That's right. Dad was discharged from the hospital tonight! We're in shock that he made such a rapid recovery, but so grateful! The oncologist came to his room tonight and said that she saw no reason why he needed to be in the hospital. She said that he was maintaining his fluid and blood levels on his own now, so she felt that he could go home. He will still be monitored very, very closely with frequent visits to the oncology clinic; but I'm sure that he will sleep soundly tonight (without a single interruption!).
We are so grateful that Dad was responsive to the medical intervention and that the medical team at the hospital could give him what his body needed. We have never experienced the fragility of life like we did this last week, and we are so grateful that Dad was given more time on this earth!
He will continue to take vancomycin (the antibiotic) for 4 weeks, and we're hoping that his damaged colon will continue to heal.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
SUNDAY UPDATE
We're happy with Dad's continued progress. He has been feeling good, and the numbers show it! They did decide to move Dad out of the critical care unit and down to the oncology floor. We were kind of bummed, because his floor and room is so much nicer than the oncology floor, but the nurses do tend to respond to empty fluid machine beeps a lot faster on the oncology floor. Hopefully, he'll only be there for a short time.
Dad does need to get some electrolytes tonight (phosphorus, magnesium, etc.). Other than that, he's weaning himself from all of the infusions. Hooray!
Jordon had to fly back to Salt Lake City tonight, and I had to drive back to Denver this morning. We have had some great support. My friend, Amber, drove back with me so that I didn't fall asleep on the way home. It was so nice. Because she came and left her family, her family received a meal and babysitting. It's so nice how the line of help and support has worked on our family's behalf. Again, my mom mentioned how blessed she feels at this time. There have been a lot of little miracles.
My parents will be alone until Chris arrives on Wednesday, but they feel like they have things under control. What a week!
Dad does need to get some electrolytes tonight (phosphorus, magnesium, etc.). Other than that, he's weaning himself from all of the infusions. Hooray!
Jordon had to fly back to Salt Lake City tonight, and I had to drive back to Denver this morning. We have had some great support. My friend, Amber, drove back with me so that I didn't fall asleep on the way home. It was so nice. Because she came and left her family, her family received a meal and babysitting. It's so nice how the line of help and support has worked on our family's behalf. Again, my mom mentioned how blessed she feels at this time. There have been a lot of little miracles.
My parents will be alone until Chris arrives on Wednesday, but they feel like they have things under control. What a week!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
BIG LEAPS
Yesterday, Dad's progress was little by little, but now we're seeing big leaps! Dad did so well today. He walked around his room and ate like a king. We're so happy for him and his progress. He has a more consistent smile on his face, too!
Dr. Jordan, his oncologist, visited the room today and gave Dad the full low-down. She said that his infection was one of the worst that she's seen and there will be no more chemotherapy. PET scans and CAT scans in the first part of November will tell us what the chemo has done and what we can expect in the future.
Dad still has some time in the hospital, but we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. He did receive platelets, magnesium, potassium, and sodium chloride last night, but today he was down to one tube and sodium chloride. He will be on his vancomycin for about 4 weeks, which is a long time for this medicine.
Thanks for all of your good wishes, prayers, and love. They have been a tremendous help in this process. We now know what the resurrection will be like!
Dr. Jordan, his oncologist, visited the room today and gave Dad the full low-down. She said that his infection was one of the worst that she's seen and there will be no more chemotherapy. PET scans and CAT scans in the first part of November will tell us what the chemo has done and what we can expect in the future.
Dad still has some time in the hospital, but we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. He did receive platelets, magnesium, potassium, and sodium chloride last night, but today he was down to one tube and sodium chloride. He will be on his vancomycin for about 4 weeks, which is a long time for this medicine.
Thanks for all of your good wishes, prayers, and love. They have been a tremendous help in this process. We now know what the resurrection will be like!
Friday, October 7, 2011
LITTLE BY LITTLE
Dad is improving little by little. Some of his numbers improve by only a hundredth of a point at a time, but we'll take it! He is getting a constant infusion of potassium, magnesium, and sodium chloride. All of his electrolytes have been pretty out of whack, so it's still a process keeping him stable.
Dr. Wong (a seasoned infectious disease doctor) came in today and told us that the previous diagnosis was wrong (yep, that rhymes). :) He said that Dad does NOT have a fungal infection and that the pathologist who said so just wants attention (oh boy...). They immediately stopped Dad's anti-fungal meds and continued the antibiotics that fight c.diff. Dr. Wong says that the infection is c.diff and that it will take up to 6 weeks to fight it off. This has been brewing in Dad's system for about a month. We don't know when Dad might be able to come home, but it will be quite some time. They need to make sure that all of his levels are steady, consistent, and stable. We'll just take it a day at a time.
Dad was able to get up today and walk back and forth in his room. He now says he understands why the elderly have such poor balance! He is definitely weak, but he looks so much better.
He did receive platelets last night, but other than that, the transfusions are definitely at a snail's pace. Thank goodness. He's enjoying watching the baseball playoffs with Jordon and taking naps today.
Thanks again for all of the love and concern. It gives all of us strength!
Dr. Wong (a seasoned infectious disease doctor) came in today and told us that the previous diagnosis was wrong (yep, that rhymes). :) He said that Dad does NOT have a fungal infection and that the pathologist who said so just wants attention (oh boy...). They immediately stopped Dad's anti-fungal meds and continued the antibiotics that fight c.diff. Dr. Wong says that the infection is c.diff and that it will take up to 6 weeks to fight it off. This has been brewing in Dad's system for about a month. We don't know when Dad might be able to come home, but it will be quite some time. They need to make sure that all of his levels are steady, consistent, and stable. We'll just take it a day at a time.
Dad was able to get up today and walk back and forth in his room. He now says he understands why the elderly have such poor balance! He is definitely weak, but he looks so much better.
He did receive platelets last night, but other than that, the transfusions are definitely at a snail's pace. Thank goodness. He's enjoying watching the baseball playoffs with Jordon and taking naps today.
Thanks again for all of the love and concern. It gives all of us strength!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
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!
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! :)
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! :)
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
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.
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.
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