Ohhh MAN, it feels like forever since I have blogged. My apologies, crazy week with work and plans and pops and well, everything.
But, as my Uncle Bud has said before...."No news is typically good news".
He has been progressing wonderfully. His smile has come back, and even a chuckle here and there. He is so anxious to get up and walk, my Mom and Brad found him trying to get out of bed two different nights. He apparently heard something outside. We use this metal basket beside his bed as something to hold misc. items, including a bell that he can ring if we are asleep and he needs one of us. My Mom said he had this basket high up in the air, as he was trying to get out of bed. Apparently he was going to club this "burglar" with a metal basket. :)
I tried lifting this thing myself, and it's not the heaviest item in the world, but it IS a bit precarious. I was impressed. Aside from the IV's that we will be giving him for another couple weeks, he is back to where we left off, and then some. The doctors say there will be a scar in his lungs after this episode, likely forever. It was a pretty bad case. The speech therapist has requested another swallow test in about 4-6 weeks, so we have been "working out" with words and exercises to strengthen this area.
My nights down there used to consist of coming over after work, having dinner, watching the news, and putting him to bed, all while catering to whatever needs may come up of course.
NOW my nights consist of walking in the door after work, and getting right to work with an eager patient. Walking, standing, talking, whatever....he doesn't waste a single moment, and I have to beg him to allow me some time to eat. HA! I love this enthusiasm, though it is tiring...on all of us.
Some close friends of mine put together a sweet gift for my Mom recently, for a visit to Gene Juarez with a gift card and an undisclosed amount. I'm hoping she uses this for some back therapy, as she has been aching more and more lately....DESPITE my requests for her to start practicing proper bending techniques!!! AHEM...MOM!!! (I know she is reading this...hehe)
Anyway, thank you thank you thank you to those involved in that. Very sweet!!!
Have a great weekend everyone, and keep the comments comin! I read them all to him.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Improvements!
Despite having IV's, and plugged lines, and mild diarrhea, and all the other post pneumonia complications, he had an awesome day yesterday. I would go so far as to say he was about 90% back to the way he was prior to the pneumonia. His strength is growing, his speech is coming back, his posture and general poise is strengthening. You would not know he spent the first two weeks of the month in treatment for a severe case of pneumonia with a collapsed lung. Ofcourse, yesterday may have just been a very good day, but I am extremely please to see his recovery from this episode. He is overanxious even to get back to his physical therapy, often interrupting our dinner with a request to stand up out of his chair. Again, I hate to jump the gun and say he is back to where we left off. I am just writing regarding yesterday's events. We'll see what his condition is this evening, but from what I can see....he is extremely anxious to continue his training. The doctors told us it would be months before he would see his strength come back from the pneumonia, which is true...however, it would seem that he may have been sleeping when they told us that part. :)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Home again...at last
Thank you all to these comments I am seeing, for the love, and for the words of encouragement. This is my first night with him since he has come home, and I'm not sure what I was expecting. He is as attentive as he has always been, but he is without his speech, and mobility. Mom has him hooked to an IV for precautions, and he has a bit of a runny nose but that is about all there is to report.
We have a long road ahead of us, but when I asked him how he felt tonight...he showed me his fist and acted as if he was flexing his arm. :)
Thank you all again for your prayers and positive thoughts. More to come in the next day or two.
We have a long road ahead of us, but when I asked him how he felt tonight...he showed me his fist and acted as if he was flexing his arm. :)
Thank you all again for your prayers and positive thoughts. More to come in the next day or two.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Post Surgery
So the surgery took place about 6pm last night. We took him down to surgery, and I continue to be impressed with the interiors of this hospital. Very warm and inviting.
Anyway, we took him downstairs, and you could see in his eyes he was terrified. He even started crying. Which got me crying, my mom crying, even one of the nurses.
They were drawing on his chest of where they were going to insert these tubes, and it was very busy with people running all around him....I can't blame him for being worried, since we woke him out of a dead sleep.
From this surgical prep room, where we sat with him while they ran all their tests and asked a bunch of questions, they took him into surgery finally. As they rolled his bed out, he gripped my hand HARD....and would not let go. I could not go where they were taking him, so I had to pry my hand loose. Very hard to do emotionally.
We went to the waiting room which, again....Starbucks has the same interior designer I think...lol...and about an hour later the doc came in to let us know the results.
