Tuesday April 6
Ashley's blog, as you will read, is a bit down. Warriors of the praying kind we need you! Pray on.........
Not better
We're already having a hard day.
There's no point in trying to make up points of encouragement or happy anecdotes. Dan's not really progressing much. He's still in pain, he's still exhausted, he's not motivated to get up and no matter what anyone says, he never feels like things are getting better. Sure, he could barely walk around the unit on Sunday but now he can--he's still not better. Sure his pain was 8/10 after surgery, and now only gets up to 4/10--that's not any better either.
To be frank, I sometimes don't want to get up in the morning. All that is ahead of me is forcing Dan to do things he doesn't want to do, trying to determine whether or not his pain is better/worse/new so as to tell the doctor, hoping for progress that doesn't ever happen how doctors expect, changing the linens, trying to talk Dan into getting cleaned up, trying to do the homework I have no motivation for and then putting on a happy, encouraging face for everyone else. It's exhausting and rather unchanging.
I apologize for the lack of cheerfulness or good news. This is a blog to update on how Dan is doing, and today, he's not doing great. His heart rate is back up, his energy is lower and he barely talked to McGreeky when he came in this morning. As far as the surgeon can tell, Dan isn't doing any better than yesterday and that doesn't make sense. Labs are good, incision is healing, etc. Dan should be feeling better. Alas, if you have been following this blog, you know Dan seldom feels like he is supposed to. It's frustrating to watch elderly patients cruising the halls, but see Dan just lay there. Yet, there's nothing we can do but "wait and see".
Though, he got out of bed and walked once around the unit, he just got too tired and went back to bed. So, we're back at square one for the day: wake up. Sometimes, that truly is the worst part of the day.
Prayer Requests:
* Sudden and long-lasting energy and endurance for Dan
* Resolution of pain (muscular and intestinal)
* Passing of gas--lots of it, today
* No infection or complications
* Motivation for Dan to move and want to get better
* Motivation for me to keep encouraging him and to keep doing my schoolwork
* Unmistakable improvement today
* Good news and encouragement
* Wisdom for me to know when to go home again
* Ability for Dan to be able to come home with me soon
* Our marriage
* Hope
God's Word:
2 Corinthians 1:8-11
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
Wed. April 7 #1 update
Bob and I went to see Dan and Ashley today and I think he is doing better. Still tired. Taking in fluids. Walking. Slowly moving in the right direction. Pray for wisdom for all taking care of him. Ashley plans to head back to LA on Saturday. I wish Dan could be with her. We could pray for that and should and will, but it does look doubtful at this point.
Thank you thank you thank you for praying with us.
Here is her blog from today:
Mixed Messages
Question of the day: is Dan's GI system awake, asleep or obstructed?
Since Dan passed a little bit of gas yesterday, he was allowed to have sip on some clear liquid last night. Things went down fine, but around 3 or 4 in the morning, he got a bloody nose. He proceeded to swallow some blood which made him throw up quite a bit. The nurse got nervous as it was mostly bile (too much bile in vomit means the GI system is not absorbing and passing the bile through quickly enough), called the on-call resident who put Dan back on NPO.
This morning, when Dan's team rounded, he explained about the bloody nose and that he wasn't nauseous at all otherwise. The docs agreed Dan could be back on a clear diet today, especially since his bowels were making lots of noise and letting free lots of gas. About the time the tray of clears came, Dan got another bloody nose (heparin and toradol and a dry nose is making this happen a lot). Dan also received a rather large dose of dilaudid. Between swallowing blood and his head swimming from too much med too fast, he threw up again. Great. His day nurse also felt that his vomit had too much bile in it, so she asked Dan not to eat any more until the team makes a decision. Dan insists that he is not nauseous anymore and wasn't until he received the pain med and really doesn't think the episode had anything to do with eating.
Dan's body is once again sending mixed messages. Good messages: passing lots of gas, active bowel sounds earlier, no nausea when eating. Bad messages: vomiting bile, quiet bowel sounds now, no BMs. Though we know the vomiting could be from multiple things (food, drugs, bloody nose, gag reflex), it is often assumed that food is the problem. Unfortunately, the longer it takes to find out if Dan can handle solid food, the longer he has to be here. As his stay will hit the 4-week mark on Sunday, he'd really appreciate no more hang-ups. Of course, we also want the docs to make the appropriate decisions.
Thanks to the dilaudid, Dan is sleeping like a baby. This is a nice thing as no one let us sleep last night. We have a lot of walking to do today to catch up on our slowness this morning. Hopefully, Dan will also have eating to do....without throwing up.
Prayer Requests:
* No more throwing up and no need for another NG tube
* Dan's ability to eat and tolerate the clears well today
* Wisdom for the doctors making the decisions (hopefully, quickly)
* Control and improvement of pain
* Continued healing of incision and wound
* No complications or infections (he had a fever again last night)
* Ability for Dan to come home with me very soon
* A period of peace, health and rest for both of us...very very soon
* Encouraging news and events today
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Wednesday April 7 #2 update
We just found out Dan's new wound is infected:((((((((
Oh my, what else could happen to this dear son of mine?
keep up those prayers!
love
Jamie
As Ashley writes, Dan needs a miracle.
