Dad in hospital, really worried :(

[Munchlet]

So my Dad has been in hospital since Wednesday due to his neutrophils dropping to zero!

Needless to say I'm worried sick but trying to keep it together for my mum but I just feel the hospital aren't telling him anything.

The background info is he was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis a few years ago and has been taking methotrexate. Apart from a few aches and pains the medication has controlled it but he has regular blood tests due to the side effects and to monitor his liver and blood counts.

In March he had a routine blood test and was called to say his cells were slightly low but not to worry. Ever since then he's been having blood tests every two weeks and the levels have been either staying the same or dropping slightly. He was then told by his consultant to slowly reduce the methotrexate which he did and to then stop it. Since he did this his white cells have plummeted to 0.4 and now this week 0.

He was admitted to hospital as he was also showing signs of a bacterial infection and put on intravenous antibiotics and he's been there since Wednesday. He's had more blood taken than he can remember and yesterday had a bone marrow biopsy.

He has seen a Dr and all he said was we need to find out if this is a viral infection or something else causing your cells to drop.

The thing is because of the bone marrow I'm obviously thinking the worst but then my brain keeps saying surely by now they would have a good idea if it was something like Leukemia from the amount of blood they've taken? Also, would they have let his cells just keep dropping for months if they thought it was something so serious?

Sorry I'm rambling but just really scared and just wish they'd tell him something. They haven't even said if they have got the infection under control or whether there's been any change to his levels and my Dad won't ask because he thinks it's rude to question doctors!

The worse thing is with Covid he's only allowed one visit a day which is my mum for one hour and when she's been there's never a doctor around to ask.

If anyone has any experience of anything similar or has any advice I'd really appreciate it.

[Pearly queen]

I'm sorry you are having so much worry at the minute. You could perhaps have the doctor ring you or your Mum and they could explain things. When my Mum was in hospital a few years ago it was the only way we could speak to the doctor as the hospital was very far from us and by the time I arrived everday the doctor had left. My Mum had dementia so couldn't ask questions for herself. Even the sister on the ward should be able to answer some of your questions. In my experience it's worth ringing to ask because they won't keep you informed if you don't pester them a bit. I hope you get answers soon and your Dad can come home.

[Aleman200]

I second what Pearly Queen has said, when I was in hospital a few weeks ago for my appendectomy I could not reply to phone calls because the anesthetic had me out like a log. My dad rang up the ward I was on and the nurse/doctor on call there was able to explain what was going on. I truly hope your Dad recovers, he's got professionals looking out for him so try to keep your chin up.

[katniss]

Sorry you and your family are going through a tough time. I hope the doctors are able to give you a more thorough explanation for what they think might be happening. I pray to God that your father makes a swift and speedy recovery. I also think it’s a loooot harder when it’s a family member dealing with an issue. I can deal with health anxiety when it comes to me because I’m used to living that way (sadly enough) but when it comes to family I lose all my senses.

[pulisa]

My advice would be to ring the ward and find out the name of the consultant who is in charge of your Dad's case..and then ask to speak to him/her on the phone when convenient. I presume it will be a consultant haematologist who will be assessing all the bloods.

My daughter has had severe neutropaenia as a result of meds..but was able to isolate at home rather than be admitted to hospital. Your Dad's case is obviously more complex but you do need to find out what is going on re his care because you deserve and need to be kept in the picture. I really hope you find out more very soon and that you get some much needed support and reassurance from the hospital staff.

[Munchlet]

Thank you so much guys for your thoughts, prayers and advice.

I have rung the hospital this morning but they are still doing their rounds and have asked me to call back later, which I will do.

I haven't been able to speak to my Dad this morning but my Mum has and apparently he has been writing down his blood pressure readings and temperature readings, all of which have normalised over the last day, so I am taking that as a positive sign, as I don't imagine that would be the case if the infection was progressing.

He also told my mum he was given an injection of white blood cells last night so I am going to call and basically just ask if they are managing to control the infection. If there has been any change to his white cell count and if they have any idea as to what the cause may be.

I realise they may not be able to answer all of those questions but I think I will feel better for asking.

I will update as I get more news but really appreciate you taking the time to reply and advise me.

Thanks

[Munchlet]

So I called the hospital and they have said my Dad has a blood infection. The infection is starting to show some slight improvement but he is still on IV antiobitics and they are waiting on blood cultures to find out exactly what the bacteria is.

They have given him an injection of neutrophils and have said he's not coming out for a few days yet as they need to get the infection under control.

I asked if they knew what caused the low cell count in the first place but they said they are still liaising with haematology.

I have read that a blood infection can cause neutropenia which in a way is what I'm hoping but I guess they won't be able to confirm that until they have the bone marrow results.

The other interesting thing my mum mentioned is my Dad has had ongoing problems with a tooth which interestingly started a couple of weeks before he had his first low neutrophil results. He couldn't get into the dentist due to Covid 19 and although he was up all night with pain and a bleeding tooth he choose to ignore it and just dose himself up with pain relief and use antiseptic mouthwash.

He is still having problems with the tooth now and it still bleeds so my Mum has told him to tell the Dr's this because it did say on the NHS website that dental infections can progress to septacemia if left untreated.

I feel a bit better now we know some information but still worried sick about the bone marrow test. Just trying to remain positive and hope for a good outcome.

[Pearly queen]

I'm glad you have been able to speak to someone and have a bit more of an idea what's going on. I hope things continue to improve. Try to persuade your Dad to tell the doctors everything that's been going on with his teeth etc. Maybe even ring and leave a message for the doctors on tonight. This could be valuable information for them in treating his infection. Try to be assured that he is in the right place though.

[Munchlet]

Thank you Pearly Queen, yes Mum rang him and told him he needed to tell the Dr's, she is also going to speak to them tomorrow and make sure they know. Honestly, he's his own worst enemy at times, always insisting he's fine. He was arguing with me that he didn't need to go to hospital on Wednesday and that was after having a phone call from the consultant telling him he needed to go in urgently!

[Pearly queen]

Hope your Dad is feeling better.