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A tough xmas


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Hope you all had a lovely holidiay and Santa was good to you. I feel like I must have been a very good girl because the angels saved my son for me. My son is 25 years old and lives about 2 1/2 hours from me with his wife and son. He gets a lot of headaches, and takes medicine for them. A week ago, he started getting really bad headaches. He went to the ER twice, but it just kept getting worse. Because he has a history of headaches, they didn't do any testing. The 3rd visit to the ER, he was told that he was coming to the ER too much and they weren't going to give him anything, and basically kicked him out of the ER. On Xmas eve, his wife took in to the ER at a hospital 1/2 hour away because he was getting confused. They did a CT scan and found an abcess on his brain the size of a small fist and it was putting pressure on his brain causing it to shift in his skull.

They sent him by ambulance to a bigger hospital and took him to surgery right away to drain the abcess. He has a tube coming out of his head to drain the infection. He was awake on Xmas afternoon, but was still confused and a little bit aggresive, but by Saturday he was doing much better. Last night, he sat up and ate dinner and seems pretty much back to his old self. Sometimes he doesn't finish his sentences and just seems to drift off in thought, but they say this should get better as he heals. They are planning on taking the tube out of his head tomorrow (Monday) and hopefully moving him out of the ICU.

I am just exhausted, yet so relieved that he has made it through this. He is so young, and luckily, very healthy. The neurosurgeon told us that if he had not went back to the ER, he would never have woken up on Xmas morning. That was so unsettling to hear.

Please keep in your prayers for full and fast recovery.

Peggy

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Peggy,

Oh I'm so thankful this had a happy ending! I can't believe that the 1st hospital didn't do anything more to investigate why the headaches were getting worse. I would sue the crap out of them and I'm not a person to say sue them. I hate when doctors get into their rut and just make assumptions. It isn't like you can look at a person and tell what is causing a headache or if it is really real. I know they see lots of drug seekers but really there has to be a better way to figure it out. So thankful he is doing better. I'll pray for continued health.

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Peggy

I am so glad that the outcome is good for your Son. It infuriates me that hospitals can be so lax. They where going to send me home once when I had a blockage.

I will keep your Son and family in my prayers and thoughts for a quick recovery.

Take care of yourself too.

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Thank you for your prayers. Right now I am still pretty numb. As I start to relax a bit, I am getting more and more angry that things got this far. Had they diagnosed the problem at any one of the 3 visits to the ER, he could have been treated with antibiotics and not needed to have very serious brain surgery. I work in the ER, so I know how frustrating it can be when you think someone is drug seeking. But really, it pretty simple. You can deny them narcotics, but you can not deny them care. You HAVE to examine the patient, and on his 3rd visit, they did not even touch him, let alone address his blood pressure of 190/104! All I can say is, I'm really glad his wife was smart enough to take him somewhere else.

Again, Thank you all for keeping him in your prayers.

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Peggy,

I'm sorry your family has had to go through something like this and especially at Christmas. While reading this, I remembered that you are an RN (I think), so I wondered how you took it when the ER turned him away. I'm sure medical professionals do see a lot of folks just trying to get meds for no reason, but I would think an exam and a little reseach into his background would have told them he was not one of those folks. It makes me so mad at the medical community when they do something like that. I think it would be a very long time before I went back to the hospital....in fact I would probably write a letter to the editor of the newspaper or something, so everone would know what happened. I'm sure hospitals don't like bad publicity.

I'm glad to hear your son is doing better...will keep him in my prayers.

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Angels were whispering into your DIL's ear...and I am so happy she listened. I too would be very angry if I were in your shoes, there isn't any reason to jump to the conclusion of drug seeking, I'm sure that they could tell he's not a user, which isn't an excuse for sure. They did this same thing to my SIL several years ago..his a bit skinny and they thought he was drug using and wouldn't treat him for two cracked ankles.... that he got in a motorcycle accident, I finally hauled him down then and crawled all over the ER room till he got his x-rays and ankle braces...

So so happy for his out come and will send and extra prayer his direction to help heal him further.

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Praise the Lord!! I am so happy that he was saved by a smart wife and doctors who didnt seek to get him out as soon as possible, the Lord was surely looking after him! I have never heard of having an absess on the brain before. I wonder how that came about, really good that it was an absess and not a tumor as well. So happy to hear he is fine and recovering now.

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Again, thank you all for your thoughts. The doctors believe that this all started from an abcessed tooth, believe it or not. They had an oral surgeon come in on Sat. to see him and he pulled two teeth (right there in the ICU!). They said he had a strep infection from his tooth. Never heard of this before either. Just goes to show you though, Just when you start to think you know it all.....

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Peggy, I'm so thankful that his guardian angel was whispering to his wife!

I agree with the others, I'd search out the 1 ER physician that turned him away and show/explain to him what happened to your son and include his supervising physician at your meeting, so that his behavior could be addressed. I'm sure that hospital would want to correct a situation before something bad or worse happened.

Sending up prayers that his recovery will be a speedy one.

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I am so happy that all is well! Good wife!

I have a friend whose son (age 35) had wisdom teeth his removed (one of which was absessed) and during recovery (he was staying with his mom) he developed a massive headache too. Turned out to be an abcess too which he had to be surgically removed. That's really a coincidence!

Sending you my wishes for a speedy recovery!

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Oh my! You all are so fortunate there was another hospital with a better staff on duty to help! How dare they just pass him off with out any testing!!! What are they thinking? I also am not one to sue but I might consider it on this one! I'd at least write a hot letter describing the outcome and their lack of proper care. Good lluck to your son and I do hope the new year is good to him and his family.

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OMG Peg, Thank the Good Lord for Guardian Angels and one smart wife!

I'm sure you know, that anytime there has been any pressure or damage to the brain, that it causes some "fading out" or spacing out seconds. It does get better with healing, but not always will it 100% go away. Each individual is different.

My son was hit by a drunk driver in 2002 and suffers short-term memory loss, with occasional "drifting out" periods, which only lasts for anywhere between 5 and 20 seconds long. They said it would get better, which it did, but he will have it for the rest of his life.

Thank God for the wonderful people at the hospital his wife took him to!

I am so very happy for you and your son & his family, that this Christmas was truely a gift given to you all!

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Peggy - you and your family are so lucky. I wish all of you well. Obviously, you son has already had so many grateful hugs............. Merry Christmas for sure!

I know you are well aware of medical horror stories but they are always so much worse when they hit home............ our daughter never had a chance because they failed to evaluate my blood properly work prior to me getting pregnant............ It could have been so easy .......... but ...........

I am so happy your story has come to a happy ending. Wishing a speedy and full recovery for your son!!!!

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