Dad - Day 2

Well, Ryan just came and picked the munchkin up, so I figured it would be a good time for an update.

Day 2 has not been much different than Day 1, thus far. I stayed here at the hospital last night until 11ish and then headed home. I was exhausted since I had only a few hours of sleep, so I figured I would go to bed and get up early to come back and chat with the doctor.

My plan didn't work out so well. Delainey woke up at about 7:30 and I put her in bed with me and fell back asleep until 9:30. We made it to the hospital at about 11, which ended up working out because the doctor came in about a half hour after we got here.

Although he is still in a lot of pain, he must have gotten some sleep last night, because he thinks that the same nurse has been taking care of him the whole time. He isn't confused or anything, but he has lost track of time. He has the same day shift nurse back, but last night he had another nurse.

So far his labs have all been normal. No sign of infection at this time. The final cultures will be back tomorrow but so far, so good. His white blood cell count must have been high from stress and maybe his regular medications. The CAT scan was also good. It showed obvious changes due to his COPD/smoking, but we expected that. They also found a few pneumoceles, which are like little cysts/weak bubbles in the lung. Most likely one of these popped and started this whole problem. Having more increases his chances, of course, and the first 6 months is the mostly likely period of having another issue. If it does happen again, they may have to be more invasive.

The only thing dad can do to prevent it is to stop smoking completely. The doctor told him this, but he was sleepy, so I repeated the conversation to him again. I told him that if he kept smoking that this could easily happen again and he said "it's not going to happen again". He wasn't saying it like he was invisible, but more like he wasn't going to let it happen. The doctor had suggested I throw out his cigarettes while he is in the hospital. Well.....you all know dad and I didn't want him to murder me when he got home, so I told him that and asked if he wanted me to and he said no, he will do it when he gets home. I think that he may get more out of it if he does it himself. And if he lights up again, I am sending him to live with one of you!!!!

The doctor also decided to downgrade his status to a step-down status, but will keep him physically in ICU as long as they have the room for him. His vital signs have been much better and they also decreased his chest tube to a less invasive setting (water seal for my nurses). He lasted a few hours, maybe, but then let out a big cough and went into distress. Most likely his lung collapsed again. They had to put him back to suction before they got the xray, so we don't have proof, but everything points to that and he is doing much better now. A little discouraging, but he just isn't ready yet.

They gave him some extra pain medicine during that episode, so at the moment, he is completely out....which is good. He needs to start moving around more, but he is very afraid. The pain is so bad that he thinks he is going to hurt himself more if he coughs, moves, deep breathes... We have explained that he will end up with pneumonia, but he is still scared. I am hoping the new pain medication regime will make him more comfortable and allow him to feel better about moving.

He is also afraid to eat. He said he got congested last night after eating a pop tart, which made him cough, so he is afraid to eat. I tried to explain it was probably the sugar, and a "real" meal will probably been fine. I finally had him convinced and had ordered a tray for him. Of course, this whole thing happened right when the tray arrived, and he didn't eat. I honestly think he may not remember this episode because of the drugs, so I will try again to order him food when he is more awake. If I leave here at a decent hour tonight, I will probably go home and cook up a few things for him, too. He needs his protein to heal, so I will see what I can do. The menu, although good for the rest of us, doesn't have much that appeals to him.

Well, that is pretty much it! As long as things stay calm, I will update again tomorrow. Thank you again for all of the support and well wishes! They mean the world to us! Love you all!

An update on Dad...

Well, I know that some of you have heard, but I know there are many that have not. I just wanted to give you all an update on dad.

As most of you know, dad has pretty much been sick since he and mom arrived in mid-March. He has had no energy, a horrible cough and has generally been feeling pretty bad. He has his good days, but has definitely not been himself.

Mom headed back to California this week for work and will be gone until early next week. While she was gone, the plan was for dad to rest and help Ryan and I with Delainey a few days.

