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!
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!
Well I truly hope he continues to improve and get better. I also hope for everyone's sake that he follows through with the things he needs to do to keep this from happening again. I remember from some of our talks in the past (when I was talking about my dad & his health) that you were worried because your dad sounded a lot like mine. Hopefully this episode will help him to turn a corner & realize that he needs to make some major life changes.
ReplyDeleteGood luck & hang in there, we're here if you need us!!!