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Update on sick dad

Kuro

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Feb 18, 2011
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Let's see...where did we leave off? Had his WBC count gone up and he had been started back on the 2 antibiotics? Had they restarted the TPN?



The night after the procedure to put in the stent he vomited all night and began running a temperature. And he had a loose cough. A chest x-ray showed a pleural effusion. They gave him Zofran for the nausea, but his stomach still felt full, and he had no appetite.



Over the weekend they added lipids along with his TPN. I'm not sure why they hadn't done that before, since previously he had gotten both.



On Monday, his temp went up to 102, and he threw up again all night. I think it was Monday that they did another paracentesis. This time they got EIGHT liters of fluid from his abdomen! He told me that before the procedure he felt like his belly was going to explode. A culture of the fluid came back negative for infection, which is good.



Unfortunately, his belly has already begun to get bigger, but it did make his breathing easier and him just feel better in general to get rid of all that.



On Tuesday, they cultured him for the C. Diff. bowel infection again (it came back positive today), so they added Flagyl for that.



Today (Wednesday) they took Isaac to insert the feeding tube, and this time they gave him some sedation before hand, which made it much nicer for him. His spirits are good, and he went for a long walk with us this evening.



Margaret said a Dr. Cheng told him that his case of pancreatitis is worse than 80% of cases, and that there is still a long way to go before he will be well.




This is what my gram posted. jut wanted to let you know. seems like its still going to be a while b4 he is recovered.
 

Kuro

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Feb 18, 2011
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Wow, I didn't know your father is ill.

Seems to be a pretty bad illness.

I hope he gets better!



oh yeah this was b4 i came on this TS sever. He has been sick for a very long time drinking heavily for the past two years since he has lived in San Fran. He didnt even unpack his stuff when he moved in, it was all in boxes :/ On jan 8 he went into the hospital for side pains... it was acute pancreatitis. Has not left the hospital since.
 

Kuro

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Feb 18, 2011
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Oh, that is a damn long time.

yeah, i went to go visit him the end of jan for two weeks. they had him on so many drugs he was so confused :( b4 they had to restrain him b/c he would keep pullings his tubes out. its nice to see he can walk :)
 

Kuro

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Feb 18, 2011
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more info :/





I am so tired, and it's the kind of tired that sleep doesn't seem to help. And I'm frustrated at the lack of progress Isaac is experiencing, and at having to see him suffering day in and day out from nausea or pain or just not being allowed a drink of water. A recent conversation with the Coast Guard higher ups where they dropped the *D* bomb (dishonorable discharge) has done nothing to lift my or Isaac's spirits, but that will be what that will be and we have other more important things to focus on now.



There. I got that out of my system. Onward and upward.



So, they came in Tuesday evening and said he was going for another ERCP and EUS and for possible drainage for the pseudocyst on Wednesday. He became very anxious, because the ERCP was extremely uncomfortable and left him feeling horrible. They said there was some issue of the cyst or something adhering to his stomach.



His vomiting had diminished, and they started giving him Zofran regularly around the clock (I know this stuff is good, because I took it with my chemo). They thought it might have been related to an antibiotic they were giving him, so they changed it. They upped his long term insulin again to 55, are giving him additional small amounts every 4 hours, and giving him coverage amounts when his blood sugar is over a certain level.



The nurse he had Tuesday evening said he had been getting too much Lasix (the diuretic), and his electrolytes were out of whack and that could have been contributing to why he was feeling so bad, too. They gave him IV magnesium and potassium to help with that. They have also begun giving him pancreatic enzymes by mouth, hoping it will ease the burden of the pancreas and help it heal, I guess.



Yesterday (Wednesday) morning they told him they were going to do an ultrasound before the procedure. When I got to the hospital, they had done theultrasound, decided NOT to do the procedure, were going to do another paracentesis and were going to move him that afternoon BACKto the skilled nursing facility. Okey-Dokey.



So, they drained another almost 6 liters from his abdomen (remember they did 8 just last week), and that makes him feel better, even though the numbing part of the procedure is a little painful, but he doesn't feel a thing when they stick that big old long needle in his belly. But imagine walking around with 3 or 4 two liters taped to your belly, and imagine what he's going through.



They gave him some oral Ativan before they moved him, and he was seriously whacked out the rest of the evening. He was talking in his sleep -- whole conversations that actually made sense. Laughing at his own jokes, eating (he said lasagna and a sausage biscuit), had a few puffs of a cigarette -- and that wasn't the weirdest part. When Dr, Young came in, he wasn't even able to wake up enough to talk to him. He was still like this when I left at 9 last night. (I called him this morning and he seems to be back to his old self).



His feet and legs are shaking almost all the time, and sometimes his hands. It's distressing to watch and for him to experience. They believe now that it may be related to all the compazine he has been taking for nausea. Dr. Young said the Zofran may also be contributing to that as well. I hope they are able to get him off that stuff soon so that will (hopefully) stop.



Dr. Young is who cared for him when he was there before, and he seems good, so I'm happy he will continue to care for him. He said they don't plan to change anything they were doing at the hospital, meds wise, but they decided his pancreas needs a rest, so they have made him ice chips only for now.



They started a small bottle of albumin IV last evening, will continue the IV antibiotics for another 2 week round to get rid of the C. Diff -- again. He will also continue getting IV lipids, which look like they are giving him milk by IV. And of course, the tube feedings continue around the clock at about an ounce and a half an hour.



He had the evening nurse from hell last night, and I don't know that he actually got these things or not unless it happened after I left. She had other patients to take care of and could spend any more time trying to get his stuff going. She had him before when he was so sick he threw up his feeding tube, and was too busy to come when he asked for help. May need to have a little chat with the charge nurse today. Rrrrrrrrhh! Don't mess with a tired and grumpy mamma bear.



In two weeks they will rescan him to see if the pseudocyst is ready, and then MAYBE it will get drained. I'm hoping when that finally does happen, it will make him feel better
 
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