We may have a new record!

As if we didn't have enough to deal with, we managed to hit an all time high for Caren's INR, which is the blood test to see what her clotting factors are. A normal INR is between 1 and 2. They started her on anticoagulants last week in an attempt to decrease her ability to clot, thereby reducing the size of the clot in her liver. It may not actually make it smaller, but it sure shouldn't get any bigger. A therapeutic INR, meaning the anticoagulant drugs are doing what they want them to, is, I think, between 2 and 3 (I'll double check that and correct if necessary. I hate being the harbinger of bad information!).

Caren's INR is currently 4.2. That means she's somewhere between, "Way Too High" and "Leaking Cool-Aid from Every Orifice". So, we skip the Lovenox injections (BTW, injecting drugs into your wife's belly twice a day is NOT fun) and reduce the dose of oral Coumadin, and recheck on Friday. In the meantime, we keep Caren away from sharp objects. A paper cut could be a huge problem for us.

We still can't find a reasonable explanation for her hot & cold spells either. I thought it was related to the thin blood, but the surgeon said it wasn't. She goes from sweating bullets to freezing cold in the span of minutes. This would be annoying under normal circumstances, but when adding and removing clothing and blankets requires a half-time respite, it's damn near impossible. I'll walk in and find her half undressed, taking a breather, just un-fun (if that's even a word. The hyphen makes it look good though right?).

She's got a small appetite back. Her carrying capacity is about 5 tablespoons though. Half a turkey sandwich will fill her up for hours. But she is eating. I should research how long it takes malnourished people to return to normal energy levels. There's got to be a case study out there on a crash victim who was trapped for 10-days, or a lost hunter that didn't eat for two weeks. Actually, a lost hunter that didn't eat for 2 weeks has got to be the WORST hunter on the face of the Earth! Maybe a lost hiker. Anyway, there has to be a way to gauge if she's progressing normally, or stagnating terribly. I just hate seeing her so weak. The next few days will probably tell the story.