More Progress

What a difference a day can make! Dad is feeling so much better. Jordon thinks he's magical! :) I'll attribute it to prayers and medical intervention, though! Dad has eaten a lot more today, and his blood counts and all other counts are looking better. He has color in his face and is awake much more. What a big sigh of relief! He went from being critically ill to stable in 3 days. We are so grateful!

His oncologist wants him to start trying to walk around in his room and sit in a chair tomorrow. She doesn't want him to get too weak (he's down to 160 pounds!). His platelets are still low, but because his bleeding is under control, they don't want to give him any more. We learned today that too many platelet transfusions can cause another set of problems, so we're glad that we don't need to worry about that for now.

We do know that it is a fungal infection in his colon, which is very rare. We don't know the details of the particular infection, but enough to know that he needs a strong anti-fungal medication. His oncologist said that the pathologists were "excited" about his case because it was so unique. The oncologist said that it's never a good sign when pathologists get excited about something! :) Thankfully, he seems to be responding to his anti-fungal medication and antibiotics.

We're feeling soooo relieved. Mom was comfortable enough to leave at 6:45 tonight to go make some beef stew. Dad has been asking about beef stew a lot. She'll get some sleep, too, and Jordon and I can be with Dad. Jordon will leave later tonight, and I'll be here again overnight.

We have really appreciated all of the messages, prayers, and concern. It is very comforting to know how much Dad is loved!

STILL WAITING

We still don't have the pathology report back from Dad's colon biopsy, but he does seem to be doing a little better this morning. He didn't need as much intervetion last night, so he got a lot of good sleep. I think that has made a big difference. He woke up at 6:00 this morning and said that he didn't have that groggy, still tired feeling like he usually does. He was able to eat some yogurt and granola, too.

His vitals all seem to be more stable and he didn't need any blood or platelets last night. The infectious disease doctor took him off of some antibiotics and changed to others that should work better against the c.diff infection. Hopefully, once these medications kick in, we'll start to see more and more progress.

He does look a little bit jaundiced, but the nurse said that it's just the chemotherapy at work and that he should be able to recover from that. We know from experience that the liver is an amzing organ!

Anyway, we're feeling more optimistic this morning and hoping to get answers regarding his biopsy soon! Jordon flew in this morning and is with mom at the hospital. I'm home now, heading to bed after my graveyard shift. We'll update as soon as we find out anything more, but I think that some prayers might be kicking in now! :)

A Few Updates

They have discovered that Dad has a fungus infection in his colon and they have him on a special anti-fungal medication, but they still don't know what other infection is involved. The pathology report from the biopsy still isn't back. Dad is sedated quite a bit and on a higher dose of anti-nausea medication.

Jordon flies in tomorrow and will be here until Sunday. Brooke flies in Saturday and will be here until Wednesday the 12th. Chris flies in Wednesday the 12th and will be here until Sunday the 16th, and I fly back Tuesday morning the 18th and will be here until Wednesday night. We'll see where Dad is at after a week, and we'll then figure out what we need to do after the 20th.

More Details

Now that I'm at a keyboard, I can type more. Dad had his colonoscopy yesterday at about 10:00 a.m. The doctors immediately discovered ulcers all over in his colon. This was the obvious culprit to Dad's bleeding and they were able to cauterize many of them. Because there were so many, they couldn't get them all. Hence, Dad is still bleeding, but not as heavily. He has received 7 units of blood, 2 or 3 units of platelets, and I believe 1 unit of plasma since he got into the hospital on Monday morning. For perspective, we only have about 15 units of blood in our system at a time. Rough times, for sure!

The doctors believe that the ulcers are being caused by either a viral infection called cytomegalovirus or a bacterial infection called c.diff (a shortened version of a long name). Dad already has c.diff, but they just don't know if that's what's causing the ulcers, too. They sent a biopsy from the colonoscopy to the pathology lab, and it should take about 3 days to get the results. In the meantime, they are keeping Dad stabilized with electrolytes, blood cells, antibiotics (for the c.diff and to prevent other infections), and zofran (for nausea).

As for Dad's spirits - He's very, very subdued and doesn't say much. He's totally conscious and aware of everything, but just not in a conversational kind of mood (I'm sure nobody would be). He's trying to rest, but it's tough when you're being poked every hour and have to get up every hour to pass blood. The hospital staff is doing a pretty good job of staying on top of his tests and medications. He had an awesome nurse the past two nights. That was a blessing, for sure!

Mom was able to go home last night and get some rest. I took the graveyard shift, and I'm now home getting ready for bed. :) Dad is in good hands in the Intermediary ICU, and we're hopeful that once they know exactly what's causing the ulcers, they'll be right on it. As for now, we're glad that he's on 24-hour surveillance and that he's stabilized. He can pull through this! I'll post something as soon as we know what is causing his ulcers.

ulcers

They performed a colonoscopy this morning and found lots of ulcers in his transverse colon.still waiting to find the cause and solution. It could take a few days to find out. We're hanging in there. He has had 5 units of blood and 2 units of platelets.

STILL TRYING TO FIGURE THINGS OUT

Dad is spending the night in the hospital. He's still bleeding a lot and they're infusing his 3rd unit of blood right now. They are also prepping Dad to get a colonoscopy in the morning (I can't believe he has to drink all of that stuff right now...). He is definitely weak and they're not even allowing him to walk to the bathroom. Mom and Dad were very grateful to get a visit from some members of their old ward (Eastridge) and their new ward (Ladera) for a blessing. Mom said that the men offered a beautiful blessing that gave them a lot of comfort.

I'm going to drive down first thing in the morning and stay until Sunday. Brooklyn is going to try and come out on Saturday night.

We still don't have a clue why Dad is bleeding or where it is coming from, so we'll be very anxious to get the colonoscopy and get some answers.

Mom says that she can literally feel peoples' prayers, so thank you so much for that. We're definitely feeling fragile right now.

HOSPITAL PART ?

Dad is in the hospital this morning. He woke up at 5:30 this morning and passed a lot of blood. He was weak over the weekend, but he was trying to make it until his 9:30 appointment with the oncologist today. Mom called the onocologist's office right after Dad passed blood, and they immediately sent him to the ER. Dad is in the ER right now and all of his blood, white blood cell, and blood pressure numbers are very, very low. They are giving him a blood and fluid transfusion right now, and they're waiting to see what to do once he's a little more stabilized. They want to give him a colonoscopy, but they aren't supposed to do them when a patient is on antibiotics. We'll wait and see what they decide to do with that. They might send him up to the ICU soon, but we just don't know a whole lot right now. He has met with a cardiologist and many other specialists. Lucky enough, a good friend of ours from church is an ER doctor (Jim Wilkie), and he's working today, so we're grateful that he's there.

We need lots of prayers right now, that's for sure.