He's Awake!

Hi Friends! I apologize for my delay in updating this blog regarding Dad.  It's been a busy few days and a lot of progress has been made. 

And I want to apologize if the following update is not succinct and clear.  I am one tired gal.  And a lot has happened that is challenging to recall.

Dad is doing a lot better.  He is awake (!!) and comfortable.  I guess he just needed a good solid month of sleep?  :)  He is responding with nods and smiles now.  What a sweet answer to prayer!

Because he was improving, the staff at the hospital were able to transfer him to a long term acute care hospital (LTACH) specializing in pulmonary rehabilitation.  On Wednesday, the doctors talked to us again about the LTACH and said it would be weeks away.  (They had talked to us about it previously; however, that was before he had some of his more major set backs.  They had not mentioned it lately as he was so critical and they were more concerned about short term stabilization than the long term recovery).  On Thursday, they said he would likely be transferred Friday.  And he was!  What a great, positive improvement.

He is still getting daily dialysis.  Before he left the first hospital, he was seen by a cardiologist regarding his irregular heart beat.  The cardiologist indicated that is normal for someone who has been so ill for so long.  The body is under a great deal of stress (to say the least!) and the heart has to work extra hard.  They gave him some (more) medicine to help with that.

They are going to start trying to do dialysis every other day now, so our prayer would be that he would be able to handle that and that his kidney function would kick back in some.


We are thankful that he is calm and relaxed while awake.  We are praying that remains the same.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Midweek Dad Update

Not much has changed with Dad since I last posted.  The only fairly significant thing would be the fact that he heart rate tends to get really fast at times as well as beat irregularly. This has been happening already for some time; however, it seems to be occurring more frequently as the days pass. 

They called in a cardiologist and the cardiologist said that when the body is under that much stress being so ill, that sometimes will happen.  He added a medicine and Dad's heart rate went back to an acceptable rate.

He's been doing dialysis daily still. I think this is day 8 or 9 of it.

Today marks 4 weeks that Dad has been in this situation. 

We are praying for him to be able to handle reduced sedation and for him to improve.  One doctor, actually my friend Darlene's husband (small world!), encouraged us by saying that he has been so ill for so long that for him to remain the same is a positive.

Again, words cannot express our thanks for your prayers and support!

Many of you may not know my dad or know him well.  Here is a humorous post I did on him last year.  He is definitely a character. Hope you enjoy!

Short Dad Update

Our pic from a few years ago...

Well, things with Dad have been kind of the same for the last few days.  Honestly, that is a welcome relief after some of the ups and downs we have been having.

He is on Day 6, I believe, of dialysis.  It is working well to reduce the fluid in his body.  Initially they were only going to do 3 days, but they have extended it.

While it is good that he is doing well on the dialysis, we are praying for his kidney to start doing that work.

Also, Dad is not "mentally" responsive whenever they pull him off of the sedation.  This is a concern. Whenever they do reduce his sedation, his heart rate becomes erratic and other vitals kind of go askew.  But, he is not responding to commands to open his eyes or squeeze hands. 

Please pray for Dad's kidney function to improve.

Please also pray for him to be able to respond to the doctors' and nurses' commands.  I believe they are bringing in a neurologist for him tomorrow.  Neurologically speaking, there was something strange that appeared on his CT Scan the other day.  It may have been something that was already there before this hospitalization, but they want to be sure they have everything covered.  We hope it was nothing as his list of current physical challenges is already long!

Please pray for him to be able to handle reduced sedation.

Continue to pray for the doctors, nurses, and medical staff.

Thank you so much!

Dialysis and Such

Thank you for your prayers, specifically the prayers for the 4 liters of fluid to be removed on the first day of dialysis.  They were able to remove that much, which is exciting.  And a direct answer to prayer.

Dad is on day 3 of dialysis, with more planned for Friday and Saturday, assuming his body can tolerate it.

The doctors seem to think he is responding well to it and the pressure in his belly region has decreased.

In addition to Dad having fluid in his lungs, he has some fluid on the outside of the lungs as well.  There is a procedure to drain that fluid.  They did the procedure on one side of the lungs yesterday and are currently doing the other side as I type.  They seemed pleased with the amount of fluid they were able to pull out of his body.

While all of these are baby steps, they are greatly encouraging.  I am hesitant to get too excited as previously he has had some small steps forward only to take significant ones backward.  But, regardless, I am thankful for these tiny steps.

Please pray for him to be able to tolerate dialysis, for continuing to make progress forward, and for increased organ functionality.

