, but couldn’t, quite tell it fully. He wanted to “go home” because…? We were loaded into the ambulance and they got him stabilized, and once they started the drip lines, his mind started to clear a bit. I have never been so happy to see such a turnaround in my life. He was still confused, and in need of doctoring, but it no longer seemed so end-of-life as we know it-like.

DG interjects:

I have a VERY sketchy memory of this. I don’t recall seeing the fire crew at all, so I guess I didn’t start coming to my senses until I was being treated in the ambulance.

Rita:

Delayed reaction: Holy shit, that was scary!

We spent the night in the ER, with David hooked up to a maze of tubing and beeping machines and drip lines. Many tests, including repeated blood tests, urinalysis, a CT scan and a chest Xray. It took the antibiotics kicking in for his mind to truly clear, but he is all back now, though with a gap in memory of the worst of it. He did sleep a bunch, and, although I closed my eyes and rested a lot, I never really got more than a couple of minutes before the monitor would go off. Horrible night, truly, but it could have been so much worse, as you all know.

Now, here we are, in a nice 10th floor room, with very attentive nurses, and a measure of quiet. Here, the machines beep at the nurses’ station and not over your head. There is both a comfy chair and a window lounge thing that I could sleep on if I wanted. There is wide view encompassing SF, Mt Tam andthe north bay. I saw a beautiful Redtail hawk soar by when I got here a few hours ago after a trip home to feed cats and get into bed for a couple of hours.

We are not out of the woods, but things are improving. I am practicing trusting the doctors, despite knowing all too well how they miss things sometimes, (see: my mother’s death in 1971).

DG:

We were in the ER until about 5am Monday, when I was admitted. They poured a couple of gallons of antibiotic into my veins and – after about 12 hours of nothing (not even water), they fed me broth and fruit juice and jello. I slept for short periods all day and all night, not really up for much of anything. I browsed on my phone a bit but otherwise just rested. I finally got some solid food for lunch on Tuesday, and both Rita and the staff observed that I was a good deal more present and energetic than I had been on Monday.

I was thrilled when I heard that I could go home. I have no pain, no significant disruption of bodily functions, and my vitals are good. The antibiotics are working!

I had GREAT care, I have to say. Everyone in the ER and everyone on the 10th floor was attentive, informative, and gentle. We were regularly updated on my condition and my treatment plan.

They sent me home with two very powerful antibiotics, which I will take for eight days. No surgery is needed! A doctor called last night to tell me that the preliminary culture result shows that the bacteria in question came from the abscess in my colon and will respond to the antibiotics (a more resistant infection would obviously be more problematic).

I went to bed around 9 last night and slept til 6. I was happy to resume my morning routine: making coffee feeding the cats, reading the paper with a cat in my lap, bringing coffee to Rita when she woke up.

It is not yet clear how things are going to change, but I am not expecting any serious upheaval. I already eat a very healthy, whole-foods diet but it sounds like the beef quotient is going to go down. That’s not a problem.

Both of these antibiotics list light-headedness as a side effect, and the two of them together are definitely slowing my step a bit. Fortunately, I don’t have to do anything today but get a radio show done.

I had to cancel Monday’s show at Club Fugazi, and I am probably going to sit out Saturday afternoon at the Golden Gate Bistro (The Yerba Buena Quartet: Joe Burke, Dave Jess, Jeff Hobbs, and me). My mates have a sub in mind.

Unless something goes unexpectedly downhill, I expect to be fully functional by the time I finish these antibiotics next week. I am schedule to perform at Acre (5655 College Ave, Oakland) next Wednesday 5:30-8:30 – come by for a drink or a meal!

*

PS: In the middle of all this, some great news. My urine test from Sunday – taken in the afternoon before my other thing went critical – is NORMAL. My urologist commented on the test result:

“Great news, your urine analysis is normal.”

NORMAL! This thing went on for two years!