It's Been a While

The last time I was in the ER was in January this year when I fell & bruised the heel of my left hand so much that the swelling was putting pressure on the nerve & making my hand numb. Before that it was in August 2023 when I pulled a muscle in my lower back. I'm glad my visits to the ER are not as frequent as they were in summer 2016 when I was moving back from Washington. It started on June 12th with my friend Bobbye; for that 6 week period I was at the ER once every week! By the end of 2016 it had settled down to about once every 2 weeks & 4 days. The final rash of ER visits ended in March 2017, about 3 weeks before Mom passed.  

This morning I was in the emergency room about 5:30 am. Kai has been feeling under the weather for the past few days & this morning he exhibited a sign that both Dr. Google & real doctors say warrants a trip to the emergency room to find out the cause: blood in stools. In Kai's case, with the diarrhea & all, his stool sample looked similar to his blood sample. (The photo of Kai's stool sample will be at end of post, preceded by a warning.)

Dr. Goody discharged Kai about 2 hours later with a diagnosis of bacterial gastroenteritis. Which is basically a description of the condition; inflammation (-itis) of the stomach & intestines (gastroeneter-) caused by a bacteria (bacterial). While the bacterial form is less common than the viral form, the presence of his initial high fever & bloody diarrhea, points more towards a bacterial infection. They are culturing his stool sample to find out the causative organism, but in the meanwhile he is on a 3-day course of Azithromycin to knock out the usual suspects. Once the cultures are complete, which takes a few days, if it turns out to be something else, he will get more specific treatment to fight off whatever it is, if needed.

Besides picking up the Azithromycin at Kamehameha Pharmacy, I also made a trip to Takata to get the elements of the BRAT diet he will be on for a few days - bananas, rice, applesauce, & toast. The bread & rice are plain white stuff, less roughage the better. The A is a no-sugar added applesauce. I also got an "oral rehydration solution" in the form of Pedialyte; Dr. Goody said those are better than sports drinks since they don't have lots of added sugar & other unnecessary things but they have more electrolytes than apple juice which is what Kai has been drinking. Kai is now sleeping a lot to conserve energy. When he wakes up to use the bathroom,  he takes several sips of Pedialyte.

Pedialyte (L) compared to apple juice; the ORS has more electrolytes.

The prediction for the start of Episode 29 at Kīlauea has been updated. It is now anticipated to begin sometime between July 17th & 20th. Kai is hoping for either the 17th or 18th since he thinks heʻll be much better by then & we leave for Honolulu on the 19th. 

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Tawnya, Brenda, & Dianne!

WARNING!!! 

BLOODY PHOTO FOLLOWS THIS WARNING!!! 

This is a stool sample. Which is why we are at the ER.