ER Round 2

Was dozing on the couch in front of tonight’s football game when Max pointed out Rudy’s leg was shaking back and forth–another seizure for about 5 min–this one the first we’ve seen extending to his limbs. Max and Livy were pretty rattled. Trish stayed home and I (Rolf) came to the ER with him. Not sure why he can’t do this during normal business hours. It was a good weekend–arguably even a great one–thanks to an incredible Bayou yesterday and a 60th anniversary celebration for special friends today. Surreal how it can be bookended with stuff like this.

There are some pretty serious cases in the ER tonight (the CHP officers walking around and bringing family members in can’t be a good sign; the guy screaming at the top of his lungs is beyond unsettling). We waited a good bit before the doc came and I even had thoughts of unplugging Rudy and taking off. He was seemed OK, smiled at the couple nurses who remembered him from Friday and giggled when the doc tickled his toes to check his reflexes. I was even apologetic for bringing him in, but when they saw the video we shot (iPhone is a brilliant invention), they were pretty clear it was the right move.

Doc called neuro and came back with news I didn’t want to hear. Needed to take some labs. He was trying to avoid it since they took them Friday and we’re seeing neuro tomorrow anyway, but they just want to check sodium and digoxin levels before they send us home. Rudy was fast asleep and it ended up taking two sticks to get the blood they needed. Gave the Screamer a run for his money. Just. Plain. Sucks.

Going to have to wait an hour for labs. In addition to his hatred of the needles, Rudy has also protested every time he’s been placed on the bed–he doesn’t want to stay. So he’s fast asleep in his chair, save for the occasional catching-his-breath-after-a-good-cry noises, and I get the bed. We wait.