Just got jolted out of bed by a phone call from my aunt. Apparently Mom is being admitted to the hospital tonight. She had a doctor's appointment today to follow up on her latest back surgery, and the doc made her to go to the emergency room. She had a really high fever. Turns out she had a UTI so bad that the infection has spread to her bloodstream, and it's affecting everything. She's been acting very strange on the phone for about a week, ever since she fell and reinjured her back. Slurring her speech pretty bad, and not wanting to talk on the phone for long. At the hospital, they found evidence that she may have had a minor heart attack or infarction with preliminary tests.

What's weird is that she was at the ER a week ago for the the fall, and they drew blood and found no evidence of anything amiss. And she's had the fever since the weekend... very, very strange. And very, very scary.

I am really freaking out and upset. She's so far away, you know, and I'm alone getting this awful news... My aunt says Mom is OK, but it's still very upsetting.

SadMommy-
My prayers will be with your mom and you. I'm so sorry this happened. But it sounds very hopeful.

(((Sadmommy))) Prayers for your Mom and family.

SadMommy - I am so sorry about your mom... Keep your chin up - Mia and I will pray for you and your family..

Alison

Thank you, everyone. Now I am really freaked out... did a google search and now know how very serious it is. She could have died, and may end up with permanent brain and/or kidney damage because of the sepsis... who knows how her heart will fare. Thank God she had a doctor's appointment yesterday, or she probably would have died.

It's very serious. Her heart is infected, and they're worried her brain may be, too. They did an MRI tonight, and we'll know the results tomorrow. They have her in an induced coma because she was so confused and uncooperative.

My aunt is planning to be there Sunday/Monday, and I'll probably be going up there myself soon. Just not sure when.

SM:

Sorry to hear of your Mom.

From what I gather, your Mom had a urinary tract infection that eventually seeded her blood with bacteria, and then that bacteria was able to colonize on her heart valves (a term called Endocarditis), and from there, little flecks of the bacteria off of the infected heart valve were able to get to her brain and kidneys (through the blood stream), and form what are essentially "septic-infectious" clots.

I know that the medical physiology behind what happened isn't exactly paramount now, but I thought I would share with you in case you had a need to know "how".

I will say a prayer for your Mom.

Lemonman

Sorry to hear the latest. It sounds serious. I would go see her ASAP.

prayers for SM's mommy

Pep

Thanks, Lem. I appreciate the info and the prayer. I did a little internet research on it today, so I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous!! The doctor who's working with her said she noticed some infection in her mouth, and the doc thinks it probably started there before going to the kidneys. That's so weird, b/c the same thing killed my dad's dad in his 30s.

They did find some bits of infection floating around when the did the cardiac cath this afternoon, and they found out a valve in her heart is infected.

When they admitted her last night, her CPK was high, which means heart attack or stroke, right? I have a question for you, Lem, since you're a doc... is it possible that her CPK was high b/c of the infection, or could the infection CAUSE a heart attack/stroke, or could it be that she had a heart attack or stroke with nothing to do with the infection? I know you can't do a diagnosis, but I'm just trying to figure out the connection.

She is added to my prayer list. I will put her on the prayer list at the catholic hosp I work at in the morning...

Praying for her over here, too. i hope you can go see her soon.

Thank you, ChaCha. She can use all the help from above she can get.

Thanks, intexas. I'm really not wanting to go. Not relishing the thought of a 12-hour drive, or the thought of leaving DD with WH and probably OW for a few days.

Maybe she can come, too--your dd. I am taking my 5 month old on q 12 hour drive to pick up the other two boys from their trip to visit my parents, and then driving all three back on the 23 hour treck.
Maybe a friend can come with you to help with DD while you visit your mom.

Well, I am still a bit perplexed why someone would do a cardiac catherization in the setting of someone who was septic like your Mom. A Transesophageal Echoacrdiogram might be reasonable, but I don't know about a Cardiac Cath. I doubt that they were able to definitely define that she has a heart valve infection solely from a catheterization. I can only imagine that she had other evidence for a heart attack for them to do a cath this urgently. Her elevated CPK could be caused by a multitude of things, and it is a non-specific marker of muscle breakdown. An elevated CPK does NOT necessarily mean that someone has had a stroke or Heart Attack. There are some other cardiac enzymes (specifically called Troponin I and Troponin T) that would be MUCH more specific to a heart attack. Your mom may have simply been profoundly dehydrated and along with the sepsis (and maybe med effect) have had elevated CPK's.

The only way to tell if she has had an acute stroke is by doing an MRI. A CT scan will not show a "stroke" for a few days. It ***could*** be caused by sepsis, but I don't think that would be the primary cause of elevation.

It is quite possible that she had underlying coronary artery disease, and the UTI/infection caused such a cardiac demand (as the demands of the heart are going to be severely elevated during that physiological state) that she had a heart attack in the process.

I am just specualting, as I would need more information to render a more accurate diagnosis.

The issues that are paramount now are the question of septic emboli causing a stroke and potential kidney damage, how she is doing on the ventilator (how much does she require her breathing to be assissted), how much support she needs with BP meds to keep her BP high enough to supply blood to her vital organs..etc..

I would strongly recommend that you find the 1st plane out to see her. You are desrcribing someone who is in a critical situation and you need to be there.

Please let me know if I can be of any other assistance to you.

Lem

SM:

Your Husband for all his faults loves his daughter and is going to be quite capable of meeting her needs during this time. You need to go see your Mother. What you have described to me is extremely serious, and unless I am misunderstanding something warrants you going to be with her. Ask questions of the doctors. There are no dumb questions.

Lem

Now that is an idea. I didn't think about her maybe being able to come, too. My brother plans to go if I have to... that might work.

Although I think WH would throw a fit about me taking her out of state, and I've already told him tonight of the possibility of me having to go and him having to keep her.

How is your mom doing today? She remains in our prayers.

She's getting prepped for an echocardiogram as I type. She had her MRI this morning instead of last night. My aunt will be there tomorrow.

Last night, the doc told her BF that the next 24-48 hours, she could go either way. Very scary.