Last night Ryan was supposed to go to a work event and dad was going to watch Delainey while I was at work. Ryan called me and told me that dad was feeling pretty bad so he decided not to go. Dad didn't dispute him, which was my first clue that he was really sick. I had told Ryan that I would "make" (haha....as if that is possible, as those of you who know my dad know) him go to the urgent care when I got off work in the morning.

Unfortunately, at about 1 am, the plans changed. Ryan called me at work and said that dad had come and woke him up (thank goodness he and mom are staying with us) and said that his lungs hurt and he couldn't make the pain go away. Again, for those of you who know dad....he rarely complains of pain and NEVER wants to inconvience anyone. I knew he must be bad. I asked Ryan if he thought dad was well enough for him to drive him to the ER or if he needed an ambulance. Ryan (after talking with dad) said he would bring him in.

Ten minutes later, I got another call from Ryan saying that dad couldn't move and wouldn't be able to walk to the stairs. I told Ryan to call 9-1-1 and try to get them to bring dad to my hospital. When they arrived, they agreed to bring him here and Ryan stayed at home with Delainey.

By the time he had made it to the ER, I was still finishing up loose ends and giving report to my relief. I made it down to the ER and found dad looking pretty yucky. His BP was really low (even lower than the last time he was in the hospital) and he was having a very hard time breathing. He also said he only felt a little better with his right arm in the air, so he sat for the majority of the time with his arm held high above his head. What a sight!

After putting in another IV and doing a quick chest xray, they realized pretty quickly that his right lung was collapsed. They put a tube in his chest to reinflate his lung but unfortuantely had to do it without any sedation since his blood pressure was so low. I am sure that all of you nurse friends out there will agree that chest tubes are one of the most uncomfortable things that we see and I feel horrible that he wasn't able to have sedation. His BP stayed low for quite awhile and the doctor only felt comfortable giving him a few really small doses of pain medication. It didn't help him at all.

At about 7am, they moved dad to the ICU and he was seen by the ICU doctor. He told me that he thinks that a part of dad's lung had been collapsed for awhile, but that last night, the rest collapsed. My theory is that he did it when he was unloading the moving truck back on March 19th. In hindsight, he was complaining about his right side and kept grabbing it as he worked. Once he was in ICU, they were much more liberal with the pain medication (that's one reason I love ICU) and he was able to get some relief.

The doctor ordered a PICC line for him, which is basically a heavy duty, more invasive IV so they could give him stronger medication and a lot of IV fluid fast. I stayed at the hospital until they got it in and then went home to take a nap.

When I came back in the early afternoon, I learned that they had a rough time getting the line in place and that they actually had to replace the line three times before getting it where they wanted it. Although it isn't really painful or anything, it just meant that dad didn't get any rest and wasn't able to be in the positions that make him the most comfortable.

Delainey and Ryan were both able to visit him although he slept through most of it. He was able to eat some french toast and sausage at about 3, and he ate every last bite. A pretty good sign, considering he hasn't eaten in days.

They are giving him some strong pain medicine and it is really making him drowsy. He asked me to get him some pop-tarts and just fell asleep with it in his hand....poor guy!

They are getting ready to take him down to cat scan here shortly, just to get a better picture of things. It was ordered earlier, but he was so uncomfortable that they weren't able to take him.

I imagine that he will be here through the weekend and maybe a few days more. He has a major infection, also, but they haven't been able to find where yet (another reason for the Cat scan).

I have warned him that he will be here for awhile and have explained that they will have to start all over if that tube comes out too soon, so I am hoping that he will try to be patient and understanding. Both he and I have told mom that she should finish her work in California, as there isn't much to do here besides watch him sleep. He does much better with the least amount of visitation, anyways, as mom and I learned (the hard way) on his last hospitalization.

I am so grateful for all of my wonderful coworkers and friends that have been going out of there way to check on dad and I and everyone else who have sent their well wishes and prayers. Please keep them coming, because as he gets his strength back....we will need all the help we can get...LOL!

I will try to keep this blog updated over the next few days to keep you all in the loop!

Thanks again for all of the support!

Love you all!!!!