How Low Can He Go?

Gerry was scheduled for a procedure today. He was having the stent in his ureter replaced. Ordinarily it would be changed after 3 - 5 months, but the scans in April showed that it needed correcting. There is a slight blockage and since we are (hopefully) going on our trip at the end of the month, it seemed reasonable to do the procedure now. He had a transfusion on Friday and again on Monday - one unit of red blood cells each day. Last Monday his hemoglobin was 6.3 (normal for a man is 14 - 18) and his hematocrit was low, too - 18.9 (normal is 42 - 52)...Friday his hemoglobin was 5.5, which is why his dr. ordered the two transfusions. I left him at ambulatory surgery today at noon. He called me around 2 - he was in a bed with an IV but they had not taken him yet. I went over. They had taken blood and found that his hemoglobin was still low...6.2 and his HCT was 18.2. The anesthesiologist and dr felt that it was too dangerous to do the surgery. They were going to give him general anesthesia. For a surgery that was not an emergency, it was not worth the risk. The dr. said that if they get his HGB over 8 by next week they can do the procedure. Tomorrow we have an appointment with the oncologist and we know that Gerry will have to have another transfusion. I hope it helps. I know that he is bleeding inside, even if it is slight (his urine is slightly brown/orange which indicates bleeding). While the bleeding CAN be from the stent, his TX dr. told me in February that as things start to deteriorate within him, we might see...blood in the urine. So we came home and Gerry, totally exhausted, slept! Tonight he felt better so we took a drive (5 minutes) to the beach and sat on chairs in the sand while he had half a cigar. We came home and I sat with him in the backyard while he had the other half. I think he really appreciated my joining him - something I rarely do. It was nice and relaxing for me, too!