Night and Day

What a difference a day makes. This morning Glenn had a bunch of tubes pulled, including the NG tube. And in a little while his last line will be discontinued so he won't be hooked up to anything.  He got 2 more units of blood this afternoon with apparently no problem finding a match because it was ready soon after it was ordered. So far he hasn't had any allergic reaction. It is like night and day, he feels so much better. We don't know when he will be discharged but pretty sure we'll be staying here through tomorrow. After that it depends on how he tolerates food and if his blood can get to an acceptable level to release him. So I'll close on that happy note. :-)

End of the third week

I never did like roller coaster rides much. With this one, I just want to see the end of the ride and to know what to expect. But we don't get that luxury, do we. When I got up this morning I wasn't very optimistic about how the day would end. Glenn was taken to dialysis bright and early, with his platelets extremely low, (28), red blood count also very low (7.6), a little blood in his NG tube. Since his platelet count was low and he was going to have his blood line accessed, I didn't know if they would ever be able to stop his bleeding at the end of dialysis. And since it took 2 days to get a match for his last 2 blood transfusions, well.... that's what was on my mind when he left for dialysis. But he made it through dialysis fine. The "hiccups" returned with a vengeance and it is always very scary when he can't get his breath when he has several in a row. Eventually the nurse was able to get medication for it. He vomited not long after he had that medication, but it apparently got enough into his system to ease the hiccups so that they weren't so strong and he was able to get some rest. He got a unit of platelets this afternoon as well.
Since he had success last night with his passing what he needed to pass, (I'm trying to be discreet and as tasteful as possible here), the Dr. wanted to start weaning him off of the NG tube, ie disconnect it from the suction for as long as he can tolerate it without having any nausea or vomiting. That wasn't very successful earlier in the afternoon, but the past several hours have been better. If he can tolerate it without nausea the NG tube will be removed tomorrow. That's your next prayer assignment.
I was thinking back today and this hospitalization has now been longer than when he had his stem cell transplant in 2011. We've been here in the hospital for 3 weeks today.  He has probably lost nearly as much strength as he did then, as well. Maybe this week will bring much progress and we can get out of here before July 1.

A quiet day

Today was fairly quiet. Glenn didn't go to dialysis like he was supposed to. His schedule was changed since he had it yesterday, (Thursday) instead of Wednesday as he was originally scheduled. So he will go tomorrow for it. And your prayers were answered in a very slight way. So continue praying for his belly to start waking up.  His "hiccups" were treated and have stopped, (knock on wood). And this morning one of his Dr.s addressed Glenn's rash and that seems to be easing up. No one can really say for sure what caused it, but it was definitely an allergic reaction to something. The naso-gastric tube that is pumping his stomach is still in place. So over all, I am guardedly saying that he has started, ever so slightly, in the right direction. He is very weak and has lost a lot of weight, but I don't know exactly how much. When he gets discharged home he will have a lot of catching up to do to get back to the level of activity that he came in here with.

Same old same old

There has been no progress today in Glenn's recovery. And for the past few days he has had a rash that is slowly spreading over his whole body. No one seems to know what it is caused from and he is itching like crazy, as you can imagine. He does get some relief with some medicines. The "hiccups" continue intermittent with no explanation as well. It isn't really hiccups but more like a spasm of his diaphragm. Today he has had some episodes where  he has several hiccups in a row and he can't get his breath for several seconds and it is very frightening for him. At this moment he has fallen asleep with no hiccups and the itching has subsided, thanks to drugs. I just keep thinking that some day this will be only a memory and a story to tell.
The one thing that is holding up his progress is that the bowels are still asleep. Who knew we would ever be praying to pass gas! But that is your prayer assignment now, and I will definitely let you know when your prayers have been answered.

Busy Day

It has been a very busy day here. Early this morning Glenn went for the CT scan of his abdomen to try to see why nothing has moved in his intestines. The result is that he has either a blockage or the intestine has not woken up yet from surgery. As the morning went on, Glenn's abdomen became more and more distended and firm and it was making him short of breath. So he now has an NG tube, (one of those tubes in his nose down to his stomach) to drain out whatever is in there, and there was a lot there.  With his stomach pumped out the pressure was relieved. He has to keep the tube in for a couple days and hopefully his belly will wake up and start moving things along. One good thing to report is that the pain has greatly relieved since last night and he hasn't needed to use his pain pump hardly.  He was supposed to go for dialysis today but the Dr.s decided to wait until tomorrow for that.
Anne-Marie, our daughter is on her way down from N. Carolina to help in any way she can. Glenn isn't talking because of the tube down his throat. I have both of our phones on vibrate to try to keep things  quiet for him. He can't talk anyway. I am holding off visitors for the same reasons. I can't answer my phone much of the time because I am usually rubbing his feet and legs because it is comforting to him, but you can leave a message.  I am using this as my mode of communication with you all and I will try to give daily updates. Thank you for your patience with me in this as well as for your prayers and concerns. You are all wonderful!

Still hurting

Glenn hasn't made any progress today. He is still in a lot of pain and still no gas moving. The surgeon has ordered a CT scan of Glenn's abdomen for tomorrow. I'll let you know if it shows anything or nothing.
I contacted Glenn's nephrologist last night about how I was feeling. He couldn't personally take care of it but he did pass on the info. I also talked to the hospitalist about it. He assured me that the Dr.s are communicating with each other. I noticed the doctors, as they each came in on their rounds, were very compassionate and sympathetic with Glenn. They tried to reassure him that sometimes this recovery takes longer. Between that and the surgeon ordering the scan, I have since felt better about their care.

I've got nothing

 Glenn went to dialysis this morning. He has been pretty lethargic and weak. He hasn't had anything to eat other than a few clear liquids since his surgery last Tuesday, and he hasn't taken much of that. So he's too weak to walk except to get up in the chair a couple times a day. I'm thinking there needs to be pow-wow between me and all 5 of his Dr.s  taking care of him. Something needs to happen to get this man on the road to recovery because he's slowly fading away. So there's you prayer assignment for today.
Our daughter is coming down from Raleigh again on Friday to help out. Our son who lives here in town is checking on us daily now and helping wherever he can. This is probably the only communication I'll make with all of you for now so stay tuned to this station for any new up dates.