Altered LOC

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Reading this you could have had my father in law. Only we, his family are the ones who transported him. Small community, we are all EMT's. Here is what went on.

He started not feeling good, when your 89 years old, we hear that all the time. He has a pace maker and optimizer, plus he is insulin dependent diabetic, on blood thinners and so forth. This not feeling well went on for a few days, then he refused to get out of bed, only to go to the bathroom, refused food, meds. Finally after all attempts by his wife and one daughter and one son, and grandson to get him to go to the hospital, they called the oldest son who is my hubby. He looked at them and said I guess I don't have a choice. We determined he was severely dehydrated, and so did the hospital, so they slowly started to rehydrate him. Some where between the er and the room he was admitted to, something happened, he claimed his head hurt. They ran a ct scan, no stroke, blood work all within normal values. He was going down hill, altered loc and it was decided to get him to another larger hospital. We got him there and over the next few days they did numerous tests, stroke, heart, yadda yadda, the final one they did was a spinal tap, looking for west nile virus and encephalitis. By this time basically he was not responding except to painful stimuli. Test came back with a viral infection, but not know what. Suddenly he woke up out of his fog two weeks ago, started to remember almost everything except the days between the two hospitals. Not west nile but enchepalitis. Now he is in rehab and making great strides to get home. We knew he was doing better he is back to his grouchy, honery self. So we get to keep this 89 yr old for a while longer it seems, despite everything.

[scubanurse]

The only thing in common was a similar diagnosis....

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I realize that.