One of his lungs had collapsed prior to surgery, which they believe they have partially restored. His saturation levels jumped from 90 to 98 almost immediately after surgery, so that is a great sign. They took him to a recovery room, and in the meantime, I decided to run get a workout in to clear my head.
When I returned, he was in his new private room....this room has ALL the bells and whistles....truly awesome. He has his own little gadget that he can press in case he feels any pain. At the press of a button, he gets a small dose of pain killer.
It's still a guessing game as to how he will recover from all of this, but I saw the tube coming out of his chest...actually there are two small tubes feeding one big tube (about 1/2" in diameter), and I could see the fluid coming out. It's somewhat pinkish in color...and yes, there was a lot of it.
He acknowledged me with a pound, had us all smiling again...and went back to sleep. He tried to talk, but is still too weak...and it came out as a moan. I will likely spend the night with him in his room tonight.
Thank you all again for the love and support, I whisper in his ear every night who is leaving comments and what they are saying.
Anyway, we took him downstairs, and you could see in his eyes he was terrified. He even started crying. Which got me crying, my mom crying, even one of the nurses.
They were drawing on his chest of where they were going to insert these tubes, and it was very busy with people running all around him....I can't blame him for being worried, since we woke him out of a dead sleep.
From this surgical prep room, where we sat with him while they ran all their tests and asked a bunch of questions, they took him into surgery finally. As they rolled his bed out, he gripped my hand HARD....and would not let go. I could not go where they were taking him, so I had to pry my hand loose. Very hard to do emotionally.
We went to the waiting room which, again....Starbucks has the same interior designer I think...lol...and about an hour later the doc came in to let us know the results.
One of his lungs had collapsed prior to surgery, which they believe they have partially restored. His saturation levels jumped from 90 to 98 almost immediately after surgery, so that is a great sign. They took him to a recovery room, and in the meantime, I decided to run get a workout in to clear my head.
When I returned, he was in his new private room....this room has ALL the bells and whistles....truly awesome. He has his own little gadget that he can press in case he feels any pain. At the press of a button, he gets a small dose of pain killer.
It's still a guessing game as to how he will recover from all of this, but I saw the tube coming out of his chest...actually there are two small tubes feeding one big tube (about 1/2" in diameter), and I could see the fluid coming out. It's somewhat pinkish in color...and yes, there was a lot of it.
He acknowledged me with a pound, had us all smiling again...and went back to sleep. He tried to talk, but is still too weak...and it came out as a moan. I will likely spend the night with him in his room tonight.
Thank you all again for the love and support, I whisper in his ear every night who is leaving comments and what they are saying.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Surgery
Well, they drained about 70 cc's of liquid from his pleuria....which is not much, and surprisingly, he was showing signs of improvement. It was obvious his breathing had gotten better, but his temperature is still fluctuating. The time came to make the decision to surgically install a chest tube to drain the remaining liquids. From what we are being told, and have heard...this can be rather painful. He agreed to have it done, and I am being told he is going in as I am writing this.
Should this procedure be a success, he could be home as early as this weekend, albeit with an additional tube coming out of him to go with the feeding tube, and oxygen tubes. The problem is, is that unless he learns to swallow efficiently in the near future, the doctors claim it's only a matter of time before another case of pneumonia sets in.
Thank you all for your thoughts and kindness this week....it's been the hardest week since this started. I read all your comments to my Dad, and he is trying to respond...but simple words are a great deal of energy right now, and we typically deter him from using this precious energy.
Should this procedure be a success, he could be home as early as this weekend, albeit with an additional tube coming out of him to go with the feeding tube, and oxygen tubes. The problem is, is that unless he learns to swallow efficiently in the near future, the doctors claim it's only a matter of time before another case of pneumonia sets in.
Thank you all for your thoughts and kindness this week....it's been the hardest week since this started. I read all your comments to my Dad, and he is trying to respond...but simple words are a great deal of energy right now, and we typically deter him from using this precious energy.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
updates
Regrettably, I feel I need to get back to more frequent updates, as his condition is day to day....once again.
He has developed an inflammation of his pleura, the double membrane that wraps our lungs and acts as a lubricant for the lungs to smoothly inhale and exhale. In his case, he has a pleural effusion, which is when excess fluid seeps into the pleura and adds pressure to the lungs making it more difficult to breath. The doctors are going to attempt to drain some of this fluid by injecting a needle into this area.
