The Dreadful Listeria: Part 6

When the Soldier got home he met with Dr. PJ and discussed what had happened while he was in Germany. He too felt it was worth looking into more to see if it was actually ulcerative colitis and not chron's. A colonoscopy was scheduled and preformed. The biopsies would confirm that it was indeed ulcerative colitis. Dr. PJ and the Soldier decided it was time to try an IV treatment drug. This drug was very expensive but to most people who received it, the ulcerative colitis went immediately into remission. It was given in a four stage program. After the first treatment you would receive a second treatment 2 weeks later. Then every 8 weeks after. Even with the insurance paying a substantial portion it was going to cost the Soldier about $500 a treatment.

There was several risks to the IV treatment that had to do with how badly the drug lowered the immune system. The Soldier wouldn't understand how bad the risks were until after the second treatment. When he went in for the second treatment the nurse took his temperature and noticed it was a little high. But it was only 99 degrees so with the doctors permission the Soldier was given the second dose. That night he began to get the chills in bed and got up and checked his temperature. It was up to 102. He took some Tylenol and went back to bed. He woke up that morning really not feeling well. He called in sick and took a bath. He had developed a head ache but thought it was probably the flu. He made an appointment with his doctor and was seen right away.

Dr. H was his primary care physician. The Soldier and him became very close. This doctor truly cared about his well being and did everything he could to help. He thought it was just a viral infection and told the Soldier to get some rest and drink fluids.

That night was the Soldiers first night back to college. He couldn't not go, so off he went. As he sat in class he was shaking uncontrollably. His temperature had raised to 103 before he went to class. Half way through he went to the professor and told him what was happening, the professor told him he looked like hell and to go home.

He got home about the same time as The Misses. She took one look at him and new he was bad. She was a nurse and had sneaked a IV bag home from work and wanted to give it to him. She had given him an IV before so he was confident that she could do it. It took her four tries to get the IV in a vein. He was so dehydrated. He laid on the couch and fell asleep.

When he woke up a few minutes later there was something wrong. He sat up and told The Misses it was time to go to bed. Before he could stand up he got nauseous. She ran and got him a bucket and he began to throw-up. Usually this makes a person feel better, but not him. He looked at The Misses and she told him she thought they should go to the hospital. He looked at her and in his mind he was saying "no, I was just there it is viral." What came out was complete gibberish. A worried look came to The Misses face. She started to say she couldn't understand him. This made him more angry so he again said "I WAS JUST THERE. THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS WRONG!" Again all that came out was complete gibberish. She stood up and grabbed her cell phone. If he didn't agree to go with her she was calling 911. At that point he nodded his head and she got his shoes and went to the truck.

His head was pounding and when he went to sit down in the passenger seat he slammed his head into the top of the truck. The pain was horrible. All he could do was cover his eyes as she drove as fast as she could to the hospital. He remembered getting out of the truck and her saying "do you need a wheelchair?" He motioned no, and stumbled into the emergency room. Right inside the emergency room door was a wheel chair. He walked over and sat down in it. This is the last thing he remembered for 4 days. He vaguely remembers opening his eyes for a second and seeing his mom standing over him wearing a mask. The next thing he knew he woke up with his dad in a chair next to him. He didn't know what happened or where he was.