Your prayers are keeping us afloat.  Thank you!

Tuesday

On Monday, they did another CT Scan to see if they could figure out what is going on with Dad.  It was one of those things where you kind of wanted them to find something but you kind of didn't either.  Well, they didn't find anything.  The good news is that he had no trouble being transported for the CT Scan. 

His blood cultures and all tests keep coming up negative.  While that is good that they cannot find an infection, they also can't get to the source of why Dad is getting worse with each day.  It's quite discouraging, to be honest.

The consistent issue I hear from each doctor, regardless of their specialty and what area of the body they are focusing on, is that he has too much fluid in his body and he is not outputting enough. 

They started dialysis on him just now.  They are hoping to get out 4 liters today.

While the doctors are puzzled as to why he is not improving, there is a slight glimmer of hope today.  They are now wondering if he may have too much pressure in his belly region.  If this were the case, that would explain his fluctuating blood pressure, kidney troubles, and some of his general instability.

They are hoping that the dialysis will help relieve some of this pressure.  If it does not, they could open his belly to relieve some of the pressure, but they really do not want to do that.

So, I think the main prayers are for the dialysis to be successful, for them to get the 4 L of fluid they are hoping for, and for him to improve!  Oh, how I would love for him to improve!

Monday Quick Update

Dad's kidney function has continued to decrease some.  They have tried several different things for the last few days to try to help the kidney improve and it is not.  The kidney function is just one of the many challenges his body is encountering.

They are going to do another CT scan shortly. This is risky to move him, but it is also risky to not take another look inside to try to figure out what is going on.  They are wondering if his gall bladder is not functioning and could be a cause of the kidney and fluid trouble.

The days seem to get harder and scarier.  However, I can truly say that we are feeling the prayers.  Please continue praying.

Specific requests:

Please pray for Dad's kidney function to improve.
Please pray for Dad's procedure today to go well, without any problems.
Please pray that the doctors will gain new insight into what may be going on.
Please pray for wisdom and guidance for the doctors, nurses, technicians, etc.
Please pray for strength and encouragement for mom and myself.

Again, I would like to reiterate that the prayers are being felt.  They are priceless. Thank you.

Another Quick Update

Dad got the trachestomy yesterday without any challenges. We are thankful for that.  He looks more comfortable.  He is still sedated though they are going to try to back off on some of the sedation today to see how he handles being aware of the trach.  (He has not previously done well when he is not totally sedated).

His kidney function has been a bit of a concern today and yesterday (the function is getting worse).  They are going to change how he receives nutrition to see if that helps his kidney at all.

Doctors mentioned yesterday that Dad has sepsis as well, which is very serious.

Please continue to pray for Dad to recover and for his body to heal.
Please continue to pray for nurses and doctors assigned his case.
Pray for him to be able to be less sedated and comfortable.  For him to not fight the tubes, ivs, and trach.

Thank you so much.  We are grateful for your support.

Better Day, More Info

Dad is stable, comfortable, and sedated today.  All good things.  :)
The nurse today is very compassionate and helpful.  And happy to take time to explain things to us.  That is a huge praise. 

The doctor on duty today said that Dad has ARDS. I guess they diagnosed him with that (or decided that he had that, I am not sure as I was not present when Mom spoke to the doctor) Friday or Saturday when he had such trouble. The doctor indicated that ARDS alone takes two weeks to improve.  (Again, this is what I am understanding through Mom talking to the doctor and then relaying it to me).

Since Dad is on day 14 of the respirator and not well enough to get off of it, they are going to have to do a tracheostomy, which (as I understand it) is inserting a breathing apparatus in the throat.  It is a long term solution to patients needed breathing assistance as the respirator is only a short-term solution.  They will do that tomorrow morning.  It will be done by an ENT. 

The doctors have been very clear again today that Dad is very sick and that this is going to be a loooong recovery process.  The doctor Mom spoke to today indicated that dad will probably be in the hospital (and probably remain in ICU) for many months.

Though that is a daunting amount of time, we are thankful that they are foreseeing a future and a recovery, Lord willing.

If you know my dad at all, he is very spunky, independent, and energetic.  Once he wakes up, this will be challenging because he probably is not going to be excited about the long, slow process. 

Remember, when all of this first happened?  Dad didn't want to go to the ER to get stitches because he had a 7am dentist appointment.  And when Mom first called me from the ER to tell me about the stitches (because she had to cancel plans that she had with me that morning), I could hear Dad loudly proclaiming in the background, "Tell her I am OK!!! I am fine!"  We are hoping that his spunk will aid in him recovering.

