A narrative account of Will's health problems

Third Hospitalization:  10/15/95 - 11/19/95

As with the previous year, Will's health plummeted rapidly during the fall.  Will received repeated lung taps to drain the fluid from his lungs.  Unexpectedly, x-rays of Will's lungs revealed that his left kidney was immensely swollen and infected.  Further tests discovered that the ureter was completely obstructed.  It was unclear whether his kidney still functioned or not.  This apparently explained his numerous fevers.  However, it was a horrible realizations that Will had undoubtedly been in severe pain for months due to a completely blocked and infected kidney (it is our understanding that kidney infections can be horribly painful).  A drain was placed through his back into his kidney.  This tube drained his kidney, but promptly became infected with Klebsiella.  Unfortunately, we were unable to consult with a pediatric urologist and we were presented with two difficult choices: 1) leave the tube in indefinitely, or 2) remove the kidney.  At this point in time, Will had a trach in his throat, a gastrostomy tube in his abdomen, a nephrostomy tube in his back, and various IV's in his body.


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The worst was yet to come...  During late October, we were informed that Will's heart required immediate surgery (due to his growth and development during the summer and at home).  It was still our understanding that Will would not survive the definitive repair of his heart. It was also our understanding that Will's heart condition was made all the more complicated by the fact that he had pulmonary damage, kidney damage, brain damage, and constant pain.  Despite being on 50% oxygen, Will's blood oxygen saturation hovered around 65% - 70%.  He took on an increasingly dusky, bluish skin tone.  It was horrible to realize that after all of his gains during the past year, we were once again at the point of losing hope.


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