Downhill Slide

Yesterday was a tough day. We began packing for our much anticipated trip to San Diego. Jeff woke up exhausted and spent most of the morning taking it easy downstairs. In the afternoon he mustered up enough energy to attempt to climb our steep spiral staircase.

The rest of the afternoon and most of the night was nothing less than a nightmare. Jeff passed out on the stairs, we called 911, he was brought to the MGH ER after he was found to have a very low blood pressure. Results of his blood tests confirmed he had a very low platelet count and a very low red blood cell count concerning for an active bleed.

He underwent a CT scan which confirmed Jeff was bleeding into his belly. They gave him blood, platelets, more blood and called in the General surgery team and the Interventional radiology team.

They explained to us that one of the arteries in the liver was bleeding because of an enlarging tumor and he also had two small clots in his lungs which made his oxygen level low.

They immediately took Jeff to the radiology suite where they evaluated the bleeding in his liver and were able to cut off the arterial blood supply to the portion of his liver that was bleeding. They also placed a filter or what looks like a small metal umbrella in the inferior vena cava (the large vein in his body) to prevent a large clot from traveling to his lungs.

Jeff was given 5 units of red blood cells so far and platelets and will likely need more. They are keeping a very close watch on him.

We have placed our California trip on hold for now and I will keep you all updated.

Autumn