Yesterday was definitely a challenging day but the praise in that circumstance is that there is a member of my parents' church that is a pulmonologist whose father experienced almost the exact same thing.  One of the ministers at my parents' church spoke to that gentleman yesterday and reassured Mom of Dad's quality care that he is receiving.  (It's something you know, but it is nice for someone in the same field to evaluate the situation objectively and reassure you as much as possible).

Please pray for Dad to remain stable.
Please pray for the tracheostomy to happen without any hiccups.
Please pray for wisdom for myself and Mom as to how to handle this long road to recovery.

Again, friends, words cannot express how thankful we are for your sweet support, your prayer, and your concern.  We are blessed.

Tuesday...Not So Stellar

Dad's oxygen is back at 100% and he is having trouble staying above 90% oxygenation level. 

His chest xray was worse and the pneumonia is worse.  There is blood in his respirator tube.  They are not sure why.

For various reasons, they are having to switch up his medicines.  Because of this, they are having trouble keeping him calm and relaxed.  They took him off of one sedative and are upping another one.  But he is not being sedated as quickly as they need him to be.

The nurse on his case today is not quite as gracious as the previous ones have been.  That is making an already stressful situation a little more stressful. 

Please pray for wisdom and guidance for doctors and nurses.

Please pray for him to be stable and then to improve.  For answers and a plan as to why he is having so much trouble.

Please pray for daily chest xray to improve and for his pneumonia to improve. 

Thank you, friends.
   
 ^{------------------------------------}
  Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
   and his understanding no one can fathom.
 He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
 Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
 but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

(Isaiah 40: 28-31)

Monday Update

Well, I've only been here an hour and Dad has managed to give us a lot of drama.

He was doing pretty well when I came in.  His oxygen levels were at 50% and they had changed the respirator to where he could try to breathe some on his own with the respirator backing him up when he couldn't breath.

He was very agitated and fighting to pull the tubes out, but good (relatively speaking) other than that.

However, his vital signs kind of freaked out and all the machines starting beeping and all of a sudden the room was swarmed with nurses, PA's, doctors, respiratory therapists, etc.  They spent a long time fighting to stabilize him, calm him down, etc.   His heart now has an irregular heart rate which they have not seen with him previously.

His oxygen level now is back up to 100% and the respirator is again doing all of the work.

It's frustrating and scary.  Please continue to pray for him.  We are so very, very thankful for your support and concern and prayers.

Sunday Morning/Midday Update

There was a slight improvement in Dad's chest xray today.  That is good, though we were hoping for more than just a "slight" improvement. But, we will gladly take what we can get that is positive!

He's off of the nitric (sp?), which is good.  When things got super bad a few days ago, they had to add that in addition to the 100% oxygen at the respirator.  So that is a positive thing.  He also looks less swollen today.

He didn't have a fever today.  And his bloodwork has improved. 

They've been able to reduce his oxygen to 40% on the respirator.  Reducing it is good.

He is starting to wake-up some and gets very agitated when he wakes up.  They have to maintain a high level of sedation for him as he tries to pull all of the tubes and such out.  It is kind of nice to see his spunk, though, as long as he doesn't pull out any cords.  They are all quite vital!

Pray for him to remain stable with current oxygen levels.  I have noticed a pattern that he will start to improve on oxygen levels (to about where he is now at 40%) and then have a drastic setback.  I am praying for him to continue to improve.  Please pray also for improvements in his chest xray, cultures, and bloodwork.

Thank you, friends!

2:30 Update

We were able to go into Dad's room.

They have him off of the space age bed (pronate bed) and back into a regular bed.  The move went well and he remained stable.  That is a huge praise.

His face and eyes are very swollen but that is to expected with the pronating bed.

We spoke to the respiratory therapist and he indicated that the bloodwork that they did once they moved dad back to the regular bed is "greatly improved" and we are starting to "move in the right direction."  They changed the mode of the ventilator and that seemed to help. 

Please pray that they would continue to see these minor improvements. 
Please pray that his oxygen requirement would continue to decrease. 

Please pray that his lungs would heal.  As well as the rest of his body.
Please pray that his daily chest xray would show improvements tomorrow.  That daily chest xray seems to be one of the main ways for them to chart his progress or lack thereof.
Please pray for him to remain stable.

