My life with the Sullivan boys

The nurse is downstairs with Dermot. I'm upstairs at my computer. I'm gearing up for my second trip to Target today. The prescription was sent to the wrong pharmacy and I'm chasing it down. Only took four phone calls and about seven minutes on hold. My quiet panic that lives beneath my sense of well being is slowly creeping to a low hum. My heart is beating a little faster and my insomnia is getting in the way of a good night's sleep. Oh and also the fact that every other night I get up in the middle of the night with Dermot to remedy his lack of oxygen. Turn it up? Nebulizer treatment? Or the ever popular deep suction. Last night it took all of those. This is typical these days and as my husband and I trade off every other night the lack of sleep over a twelve year period is taking a toll on both of us. Is this his new baseline? My short term memory is shot. I stutter occasionally, lack of desire to participate in activities and a general feeling of isolation. Bein...

I haven't eaten a full meal since last Thursday. each day since it's gotten worse. Stomach cramps, like there's a guy inside with a torch, walking around my intestines lighting it up. The only thing that helps is to stop eating and lay still. Six days later, six pounds lost, I'm surviving on applesauce and Sprite. Today is a big day, I'm going to try to eat a banana, if that goes well I'll move on to some plain mashed potatoes. Ugh. Doctor was puzzled, not the stomach flu or gallstones, prescribed some Zantac yesterday. Its helping a bit. Then prescribed the diet of rice, applesauce, mashed potatoes and toast. Awesome. the words stomach ulcer are in play now. WebMD confirms almost all symptoms, call into the doctor too. I'm a week away from my 48th birthday and I probably have a stress induced stomach ulcer. it probably doesn't help that my diet is comprised of three cups of coffee a day, an afternoon diet coke, numerous handfuls of M&M's, da...

They help the body pass waste. They also help filter blood before sending it back to the heart.  So there's two tubes coming out of Dermot's back. Those tubes are connected directly into his kidneys to relieve excess fluid and preserve kidney function. Dermot has a peanut sized stone in his right kidney (unshelled) and an almond size one in his left. They are actually many stones that have fused together. Through many tests, CT scans and ultrasounds we discovered the stones after a mysterious illness that included vomiting, high fever and heart rate and aspiration pneumonia. Last week we brought him to Mayo Clinic and St. Mary's Hospital for the nephrostomy tube placement. Because of hospital permission issues and doctor schedules, Dermot has to wait an entire month for his removal surgery. March 7th is the date.  We hope to have all the stones out on that date, otherwise, the tubes stay and another procedure is scheduled. Dermot now has a G/J feeding tube, two adju...