Wound Infection #2
As if Dan didn't have enough to deal with, his wound has become infected.
It has looked a little red and angry today, but we were just watching it.
Then, he spiked a fever of 101.1 this afternoon. Finally, we got the team to
pay more attention to the incision. The intern thought they would take out a
staple or two tomorrow to let any pus drain out. The nurse and I helped to
convince the resident (his superior) that maybe that should happen today.
So, 3 staples got removed and a good deal of drainage came out of the wound.
It was deja vu as this happened with Dan's last incision--which is now a
wound that we are still dealing with.
The plan is to let the incision drain and to recheck it tomorrow. If it
doesn't look markedly better, Dan will be started on antibiotics. Hopefully,
the wound will be able to heal better this way and not need to be opened all
the way.
Dan really isn't feeling well right now. His immune system is pretty low
(WBCs=2.5) after being in the hospital for so long (TPN is causing some
problems with immunity also), so it is taking a lot out of him to fight this
infection. He's been tired and sleepy all day. He's fighting some nausea
here and there. He's still in pain. I just convinced him to give in and go
to sleep, though I don't know how much that will help him.
I'm really not sure what tomorrow will look like. The doctors were
anticipating advancing his diet, but Dan didn't really eat enough to be sure
he can tolerate the clears. As I blogged earlier, his GI system is sending
mixed messages, so that isn't helping the docs make decisions. Yet, the
resident commented tonight that it might take real food to get Dan's bowel
working again...though he cannot give a regular diet yet. A catch-22 of
sorts.
I wish we had chosen to do Cyberknife. It may not have worked, and Dan
might have needed more treatment later on. Yet, it would have been a week of
out-patient visits. I might still have a job. Dan might have been able to
finish his credential. I would have had Dan around to celebrate my final
semester of nursing school. Yes, I understand that those are all potential
outcomes and that complications could have arisen there, too. Yet, I cannot
bring myself to see this surgery as a success.
I haven't the faintest idea what to pray for now. A wound infection,
nausea, vomiting, non-improving pain...all of these things have been prayed
against, yet they have happened. Yes, God has a plan for Dan. It just hurts
to see Dan continue to suffer more and more set-backs as he tries to be in
God's will. Of course, Dan has more faith than me. Always has. I know we're
not supposed to test the Lord, but sometimes I just yearn for proof that He
actually loves Dan and is caring for him.
So many people declared that 2010 would be a year of victory for Dan. No
more cancer, a new hip, a teaching credential, a new job, etc. Instead, Dan
is stuck in a hospital bed with half as much cancer, losing his strength,
losing his immune system, losing so many things.
We need a turn-around. Dan needs to feel better in the morning. Dan needs
to be able to eat and not be nausea. Dan needs his pain to abate. Dan needs
his infection to resolve. Dan needs his immune system to bounce back.
Dan needs a miracle.
Pro 4:20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
listen closely to my words.
Pro 4:21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
Pro 4:22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to a man's whole body.
Pro 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.
Thursday morning April 8
Hard to know what is happening with Dan. A series of tests are being done today. Pray for wisdom for the doctors, strength and healing for Dan, stamina and concentration for Ashley for her course work in the coming weeks. God's love to be poured out on all.
Ashley's blog this morning:
Hunt for the Infection
Last night was a teeny bit better than the last, though Dan continued to vomit and have bloody noses. We're hoping that the nausea and throwing up is from swallowing blood and not from the food. As Dan threw up again this morning, he is weary of trying to eat for fear of throwing up again. With a 3-4 incision in the belly, throwing up is quite painful.
McGreeky came in this morning with an agenda: find what is causing Dan's fever and illness. About time. Despite the wound being slightly infected, the surgeon is concerned infection could be elsewhere being allowed to run rampant. So, Dan will be getting blood cultures, urine samples, and an abdominal x-ray. The x-ray is also to see what is causing Dan so much pain in his left side, as the docs aren't sure what it could be. Another issue emerged when McGreeky changed the new incision packing: Dan bled, quite a bit. Due to a couple of blood thinning medications, Dan isn't able to clot very quickly...this is contributing to Dan's very frequent bloody noses. The doc is taking away one med and decreasing the dose of another med, which should help things.
Today should reveal some things. Reasons for pain, reasons for fever, reasons for vomiting. God willing, today should also find Dan able to eat more and keep it down. We really don't understand why all of this is happening, but it needs to change soon. Very soon.
Selfishly, I need the docs to get things settled this week because I am leaving for school again on Saturday. I would simply hate to have Dan still this sick while I'm hundreds of miles away.
Unfortunately, I have to go back if I have any hope of graduating (which I do). Due to my clinical schedule, I won't be able to come back to see Dan for almost a couple of weeks. Accordingly, Dan and I are asking for prayer that Dan would be released from the hospital sometime next week. I wouldn't be able to be here for the release, but at least I would know he was doing well enough to get out.
This is truly a miserable situation that is just being prolonged. Pray that God moves now. That's what Dan needs more than labs or meds or doctors: he needs God to save him from this mess.
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