We were very encouraged after talking to the respiratory therapist.  It is nice to hear anything positive and he seemed very happy in the improved bloodwork results. 


As always, thank you for your sweet prayers and kind support. 

Quick Post-Prayers Please

They are removing Dad off of the pronate bed as they are "not seeing the results they were hoping for."

This is a little alarming for a few reasons.  One, because the doctors told us he would be on it through the weekend.  Second, because we understood the bed to be one of the last 2 or so options they had for him. And, thirdly, because moving him in any way is risky.  Additionally, the doctor had told us they had seen a very little bit of improvement in his lungs when they did the daily chest xray.  That seemed like good news to us but I guess to the doctor it was not really.  He said the faster they moved him off of the special bed, the better chance they have at another therapy helping him to recover.

It was all so strange as we left for lunch thinking he was staying on the bed for a while and then come back from lunch to find them moving him.

They keep stressing that he "is very, very sick."

Please pray.

Space Age Bed

All is stable.

Can you believe this contraption?  It's so unique.  It is rotating constantly.  And you can't see his face.  You can see just a little bit of his feet and his ears.

It is supposed to help the lungs drain.  Praying it helps him improve.

Thankful they were able to transition him to this without any hiccups.

Midday Update on Dad

Last night, Dad had a very hard time with the xrays and tests they ran.  They had trouble stabilizing him.  It was very scary.  They used the term destat.

This morning, I got to the hospital around 8am.  The critical care doctor spoke to me (Mom had gone home to shower as she had spent the night here) and he really scared me.  He made it sound like it was not super likely that Dad would overcome this since they can't quit figure out why he is having the challenges he is.

Fortunately someone from Mom's church was here and heard what the doctor told me.  She helped me remember what all the doctor said.  He said, "He's very sick and could die.  It's not hopeless but there is a good chance he could die.  It's not totally non-reversible."  Although it was upsetting news, I did press the doctor for information and do appreciate his honesty.

Basically, the xray showed lots of inflammation, no blood clots (which is good but doesn't help them understand what is wrong), intestine is fine (a little inflamed), and gall bladder is a little inflamed.

The top front half of lungs look ok.  The back part of the lungs have collapsed.  They are saying his lungs are badly damaged.

They are currently changing him to some sort of rotating bed that will hopefully relieve some of the pressure on his lungs.  I guess it is pretty rare and I overheard the nurse saying she has only done it once and it was 2 or 3 years ago.  The bed came with its own team of technicians. 

If that doesn't help they are going to try a different ventalator or something like that.

It's a risky procedure.  Any time they move him in anyway, he seems to have major trouble.

I'll update more later. Thank you for prayers!

Very Bad Night for Dad

Please pray.  Procedure went badly and they are struggling to keep him stable.  This is the worst he has been thus far.  He's hanging on, but not well.

New Day, New Mercies

Last night, as I was dreading today and the ups and downs of Dad's condition, I thought about the verse about God's mercies are new everyday.  That was such a refreshing truth.

I thought about it as I drove to the hospital today.  And that the verse is true whether Dad's circumstances improve or not.  Whether Dad comes through this or doesn't.  I have new mercies to deal with the situation.

When I first got to the hospital this morning, things seemed about the same, if not a little worse.  They were having trouble finding his pulse, the daily chest xray was worse,  his fluid output wasn't great, etc.

But there has been {some} good news.  While he oxygen level outputted by the respirator isn't as good as it was two days ago, it is better than it was yesterday.

He is more stable today for them to move him to do some xrays.  They will be looking to see if he has a blood clot in his lung as well some other things I can't remember.  They have confirmed that he has some clots in other parts of the body; a clot in the lung would explain why he still has a lot of fluid in his lungs and why he is not recovering well.  They are confident that he has some form of a lung injury in addition to the pneumonia.  They just need to figure out more details on that injury.

There is increased bacteria today, which is not super.  They are bringing in an infectious disease doctor to "just get another set of eyes" on his situation.  His chest xray looks worse.

My friend's husband is a surgeon at the hospital and Dad was on his rounds today.  He came by and saw us (my friend had already mentioned him trying to come by and see us).  He was kind and as reassuring as one could be. It was just nice to feel like you sort of kind of knew someone. 

Also, Brandon set up a Nook tablet so that mom and I could use it at the hospital.  Mom is thrilled to be able to play solitaire (and the like) games on it.  I think it helped break up the boredom and monotony for her.  It's pretty much impossible to focus enough to read, but solitaire is a perfect time waster. 

