Monday night

Here are the last 2 blogs from Dan the Man himself! So you will catch up on the goings on around here. Even though he is home, it is a busy time, but we are all so glad he is here and not in the hospital anymore!!! Hallelujah. We praise the Lord for His goodness to us, every day, all the time.

Let those who delight in my righteousness
shout for joy and be glad
and say evermore,
“Great is the Lord,
who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
and of your praise all the day long.
Psalm 35;27-28


monday, february 8, 2010

How did I start blogging this frequently?
I'm going to blame the wife. She started this blog, knowing full-well that I didn't want to blog every day. Then she used it as a way for people to follow me through my epic journey through the hospital, and then she bats her eyes at me and says, 'can you blog tonight?' and I say 'fine.'

So today started pretty poorly. I threw up a couple times because my stomach is weaker and my gag reflex goes off more than I'd like. And the horrid part is, the first time I actually hit Ashley with some of it. She's a trooper, though. She cleaned up in spite of her being really tired from nights that don't contain 100% sleep. She's amazing. Anyway, my mom, Ashley, and I went to Stanford for a follow-up with McGreeky (she also made this silly name based on *gag* Grey's Anatomy) (I'm ok, by the way--not throwing up). Not much news there, except he said that he wants me to go to radiology on Friday so they can inject some contrast into my drains, take an X-ray, and see from where the drains are receiving their fluid (the pancreas itself or a separate fluid collection). Then my next appointment (next Tuesday), he wants to pull out the drains about an inch (I believe depending on the results of the radiology thing).
Speaking of the drains, one had been spouting out way too much fluid, while the other was quite tame. This morning when we emptied them, the spouter had dropped down almost to the level of the tame one! As of right now, they are still both pretty quiet. This is a good sign. I like good signs.
It's weird to be cold more than I am used to. We took Ashley to the airport today so she could attend some more classes (another reason I am blogging--probably the most significant one). When I got out, I forgot to have my sweatshirt on (I was not cold in the car and it wasn't that cold when we left), and all of a sudden, I felt like a shivering chihuahua. Ridiculous. I want my drains to dry up so I can eat again so I can put on weight so I won't be a shivering chihuahua. Also to help my skin not be so dry because I am slightly dehydrated.
I press on. We press on. This will not be forever. It sucks right now. But we're walking with God through it, and He won't abandon us.

Pray for
DRAIN STOPPAGE
ability to not throw up
rest for Ash
rest for me
wisdom of the doctors
physical stability so I can return to SoCal

sunday, february 7, 2010

Super Sunday
Not as high-scoring as everyone thought, but I do remember that the Colts' last Super Bowl win was won on defense, not offense. This time, the game was won by New Orleans by not their offense, not their defense, not their special teams, but by the coaching staff. If you're going to beat the Colts, here's what you do: don't give Peyton Manning the ball. In the 2nd quarter, the Colts ran only 6 plays, and 3 of them were conservative runs to avoid a safety or turnover deep in their own end. Then, at the beginning of the half, the Saints surprisingly onside kicked it and got it, once again, not giving Manning the ball. Sure, it really helped that they picked off a pass in the 4th quarter and ran it back for a TD, but that was not a game-ender. Yes, I wanted the Colts, but I'm not too disappointed with the results; the Saints earned it and deserved it. Anyway, it was a good game, in spite of mostly disappointing commercials and a really annoying Saints fan who felt it necessary to bring a tambourine to the game and bang it before every Colts play. Oh, and I hate CBS. Stands for Creativity's Been Sapped. And the Who put on a show that was awesome at some parts and sloppy at others. It may be time to put some youth back on stage for the halftime show.
So- my drains might be going back down? It's hard to tell. They're more than I'd like, to be sure. I'd love so much to be able to eat. This was the first time in a while where I didn't go to a proper Super Bowl party, but I don't think I would have really liked being around all that food without being able to eat it. I'm getting really tired of being hooked up to things all the time. I'm glad to be out of the hospital, but I'm still frustrated being tied down to my wound vac and my TPN. I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow at Stanford; he had mentioned before that he might pull out the drains, which might be helpful to slow them down (because they may be sucking more than catching). Ashley unfortunately leaves tomorrow evening to return Thursday morning. I will miss her. She's been super helpful and she's a little piece of real home. But nursing school calls. She's going to be an amazing nurse. She already is; just missing her license. I'm a little tired. Sleep comes easier here but it still doesn't come easy.

Pray for:
Drain Stoppage! Now!
Good doctor visit
Safe travels to LA for Ash
Wound healing