He has worked so hard only to come to this. This is really upsetting and difficult for all of us. He squeezes my hand to let me know he is still in the fight.
He has developed an inflammation of his pleura, the double membrane that wraps our lungs and acts as a lubricant for the lungs to smoothly inhale and exhale. In his case, he has a pleural effusion, which is when excess fluid seeps into the pleura and adds pressure to the lungs making it more difficult to breath. The doctors are going to attempt to drain some of this fluid by injecting a needle into this area.
He has worked so hard only to come to this. This is really upsetting and difficult for all of us. He squeezes my hand to let me know he is still in the fight.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
A step in the wrong direction.
I've lost count of days, but due to recent complications, I could almost start a new post under Day 14....because that's where we are again.
As many of you know who have been keeping up on events, my Dad's speech therapist OK'd him to have small amounts of food via the mouth, and of those items...only well blended consistencies.
I found this surprising at the time, being that he failed his first swallow test, but hey...she's the professional, right? When a physician gives you the green light, you trust them...otherwise, why are you paying them for their services?
My Dad has developed a "massive case of Aspiratory Pneumonia". He has been in the hospital since the first of this new year. A new year that I had hoped would have so much more promise than the last. That day started off wonderfully, as I spent the morning with him, then the afternoon with a special friend. Only moments after dropping off this friend, my brother called me and told me I better rush home, as we have to get him to the ER.
I remember he was a little weak that morning, and asked to lay down. Typically, we do not lay him down during the day, or he will not sleep at night, but my Mom and I agreed that a little nap wouldn't hurt. I put him to bed, and off I went to pick up my friend. What a difference a few hours made. By the time I had returned, it was clear that something was very, very wrong.
I have spent the remainder of my weekend in his room, as has my brothers and Mom. It is a much different atmosphere than before...not as much sadness, as there is patience. He sleeps for the most part, but opened his eyes briefly for me last night...and if I didn't know any better, I would say nothing looked wrong. What is going on inside his lungs speaks a completely different tale, unfortunately.
For those that do not know, Aspitory Pneumonia happens when a liquid or object is inhaled into the lungs. This can be anything from saliva to food or drink. Once in your lungs these things can cause blockage, which will in turn cause swelling, and an infection known as Bacterial Pneumonia, which is what they are saying he has developed.
It goes without saying the seriousness of this development.
I ask that you keep your calls to my Mom to a minimum, and visits only upon request. He is in great care, in one of the nicest facilities that I think I have ever been in, with extemely cooperative nurses and staff.
As many of you know who have been keeping up on events, my Dad's speech therapist OK'd him to have small amounts of food via the mouth, and of those items...only well blended consistencies.
I found this surprising at the time, being that he failed his first swallow test, but hey...she's the professional, right? When a physician gives you the green light, you trust them...otherwise, why are you paying them for their services?
My Dad has developed a "massive case of Aspiratory Pneumonia". He has been in the hospital since the first of this new year. A new year that I had hoped would have so much more promise than the last. That day started off wonderfully, as I spent the morning with him, then the afternoon with a special friend. Only moments after dropping off this friend, my brother called me and told me I better rush home, as we have to get him to the ER.
I remember he was a little weak that morning, and asked to lay down. Typically, we do not lay him down during the day, or he will not sleep at night, but my Mom and I agreed that a little nap wouldn't hurt. I put him to bed, and off I went to pick up my friend. What a difference a few hours made. By the time I had returned, it was clear that something was very, very wrong.
I have spent the remainder of my weekend in his room, as has my brothers and Mom. It is a much different atmosphere than before...not as much sadness, as there is patience. He sleeps for the most part, but opened his eyes briefly for me last night...and if I didn't know any better, I would say nothing looked wrong. What is going on inside his lungs speaks a completely different tale, unfortunately.
For those that do not know, Aspitory Pneumonia happens when a liquid or object is inhaled into the lungs. This can be anything from saliva to food or drink. Once in your lungs these things can cause blockage, which will in turn cause swelling, and an infection known as Bacterial Pneumonia, which is what they are saying he has developed.
It goes without saying the seriousness of this development.
I ask that you keep your calls to my Mom to a minimum, and visits only upon request. He is in great care, in one of the nicest facilities that I think I have ever been in, with extemely cooperative nurses and staff.
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