Apparently, I am not the only one in my family with issues of letting go. (I feel compelled to add, for the sake of clarity, that my issues are not akin to Nik’s!)
We saw Nik’s beloved Doctor Mary this afternoon. It’s true, she is beloved; she is the only doctor Nik will ever fully —and joyfully— cooperate with no matter how awful he may be feeling. He adores her and makes her laugh; it’s a win-win social skills situation all the way around.
But I digress.
The results from the lab cultures will not be ready for a few more days; apparently the specific cultures Doctor Mary requested can take up to five days. But we don’t think Nik has an infection, really; the severity of symptoms ebbs and flows —from severe to nearly nonexistent— in the course of any given day. There is, thus far, always a slight lull after Nik’s had a couple of really awful days full of explosive diarrhea. (What?? TMI? Try living with him for a while!)
The abdominal x-ray —which I must say Nik was an absolute champ for— showed no structural concerns but did show a significant amount of stool in the large bowel. At first blush, it appears that he is developing a bad case of constipation —bordering on a partial obstruction.
I won’t go into graphic detail about what leads Doctor Mary to this conclusion. Imagine your kitchen drain being partially clogged; it still works, just a little slower. When it gets really bad, you have to, erm, help it along. Same thing with Nik. Of course, this doesn’t address the underlying cause of the situation; one thing at a time.
So, if I disappear over the next couple of days, though I hope not to, you’ll know it’s simply because things have gotten —as the good doctor put it— “worse before getting better.” If that doesn’t do the trick, we’ll revisit the issue with Doctor Mary at the end of the week. She may want another x-ray to see just how bad things look.
Fingers crossed that it all, ahem, comes out okay.
