Rubin

Most of you already know, and some don't, that Rubin is in the hospital. I have been trying to follow up with everyone's emails and phone calls but I don't remember who I have told what to. I will try to update here anytime we hear something new so you can all look to one place for the latest. First, I will start this one from the beginning so everyone can be caught up:

Monday: Rubin woke up that morning and was sick and throwing up. We thought it was just a stomach bug and went on about our day - I went to work and he actually even went to a meeting. I had a meeting scheduled for Mon night but stopped by on my way home to check on him. He was still throwing up, had a fever and chills, and had a very sharp pain in his stomach. It was mostly on the right side so I was concerned about his appendix and we decided to come to the ER. We came to Rush Copley and they did an ultrasound to check his gall bladder and it came back fine, so they did a cat scan to check his kidney and appendix, and both of them were also fine, but they noticed some inflammation in his small intestine and wanted to do more testing. He said that they could send him home and do outpatient tests, but since he was in so much pain they wanted to keep him overnight so he could stay comfortable. I think we finally got this news sometime after midnight. I finally went home to sleep for a few hours (we live across the street from the hospital).

Tuesday: A GI specialist came to see him early in the morning, and I missed him b/c I was home showering and getting ready to come back over for the day. They scheduled a colonoscopy for Wed. He said it could just be an infection that can be treated with antibiotics, but they have to rule out anything more serious. He mentioned Crohn's disease as a possibility. Later Tues afternoon the general hospital doctor came in to see him. She said that from looking at the cat scan, it looks like Crohn's to her. She said there is a partial blockage of his small intestine, and that is most likely what is causing him so much pain. The other problems she said look like they have been there for a long time and he has just never recognized that he has had symptoms. Most of the day Tues was just spent sitting and waiting. He is on pain and nausea medication and an IV. He hasn't had anything to eat since Sunday and tried to eat a little italian ice yesterday (one of the approved "clear liquid diet" items) and he felt sick after just a couple of bites, so he hasn't tried anything else. He had to drink a gallon of the fun colon cleansing stuff last night as prep for the colonoscopy today.

Wednesday: So far this morning we are just waiting for the procedure. He is scheduled to go in at 12:30 for the prep and they said it shouldn't take more than an hour. They will do a colonoscopy and several biopsies, and this should tell them anything they need to know. They have said that he could possibly go home today, but it doesn't sound like he will be able to. Since he hasn't had anything to eat in 3 days, they are going to have to start him off with a clear liquid diet and gradually progress to solid foods, and he can't go home until he is able to keep them down. He is also still in severe pain so that is still a concern.

I will update more after we hear the results of the procedure - probably sometime this afternoon. If you are like everyone else I have talked to and are saying "What is Crohn's disease? I've heard of it but don't know what it is", check out this website. http://mayoclinic.com/health/crohns-disease/DS00104
I have obviously been reading a lot about it the past few days and I think this is the best website to give the basic info and isn't so scientific that you can't understand it.

I have my laptop and they have free wi-fi, so feel free to email etc. I'll be here all day. We appreciate all of your prayers and are just very anxious to find an answer and know what the next step will be.