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.