My dad came home this afternoon and got settled back in at home. He's still very sore and taking pain medicine around the clock, but I'm sure that he will sleep more comfortably at home. Thank you to all of you who prayed for him, visited, and sent well wishes!
Dad is continuing to improve! The kidney seems to be functioning okay again. His levels are back to where we would expect them to be, so we are so thankful for that! Last weekend was very scary when everyone thought his kidney had shut down. When you only have one to begin with, that is a big issue! He got up and walked for the first time on Monday, and was told to "walk all day" yesterday. My mom set her phone alarm to go off every hour so that they could take a walk around the unit. He goes a little farther and a little faster each time! The physical therapist also had him climb a set of stairs to make sure he would be safe at home. My parents' house doesn't have direct access to the inside without climbing stairs, so this is a must. He is still on oxygen, so we are working toward getting him weaned off of it. I am hopeful that today he can be without oxygen while he is just sitting in his chair or lying in bed, and then...
Dad has had several visitors, which he really enjoyed. My mom, my sister, and I get boring after a while...or else maybe he just gets tired of us telling him what to do! ;) Our newly announced Pastor Dario and his wife visited yesterday to talk and pray with our family. They are always such a support! Uncle Tom and Aunt Rosemary came shortly after to give their hugs and love. Our friend Rebecca came to help with Lucy, bring snacks, and make us laugh on an otherwise hard day. Then today, Dad's brother Ronnie and my cousin Keith came to visit, and my cousin Ben stopped by later in the afternoon. Although the grandkids weren't able to visit, we Facetimed with everybody this evening. It was the most chipper I've seen Dad since before the surgery. It was sweet. So many other people have called, texted, and sent messages for my dad. He truly appreciates every prayer and get well wish! Thank you all!
Dad is doing well enough to move back to a regular floor. His levels are getting closer to normal, his kidney is working again, and the respiratory problems are a little more bearable. He still has a ways to go, but we are happy that he's going in the right direction. I'm staying again tonight so my mom can go back and get more clothes for the rest of the week.
After concerns about his kidney functioning and fluid, the decision was made to move Dad to the icu for close monitoring. The thoracic surgeon on call this weekend has been excellent and was able to get things moving very quickly. He has a chest drain in now and a tube to remove the gas from his stomach. Both of these procedures have greatly improved his breathing and level of pain. He's not allowed to eat anything while the ng tube is in, but he has been enjoying the wet sponges in his mouth. :) Our pastor and his wife visited and dad really enjoyed seeing them. Dad has a long road ahead, and we appreciate all of your prayers.
Dad is really hurting today. He's also had some problems with his blood pressure being abnormally low. They felt that this was because of the medicine in epidural. After monitoring it for most of the day and finding that his blood pressure kept dropping, they decided to take him off the epidural. For whatever reason, they took him off of his pain pump and continuous drip at the same time! We couldn't understand why he would go from all of that medicine to just a pill every 6 hours, so he's now on a continuous drop and pain pump using a different medication that won't affect his blood pressure. There have also been some concerns about his kidney (remember, he only has one!) that they are keeping a very close eye on. They're running some tests now. My mom is staying again tonight and I will be staying tomorrow night. My sister will be there during the daytime. Between the 3 of us, we are trying to make sure someone is with him 2...
We are with Dad now and he is looking pretty good. He is in some pain, but they are working on trying to get that managed. It doesn't seem that his epidural is working too well. He just got his delicious dinner of chicken broth, gelatin, and apple juice delivered. I don't know why he hasn't gobbled it down yet! ;) Thank you very much for all of your prayers today. Now onto recovery!
The doctor just came out to say he was finished. Dad is waking up and then he will go to recovery. We won't see him until he is sent to a room. The surgery went well. He put the stomach back where it was supposed to be, fixed up the diaphragm, and added a wrap to the top of the stomach/bottom of the esophagus (called a fundoplication) to reduce the amount of reflux. Then he moved the two ribs back to where they are supposed to be...there was a sizable gap of about a handwidth in between two of his ribs! That's all now fixed up and the doctor thinks he should make a full recovery. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Dad will have an epidural tonight and tomorrow to keep him comfortable. Then he will have to start getting up and walking! His girls are going to keep him in line! :). He will have to be on a soft diet for a while until the fundoplication site heals. We look forward to seeing him! Thank you all for your prayers du...
The OR just called. The surgeon is done with the hernia and put the mesh piece in. Now they are moving on to the ribs. He will be in surgery for about another 2 hours. Thanks for your prayers!
We just got a call from the OR that everything is going fine. Unfortunately, they didn't give us anymore details than that. I'll let you know when we hear more.
Dad was just taken back to surgery. He will have an epidural placed before going off to sleep to help with pain management for the next 24 hours or so. We should get regular updates.
Dad is in pre-op right now. We are waiting to meet with anesthesia, but we have already seen the surgeon. The surgery is scheduled for 8:30. I will update as regularly as I can throughout the surgery so that everyone is kept in the loop.
It all started with a cough... Back in November, my dad had a bad cough. This isn't unusual, since he has asthma and a history of bronchitis and respiratory issues. It just kept getting worse and worse, with a lot of pain. The chest pain got so bad that he went to Urgent Care, and then they sent him to the ER by ambulance. He ended up being in the hospital for about a week while they tried to figure out what the problem was. Turns out, he coughed so much that he tore ligaments from his ribs and chest wall. It was extremely painful and caused terrible bruising. Fast forward two months, and he is still in a ton of pain! Now, CTs are showing that his stomach has actually herniated in a space in between two of his ribs, which were separated because of the tear. His diaphragm is also not where it should be. There's more to it, but that's as much as I can state with confidence. I'm sure I'd get other information wrong! Tomorrow...
Happy Birthday to my awesome husband! Welcome to your late 30s! :) In all seriousness, I am blessed by this man. He is a fabulous husband and father. Thank you for loving us!!
Cancer survivor, generous, handyman, veteran, computer wiz, Paw-Paw, camper, lover of sweets, patriotic, navigator, Master Gardener, Boxer lover But most of all, he's my dad. Love you, Dad!! You're the BEST!!!