Why is it that the days you feel your worst are the same days your to do list is a mile long? I have a lot to do to get ready for my view camera class tomorrow. I know I will get it done, but it is going to take a bit longer than usual with this cold. Deep breaths...I will get it all done!!
Until today, we had not been hit by one of the cold & flu season bugs. I. am. getting. sick. UGH!!
There have been a lot of strange stories in our news lately and one of them has been that of the measles. There have been four confirmed and three probable cases of measles in recent days. Today brings the news that there is now a confirmed case of rubella (German measles). Many communities are holding special immunization clinics so those who would like to receive the MMR immunization may do so.
I know immunizations are a controversial topic, but with many parents choosing not to immunize their children I can't help but wonder if stories like these are just beginning.
I think Dad is finally on the upswing and not taking those steps backwards. He will need to go to an inpatient physical therapy program. It is at a different hospital that is a bit of a trek from all our houses. He will be moved either tomorrow or Wednesday. The hold up is he has developed an atrial flutter. Right now we are all hoping it will go into a regular rhythm on it's own today. If not, tomorrow he will have a procedure to try to get it there.
Dad's still walking with the walker, but getting so much stronger. The feeding tube was taken out Saturday morning. He is showering and eating on his own. All big steps in the right direction!
Dad continues to take small steps in the right direction, but on Saturday morning he took what I would call a big step. The breathing tube was removed! Thank the Lord!
He is extremely weak from being sedated and on the ventilator for 12 days. He is still fighting an infection of some sort even though all cultures continue to be negative.
It is so good to hear him joke, tell the same story for the hundredth time, and say his signature filler phrase of "ya know"!
He still has a long way to go before we can stop praying for his complete recovery, but the prayers are certainly working! I thank you all for your support, thoughts, and prayers.
Things are still going REALLY slow. Dad is still sedated & on the ventilator. He developed abdominal bleeding and spiked a 103.5 temp Monday morning. All cultures have come back negative to this point. A full body CT was done, and it did show a little something in the stomach, but it was caught early and is being treated conservatively. It is possible it was caused by tube feeding. The bleeding slowed considerably by Monday evening and has now stopped. He continues to battle the fever. It goes up & down, but just won't go away.
Today the respiratory therapist did some breathing tests today to see if Dad is ready to be weaned from the ventilator. At this point he is only handling 25-30 minutes before he is taking too many breaths per minute. There is a very real possibility he will be having a tracheostomy. I know this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I would much rather have him off the ventilator.
I have been at the hospital nearly all day every day since after my dad went into surgery last Monday. Today was the first time I have left and not returned for an evening visit. While Dad is constantly on my mind, it feels good to be at home and not sitting at the hospital. I am so tired that I think I might be in bed by 8:00 tonight.
I thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers!
It has definitely been a roller coaster week!
This is going to be a long haul. My dad is (better become was) a smoker. The heart attack he had on Monday was major. The artery that was supplying blood to 80% of his heart was completely blocked. While having a cath they dissected the wall of the artery causing major bleeding. Even a slightly larger tear in the wall and he would have bled to death. There weren't any surgeons available to perform my dad's surgery until they pulled one out of a non-emergency surgery FOUR hours after he got out of the cath lab. That whole time he was still having a heart attack. As you probably know, surgery after being pumped full of blood thinners is risky, but it was necessary to repair the damage from the cath and to do a double bypass.
Tuesday brought a lot of bleeding. It was expected because of the circumstances. Before we left that night he was doing SO well that his doctors and nurses were pretty confident they would be able to take out the ventilator the next day.
About 1:00 Wednesday morning he took a turn for the worse. His blood was not oxygenating like it should, weight was up 34 lbs from pre-surgery weight and lungs were filled with fluid. He was given a paralytic, sedated even even further, and all breathing was done by the ventilator. It was thought he may have developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). (I know enough of what it is now, but haven't googled it because I don't want to read horror stories). My SIL's (a cardiac ICU nurse) reaction when she heard those words was enough for me. It is treatable, but can be fatal. It was the last thing she wanted to hear mentioned.
Yesterday was a better day. Dad was taken off the paralytic, but is still sedated and on the ventilator. He is doing a little over 50% of his breathing. His oxygenation numbers were good, but it still isn't clear if he has ARDS. One of the chest drainage tubes were removed. There were small steps in the right direction yesterday. He isn't completely out of the woods yet, but at least we're going in the right direction.
Please continue to keep our family, especially Dad, in your thoughts and prayers.
The procedure my dad had this morning was to see if angioplasty would take care of a blockage in the Circumflex artery (think that was the name my brother said the doctor used). While trying to clear the blockage they broke through the wall. It as too risky to try again so he needs bypass. It will be 2-4 depending on what they find once they open him up.
He went into surgery around 3:00 PM central. It is expected to last 3-4 hours. Bob is on his way home from work, and we will head to the hospital shortly after he gets home.
I got a call this morning that my dad had a heart attack while he was at work. He is going into surgery now. I will update you guys as soon as I know anything further. Thank you for your thoughts & prayers!
Sounds like we may be getting our first frost of the season and WAY too early if you ask me. Being this close to Lake Michigan we don't usually see our first frost until late October or early November. I want fall; not summer straight into winter...lol!!
Over the weekend I kept feeling like I was coming down with something. Well, I was right! I have some sort of cold type bug. It took full hold Monday evening and has made me pretty miserable the last two days. Today it has moved to my sinuses and given me a whoppin' sinus headache. If it doesn't let up some tomorrow, I will be visiting my doctor so it doesn't turn into one of my tough to kick sinus infections.
Off to eat some soup & rest, rest, rest! :)
