My brother, Logan, has been in the hospital since last Tuesday. I'm a little behind on getting the prayer request out. Heh. But, I was so busy and stressed and tired... I'm guessing you'll forgive me.
Background: Logan has Addison's disease. He was diagnosed with this at the age of 14. Basically, he was wasting away in front of us. Mom and Dad were concerned, but thought maybe he was just lazy. Heh. Also, they thought that maybe he was anorexic. Mom would come home from work and force Logan to eat. He would spend his (summer) days laying on the couch watching t.v. He was super tan, but that was chalked up to the fact that my parents had a pool. It was a fluke that his disease was even discovered. My grandfather was in the hospital for something crazy...like not having enough blood! So, my mom and Logan went to visit him. A nurse noticed Logan and asked him what nationality he was. He said, "I'm white!" and the nurse told my mom that she should get him checked out. She said it was unusual for him to be so dark. So, mom took Logan to see our PCP who drew some labs and then immediately admitted him to the hospital. He was diagnosed with Addison's disease. Basically his adrenal and thyroid glands are dead. He has to take synthroid, prednisone and florinef for the rest of his life...to replace what the adrenal and thyroid glands can no longer do.
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Monday, my other brother, Timmy, IM'd me and asked if I'd seen or heard from Logan. Well, that's NEVER a good question to ask about Logan. It usually means something is wrong. I called Logan's cell phone twice with no answer. Then Timmy IM'd me back and said, "Oh...no big! I was just wondering if I owed him money for bills." So, I brushed my fears aside. Tuesday morning my parents left for Florida. I was supposed to spend the week at my parents house...house/dog sitting. Tuesday night, my mom called to check on me. During that coversation I mentioned that IM covno with Timmy and how it scared the crap out of me. Mom said, "Um, Courtney. I HAVEN'T seen or heard from Logan since last Thursday." OH CRAP. So, I called Logan's cell again. No answer. ICE COLD FEAR ran down my spine. I called Logan's work. They said he had called in sick. I told my mom this and she told me to get my butt to his apartment RIGHT AWAY. I drove to Logan's apartment. His car was in the parking lot. The door was locked, but I could see the glow from the TV set. I banged on the door and the window, but Logan wouldn't answer me. I started to freak out. I called Timmy who had a spare key. He rushed over, but was unable to unlock the door b/c he didn't have a key to the deadbolt. So, we're both banging on the door/window. The neighbors are looking out their windows. Finally, Timmy spots movement from the couch (thru the blinds). He yells, "Logan! It's Timmy and Courtney. Open the door." And he does.
I walk in the apt and Logan's on the couch bundled up in a comforter. I say, "LOGAN! ARE YOU SICK?!" And he nods. He starts talking to me, but his words are so slurred it takes him forever to get a sentence out. I say, "ARE YOU DRUNK?!!!" He looked irritated and said, "NO!" (he doesn't drink BTW, but the way he was talking...I didn't know.) I finally got the gist that he hadn't had his meds in over a week and that he'd been vomiting all weekend (and he hadn't answered the phone b/c his phone was dead...the charger wasn't working). He said, "I'm going to the doctor tomorrow." I said, "Do you have an appt?" And he said, "No. I'll call them tomorrow." I said, "Well, I'm going to go with you. And in the meantime, I'm going to run to walmart and buy you a new phone charger." Timmy decided things were okay...or that I had it under control...and he left. Mom was on the phone with me this whole time. I had the phone down by my hip and she had heard the whole convo. I told Logan to keep the door unlocked...that I'd be right back. As I walked out the door, I put the phone to my ear and mom was screaming at me. She said, "HE'S HAVING AN ADDISON'S CRISIS! You take him to the ER right now!" *I just have to say that in the 9 years he's had Addison's disease, he's never had a crisis. So, that's why I didn't recognize it.* So, I tell Logan we're going to the ER ASAP. He was resistant at first, but I finally convinced him to get up. I had to help him get dressed and put on his shoes. He couldn't even walk on his own. He was confused and couldn't stand up straight. In the car, he leaned over and put his head on my shoulder. He said, "Thank you, Sister." Sigh. *another thing...I don't like thinking of this, but if I hadn't mentioned the IM convo to my mom...who knows when Logan would have been discovered. He probably would have died. Mom and Dad weren't due back to town until today.*
Sorry this is such a long story. It has consumed my life for the last week.
I'm pleased to say that the Saline Memorial ER was great. I didn't even have to sit down in the waiting room. I signed Logan in and we were immediately triaged and put in a room. After 5 hours he was admitted for critically low sodium and chloride levels. His BP was also critically low. He was confused and could barely talk in complete sentences. He was given IV sodium, steroids and fluids. We didn't sleep at all that night...nurses were in and out of his room taking vitals, blood, blood pressure, temps, etc... My parents were sitting in an Orlando airport praying for a flight home. It was crazy! At that point, the days run together. Logan's sodium SLOWLY rose, but his blood pressure didn't come up much. Because of the massive doses of steroid he was receiving, his blood sugar started rising. He had several shots of insulin the first few days. And as an added bonus, he somehow caught pneumonia in the hospital. Super! They had to put him on oxygen. Another bonus, the hallucinations. Yep, that's right. Hallucinations. Apparently IV steroids cause hallucinations at night. IT. WAS. AWFUL.
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Now, it's day 7 of Logan being in the hospital. I'm happy to report that he's feeling much better...acting like Logan again. Unfortunately that pneumonia is hanging on. They can't take him off the IV meds until his chest is clear. Once he's off the IV meds, they'll watch to see how he tolerates his (usual) oral meds...basically just to make sure he's back to normal. Then he should be able to come home! Yippee.
Speaking of home...I have to move now. Remember in the past, I was kinda hoping to move? The roommate thing worked itself out. So, it's not like I'm DYING to move now. BUT, because of this whole "not taking his meds" thing...Logan now needs a keeper. Um, yeah...he's 24!!! So, when his lease is up on his apartment (June), we're moving in together. Not so much so I can take care of him, but so he'll never be in a position where is so deathly ill and no one knows. Please pray that Logan and I can find a good place to live...one that allows dogs and preferably had a fenced in back yard.
Sigh. I don't even have time to go back and proof read. I hope there aren't too many spelling/grammatical errors. I hope it makes sense!!! Heh. I'm physically and emotionally exhausted!!
Here's a pic of Logan when he was first dignosed. He was nothing but skin and bones.
Logan, age 14.
Logan, age 24.
Here's a little background (yippe!): A while back my brother, Tim, adopted Duke. For the first few months, Tim dropped Duke off at Mom's house everyday so he wouldn't be alone (and so that mom could potty train him). Duke and Baxley, Mom's dog, would play together. Then one day my mean brother decided that Duke was old enough to stay at his own house. So, now Baxley is alone everyday. He's so sad. Mom says he'll grab the tug-of-war toy and sit on the couch looking out the window...waiting for Duke to show up. 
