Momday April 27

When I went to see dad today the first thing I noticed was they had taken off his hand restraints! And then I noticed how the swelling had gone down in his hands! Majorly down! His patient arm band had been really snug and today I could put my hand through it, I could probably slipped it off dad's hand if I had tried.

Dad was on CPAP for 9 hours today. This is really great.

The nurses cut back on the "feeding" and the feeding tube has quit leaking. Yay!

I didn't stay too long today because while I was there dad starting getting really agitated, his blood pressure was already up but then heart rate went up to the 130's even hit 140 so I called the nurse and she had to give him some Versed to get him calm. As he started calming down I decided maybe it would be best if I left. I don't know if I was the cause of the agitation, the nurse said it wasn't me that some patients just get excited when family comes to visit. I don't know. I'll go back tomorrow and see how he does.

Keep those prayers going up for dad and me.

Kathy

Sunday April 26

Not much new. Dad has been on CPAP almost all day. This is good.

The nurses noticed that dad's feeding tube (also called a G-tube) was "leaking" again. Dr B looked at it this morning and thought that maybe the problem was dad was getting too much "food" to fast so they are cutting back on the amount of fluid he gets to see it that fixes the problem.

Dad's agitation seems to be a tiny bit less today. Not that it has gone away. But we are back to those "baby steps" again.

That's about all I have for today. A tiny step forward and none apparently backward today.

Keep those prayers going up for dad and me.

Kathy

Saturday April 25

Today dad has been on CPAP for the biggest part of the day. Nurse J said the doctor left orders to leave dad on it for as long as he could take it. This is good, but last time he was on it for over 24 hours he had trouble with his blood pressure and agitation, they also couldn't put him back on CPAP for long the next day.

I spoke to Dr H (the ICU doctor) and he said that they were still working to find the right medicine and the right dosage to help keep dad calm without sedating him. He also left orders not to sedate dad unless necessary and only give him a small amount. Dr H wants them to use as little Versed as possible. He said he wants dad to be easily awaken so that means less Versed.

Dad also obeyed commands for Dr H today.

Dad was really upset this morning so I waited until about 2 PM before I went to visit, and dad slept through the entire visit.

Keep those prayers going up for dad, me and Aunt Betty.

Kathy

Friday April 24

Yesterday they put dad on CPAP because he just wasn't breathing with the ventilator (sounds weird but that is close to what they told me). They left him on the CPAP from like 8 AM yesterday until 11 AM today. Dad's blood pressure started going way up so they switched him back to the ventilator and his blood pressure went down some. He has slept a lot today, I think being on the CPAP for so long -- while good for him -- just wore him out.

Today dad is following commands better Nurse D said. He still gets really agitated at times so they have had to give him some Versed, and Nurse D doesn't think the Precedex is doing dad much good. I just don't know. I know they can give him some Ativan and I tried to tell the nurse that it might help his blood pressure come down some. Nurse D said she didn't think the blood pressure was up because of agitation so she was giving him everything else in the world.

The thing is that the nurses rotate within ICU and some within ICU3 (where dad is) so he never has the same nurse more than 4 days in a row then he may get that nurse again in another week or not. Each nurse treats dad different, one notices something might be working and another nurse sees it differently. I really wish dad could have the same nurse/s more consistantly. I think his care would have better continuity if they did.

Still those teeny tiney baby steps. A step forward and 2 steps back. But overall dad is doing lots better than he was say just a week ago. But he still has a long way to go.

Keep those prayers going up for dad and me, and Aunt Betty.

Kathy

Thursday April 23

I think today makes 5 weeks for dad being in ICU? I think that is right. One day runs into another and time just doesn't have much meaning anymore.

Daddy is doing a little teeny bit better. The bladder pressure I told you about yesterday was down to 11 this morning. The lower the number the better. The lower the number the better his tummy probably feels.

Early this morning Nurse S said they had to give dad some Versed. But when I was there and they did a major re-arrange him in the bed he did fine. Later in the day when they changed his wound dressing the nurse said she gave him a little Ativan. This is great stuff and it won't be as sedative as some of the other stuff they give dad. Also Nurse S said he is building up a tolerance to the Versed.

Dad's primary care doctor has not called me back yet. I haven't given up on him yet. I really believe he will call me back sooner or later.

Today dad liked being on the CPAP better than the ventilator so the doctor told the nurse it was ok to leave him on it for as long as dad was doing ok with it. Usually they don't do more than 2 hours at a time because they get tired. When on the CPAP dad is breathing on his own. And it is easier to ween him off that than it is the ventilator.

Keep those prayers going up for dad and me, and don't forget Aunt Betty!

Kathy

About forgot, I got another smooch from dad today! Yay.

Saturday April 11

Went to see dad today and managed to talk to one of his doctors (yeah, he has like 3 I think). Dad is doing better. They have stopped the sedation however what he gets for pain does have some sedating effect.

Dad is awake but not totally there yet. Sometimes he will follow commands and other times he won't. Dr F said this is normal. That it will take awhile for all that sedation to work out of his system.

In the meantime if you touch dad or talk to him it startles him and his blood pressure shoots WAY up. It comes back down but still......

They are slowing trying to ween dad off the ventilator. They switch it to something called CPAP for several hours twice a day. Today they are starting to cut even the CPAP off and hook oxygen up to his trachea for an hour to see how it goes.

Dr F says it will be a long process to get dad off the vent and all (or most) of his medicines, and to work on his nutrition and get his strength back. Oh and it could take a while for his mental state to get back to normal.

I was also told that it could take weeks maybe months before dad will come back home. He will more than likely have to go to a rehab place after the hospital and before coming home.

I am not going to see him tomorrow. He had such a big and tiring day today and I think he needs the rest. The nurse agrees that he seemed really tired today and when anyone talks to him or touches him his blood pressure goes up -- it will soon start to come down -- and that tomorrow they will probably try all the tests they did today the switching from the ventilator to CPAP for a few hours and then later cut all that off and try just oxygen for a little while. Today he did just oxygen for about an hour and the nurse said it was very tiring for him.

Keep those prayers going up for dad and me. Don't forget to pray for Aunt Betty who is also in the hospital.

Kathy