Many friends and family members have been offering to help me with the kids and meals.  Many also have expressed that they are praying and are faithful to check in on us.  I am so thankful for that.  So very thankful. 

I truly believe that any improvements he had today are because of God's mercy and answered prayers.  Prayers said from friends and family.  From you.  Thank you. (and please keep them coming!)

I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, please pray for the following:
Testing to go ok today.  That the physical test does not upset Dad's fragile state.  Mom had to sign a consent form in order for them to proceed to do testing.

For answers from the tests and a plan to help him improve.

For the infectious disease doctor to not find anything alarming.

For quality rest for both mom and myself.

For kind nurses.  We have had pretty much nothing but kind nurses.  I pray that continues.

One of My Less Favorite Days

Today is day 7 of dad being in ICU, on a respirator, with pneumonia and not much better than he was a week ago.

There seemed to be a lot of set backs today. I'll try to list what I remember.

His oxygen had previously been reduced to 50% (this is good).  However, today they had to up it to 90% (this is not so good).

His chest xray and bronchioscopy (sp?) showed that there is still a good bit of fluid and congestion in his lungs.  This should have been cleared up some by now.

They checked for blood clots in legs.  He has some.  This is not so good.

They upped his medicine helping with blood clots.

While they were doing the ultrasound to check for blood clots, he starting shaking. A lot.  Almost like he was having a seizure.  It very visibly scared the nurse doing the ultrasound.  It's never good seeing a nurse noticeably bothered.

They had to replace his catheter because his old one had issues.

They had to replace an iv line.  They had trouble doing so and had to retry 2 times.

They can't move him to do further testing/xrays/etc that they would like to do because he is in too fragile of a state.

When I bluntly asked the doctor how discouraged we should be, he evaded my question.  Previously, they have been fairly direct with my questions.

He did indicate that he suspects the lung to have some damage (not just the pneumonia) that would be the source of some of these set backs.  I am not sure if we want that to be the case or not.

Prayers are greatly appreciated, friends.

Specific prayers would be:
for a good day tomorrow
for encouraging news
for lungs to heal
for reduced congestion and fluid on lungs
for positive news
for improvement
for reduce required oxygen
for rest and encouragement for both myself and my mom

Thank you so much.

We Interrupt The (Ir)regularly Scheduled Nonsense

For something a bit more serious.  Ok, a lot more serious.

I normally post about the mundane daily ins and outs around here, but my dad has been very ill and I am having trouble consistently communicating with sweet friends and family via email and texts, so I am going to post updates here until he (hopefully and prayerfully) is better.

To catch everyone up, here's a brief rundown of what has happened:
Last Wednesday (Jan 25), my dad was throwing up in the early morning.  He blacked out while throwing up, fell and hit his head on the tile floor and got some pretty serious gashes on his noggin.  Apparently this happened at least two times, but my mom only heard that last one.  She encouraged him to go to the ER to get stitches.  He was resistant because he had a 7am dental appointment he didn't want to miss.

Around 5 am (2 hours after the fall), he finally decided that he did, indeed, need stitches.

They went to the ER and he got 24 staples in his head.

They did some xrays and ran some tests to make sure he had no internal bleeding.  While he had no internal bleeding, they found that he had a blocked intestine caused by a hernia.  This explains the vomiting.  At first it sounded like he may or may not need surgery but after further tests, they got him into surgery rather quickly.

The surgery ended up being more extensive than they initially thought it would need to be.

Because this was unexpected surgery and because his intestine was blocked, he had some food in his system that had not yet been digested.  They need to siphon out the stomach.  They had difficulty doing this.

Because of this difficulty, that stuff aspirated into his lungs.  This is bad.

Because of that, he was placed on a respirator.  This aspiration of the fluid in the lungs caused pneumonia.

Because of the respirator and the discomfort it causes, he was heavily sedated.  He is in ICU.

He has been heavily sedated since then (we are on day 7 of this).  They have been trying to gradually reduce his oxygen levels on the respirator.  They are trying to get him off of the respirator but his healing is taking much longer than expected.

He still has an usually large amount of congestion and fluids in his lungs.

The consistent status we get from the medical staff is "he is still the same and not making as much progress as we had hoped" and "we are going to let him rest today and try X tomorrow".

Today was the first day when he is not the same and seems to be getting worse.  I will update on that in another blog post.  I am hoping today was just an isolated "bad" day and that tomorrow will be better.  I would be lying, though, if I said I wasn't pretty discouraged.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated.