In October we finally decided to leave our kids more than 4 days and go on a 7 day cruise with our good friends Travis and Andrea. I don't really like to leave our kids for too long. Little did we know that we would be gone 16 days!
A couple days before the cruise Robert was feeling a little sick. He got worse, and he felt like he had bronchitis. The day we left for the cruise he went to the Urgent Care to see if he needed an antibiotic. He didn't, but they gave him one anyway and sent him on his way. They said he was fine. We traveled all night and he seemed weak, but we were all so tired and he felt sick. We boarded the ship and took naps! We were hoping he would feel better when we woke. Instead he felt the same. Travis (being so prepared) gave Robert a Priesthood blessing that I'm sure has a lot to do with the fact that Robert is alive today.
The next morning Robert got up, walked 2 steps and collapsed on the bed, gasping for air. I called the medical and they came and got him. He spent the next 2 days in the ICU on the ship. We were in the middle of the ocean in the ICU...it was crazy! There were 2 Colombian doctors on board. They were great. They ran all the tests they could and thought Robert having lack of oxygen to his heart, was going thru heart failure.
The first night I left him in ICU I called Andrea and Travis and met them on the ship. I remember that I just kept asking them..."What am I going to do?" I'm so glad I had them there.....they were such a support to me. I did go back to my cabin and prayed like no tomorrow. Within minutes, I kid you not, I knew exactly what I needed to do. I emailed Robert's sister Debbie. Debbie lives in Southern California. She is amazing and she gets to the bottom of things and gets it done. The next morning she emailed me back and so did her friend who is a Bishop in her stake and just happens to be the Chief of Cardiology at USD. This man texted me everyday at least 3 times a day on the ship. We sent the test results via email from the ship to him. He diagnosed Robert and had the ship start treating him toward the end of our 7 day cruise. Yes, we stayed in the cabin for the full 7 days til we arrived back in Miami. Poor Robert only saw the upper deck twice. Once, is in a photo above. He is in the wheel chair next to Travis. He was in a wheel chair the entire cruise. Once we arrived in Miami, our new Cardiologist friend had arranged for our arrival. He knew some of the staff there. Within an hour of being there, Robert was diagnosed with Pulmonary Emboli ( mulitiple blood clots to the lungs), just as the Cardiologists had thought. He was immediately admitted. They told us he was in critical condition and that they would need to keep a close eye on him. Robert texted the Bishop of our ward and asked him to fast for him. The Ward ended up having a fast for him and we TRULY felt the power of the fast and Robert immediately started making improvements in his condition. Then, it just so happened that there was going to be an expert in his condition in the hospital that week. It was all so amazing how it played out. The Lord truly placed all of these people in our path and we were able to find them because I prayed and He answered my prayer.
Now, the crazier part.....Every single doctor that treated Robert told him he should not be alive. They had never seen anyone survive that many blood clots to the lungs. One of the clots is quite large and sits in his pulmonary artery. Which should have stopped his heart and the oxygen to the lungs.... but it didn't. He did become quite the spectacle. Everyone wanted to see this guy who survived the PE. I would get on the elevator to go downstairs and medical staff on the elevator would be talking about him. Everyone was really good to us there at University of Miami...we have lots of doctors cell phone numbers and email addresses. One of the nurses told Robert on our last day in the hospital..."I saw your chart when you arrived and I did not want to be your nurse because you were going to die...nobody lives through those Pulmonary Embolisms..."
It turns out that Robert has a genetic blood clotting disorder that has just now manifested itself. So, Robert will be on blood thinners for eternity....at least he is still with us, right?
