Welcome to Miami, Bienvenida a Miami...

My Honduran adventure has taken me back to the States...again. This time was unplanned and unexpected just like the first time, but fortunately during my second trip I was not suffering from any facial paralysis. My friend Kris (I explained her medical drama in the previous blog) was not doing any better -- she had a few more fainting spells, and complained of migraine-like headaches. The Honduran doctors wanted to do a spinal tap, and that was just something she was not willing to do in a developing country. So, what ended up happening is that she was medi-vacked in a private, ambulance-equipped jet out of Honduras and into Miami, Florida. Seeing as how it would have been very expensive for her parents to fly from Belgium, the U.S. is a foreign country to Kris, and I have family and have been to Miami many times, Kris asked me to accompany her. I was having my own issues on the ranch and was in a little funk, so a little getaway to Miami, off the ranch, sounded great.

Dagmar, an NPH Miami-based volunteer from Germany, picked me up at the airport and drove me to the hospital. She was so great in taking me to and from the airport and being our personal chauffer during our stay in Miami. Kris was on the neurology floor and was lucky to have her own room. I visited with her for the majority of the evening and I think I really helped to calm her nerves, make her comfortable, and get her mind off of things. That night I stayed at the NPH Miami house. It is a normal, ranch-style house in the Kendall area of Miami. Looking at it from the street you would never guess it is an office. When I walked in I was pleasantly surprised to find a really nice, comfortable home. Dagmar informed me that all the living room and dining room furniture, along with a signed Miró painting were all donated by Shakira. Now that was pretty cool. I got my own room, was able to enjoy surfing the web from the comfort of my own bed, and chatted with some friends and family.

The following few days Dagmar dropped me off at the hospital in the morning and picked me up in the evening. After four days Kris was transferred into the “International Suite”. It was basically the VIP of hospital rooms. Warm tones on the walls, a kitchenette, marble bathroom, dinette set, plasma TV, comfy couch, and desk made us feel more like we were in a hotel room than in a hospital. The room also had a rollaway bed, so I moved-in to the hospital room as well. Kris had a series of tests done (MRI, MRA, CAT scans, numerous blood tests, etc.). The doctors were having a hard time finding a diagnosis as many of the tests came back normal. The doctors think that she had an allergic reaction to Prednisone (i.e., cortisone, steroids), which she was given on the ranch to treat rheumatoid arthritis. It turns out Kris does not even have rheumatoid arthritis, but a different kind of arthritis. As the days passed at the hospital, Kris seemed to be doing physically better. She was able to walk around, eat normal food, and chat with family and friends back in Belgium. However, she was still suffering pretty severe headaches. To rule out other problems and to be complete, the doctors recommended that Kris did, in fact, have the spinal tap.

Seeing as how she was medically evacuated and was an international patient insurance would only cover Kris as long as she stayed in the hospital; meaning that Kris (and me) became prisoners of the Jackson Memorial Hospital’s West Wing. Between procedures and tests, Kris and I did a lot (really a lot) of waiting. At first it was okay. We enjoyed wireless internet in our room, watching TV, filling out her menus for the following day’s meals, and just hanging out. Each day we’d walk around the hospital campus for a bit to get some fresh air, stretch our legs, and treat ourselves to ice cream, coffee, or whatever else we were in the mood for. It wasn’t until Kris passed the one week mark that her emotions and reality set in.

It took just over a week until they were able to schedule her for a spinal tap. When she went in the technician (or whoever) was unable to successfully complete the procedure. So, she had to wait yet another day to repeat the process, but this time under live X-Ray (i.e., fluoroscopy). This was also hard for her because the spinal tap is not a pleasant experience to endure (much less twice!). The way a spinal tap works is that they take out spinal fluid, inject a nuclear fluid, and do a CAT scan to track the fluid in the cerebrospinal fluid. The doctors have to complete a CAT scan every 24 hours for three to four days after the spinal tap is performed. Seeing as how Kris was unable to leave the hospital, this meant even more waiting and made her more uneasy as to what the results would be.

Finally, after two weeks of being in the hospital she was discharged and booked a flight to Belgium. Currently here’s what we know. She had a bad/allergic reaction to the Prednisone, she began experiencing severe migraine headaches (whether or not that was related to the Prednisone we don’t know), she started taking pain killers and migraine medications to control the pain and symptoms (which seemed to be working), and through the spinal tap were able to find that she has a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid on one side of her head (which is causing these pressure-like headaches). The doctors decided that these were not life threatening problems and sent her on her way to Belgium. The plan is for Kris to have some follow-up tests done in Belgium and hopefully begin a treatment. Kris is hopeful to return to the ranch, although she is taking the time to emotionally recoup and recover before making any big decisions.

I am very glad (and I’m pretty confident she is too) that I was able to be with Kris through all of this. She is one of my good friends here on the ranch and I felt very willing and fortunate to be able to be there for her.