A trip to McKay Dee Hospital

Shortness of Breath

Nausea and Vomiting

Temp of 103+

Equals

Gordon in the Emergency Room

Gordon and all the kids left early in the morning with Peter Bate to go to Evanston, WY to pick up some logs for the cabin Peter is building in the Monte' Cristo area. About the time they stopped for lunch, Gordon wasn't feeling well. By 4:00pm his condition had worsened. Gordon called me as I was getting ready for work to let me know that he was heading to Salt Lake Regional Medical Center because his cellulitis was coming back. I knew that Gordon was aware of the signs and symptoms of cellulitis because he has had this infection 2 times before. I was okay with this decision and continued getting ready for work until the next time I talked with Brendon, they were at McKay Dee Hospital.

I was upset that Gordon had stopped at McKay Dee Hospital because our insurances are not contracted with the IHC Hospitals and knew that the insurance companies would not consider cellulitis a “life threatening emergency.” Not being there I felt helpless. At the time, I did not know that he was having difficulty breathing, vomiting and losing color. But as Brendon and Kelsey explained everything to me, I understood that Gordon had made the right decision.

Kelsey took the time and explained to me that nurses were placing an IV, so they could get a round of antibiotics (Invanz 1gram) in him, what tests they were doing and that the doctor was concerned that he might have a blood clot in his leg or even possibly in lungs, which could be the reason he was experiencing shortness of breath. That made me nervous. Knowing that Tooele is at least an hour away; I got in the car and drove as fast as I could. By the time I arrived at McKay Dee, Gordon was back from his ultra sound, fever was coming down (102.4), and looking much better than I had pictured him.

The doctor came in a little later with the results of the ultra sound, NO blood clot. The doctor explained that the only labs which were abnormal were his WBC (white blood cell) which would be consistent with the cellulitis. The doctor felt confident enough that the shortness of breath was from the fever, that he was going discharge him and instructed him to follow-up in the Emergency Room close to home.

I am so grateful Gordon is okay. All of my children were AWESOME!! They all took great care of their Dad. I couldn’t have asked for better kids. Thank you Heavenly Father.