The First Circle of Hell
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at 12:00AM
LasVegasLynn in medical, healthcare, doctors

Limbo.

Dad is slowly oozing away as the blood continues to leave his body.  The nurses continue to give him transfusions and plasma (looks like frozen orange juice) but still the bleeding won't stop and they are all at loss to explain it.

Finally, the radiologists are called in.  This is a special team that specializes at finding bleeds like this.  On Thursday, I sign the consent for the radiologist to go in and try to find the bleed.  We are hopeful.  After all, this is the A-Team. 

They will do an angiogram.  They will inject a "dye" through a thin, flexible tube. It will then be threaded nto the bowel  from an access point.  This "dye",  properly called contrast, will make the bleeder inside the bowel visible on an x-ray.  It is intricate work and with 20 feet of bowel, the odds are not on our side that the bleeder will be seen.

I call down to the hospital late that evening and ask about the results.  They could not find the bleed.

The next day, Friday, Dad is slowing bleeding away.  I call Jon and tell him he should prepare for coming home as I don't know if Dad will make it.

Dr. Ibarheem calls in another radiologist to take another look.  We hold our breath.  He, too, cannot find the bleed.

The blood keeps oozing out but Dad refuses to give up.

We are in limbo not knowing what will happen next . 

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