quick update

apparently high temperature low blood oxygen and elevated heart rate equals a couple of days in hospital for observation.
good news is I should be out for the weekend.
amanda has offered more nuanced updates on her journal.

again: i'll be fine.

More nuanced update

This is Amanda, sitting at CJ's computer. I figured that "amanda will post a more nuanced update" is not useful for those who aren't sure what LJ username to even look for.

I'm slightly behind the times, as I was running home to get books and CJ's iPod to keep him amused, and then I interrupted a test (helpful hint: don't encourage patient movement during an EKG, it makes the nurse irritated), and I'm between visits at the moment.

This morning, CJ was shivering and huddling under the blankets complaining of being cold in a room that was not at all cold. The doctor insisted that he come in rather than just calling in a prescription for antibiotics, which turned out to be best overall. At the doc's office, CJ's temp was 101.3, and more worrisome was his fast heart rate and shortness of breath. We left the doctor's office with hospital admittance papers in hand. We did ask bout making a quick stop for lunch, since CJ was starving, and while the doctor wasn't happy about the concept, his response was to avoid caffeine rather than "are you out of your mind?" As a side note: food noticably reduced CJ's shaking, so there's a good chance that some of that was a blood sugar crash.

The hospital has him on IV antibiotics, which is the main reason he's been admitted. I did not get to watch his heart monitor much, but his temperature is down several degrees, and so is his blood pressure. The current estimate is that he'll be in the hospital for 48 hours, then switched to oral antibiotics and released.

Right now, the diagnosis is pneumonia. They've done a chest x-ray to confirm this, but I have not heard the results of the x-ray yet.

--Amanda

Further updates

Amanda again.

CJ is doing significantly better. Everything but his heart rate has gone back into normal ranges, and even his heart rate is much better than it was when he was admitted.

The chest x-ray confirmed the diagnosis-- it's definitely pneumonia. He's still on track for a 48-hour stay, because that's how long the course of IV antibiotics runs-- even if everything else comes back perfect, he's pretty much going to be there until Friday.

I will pass on all the love and well-wishes, but it's worth noting that he does still have access to his cell phone (despite the signs all over the hallway, none of the doctors or nurses have blinked an eye at either of our phones being out, and I called his mother from his cell phone while in earshot of a nurse), and that means he has access to emails too, including the notifications from Livejournal about new comments. He's got a stack of books and a notepad to help keep boredom at bay, but I'm certain he'd welcome texts and emails. Calling is inadvisable, as he does need rest, but any form of communication that lets him respond on his terms is perfectly fine. (I do not know if he gets IMs on his phone as well, and I know that his computer is logged in, so IMs are not advisable simply because I can't guarantee that anyone would see it.)