Hello from Tom (Not dead yet!)

I am emerging from this medical nightmare.  My strength is much better (I'm writing this note, something I couldn't have done a day ago), spend more time out of bed than in it, and instead of struggling to make four circuits around the "Huntsman Highway" have already made the walk seven times today.  I get myself out of bed, and am able to walk without assistance.  Basically I am now in a waiting game, waiting for the leak to close so I can go home.  The current strategy is to have my catheter connected to a vacuum, the theory being that will encourage urine to flow in its normal route rather than through the leak.  How long?  The doctor said two more days minimum.

For the record...being able to watch endless movies, Twilight Zone re-runs and football games gets old fast!

Ruth Ann just walked in and the room has brightened!  Thanks to all of you for your love, prayers, and concern.

Love,

Tom 

Happy New Year??!! A big yes...

  Some might call this past three weeks a creeping catastrophe (definitely not a long drought) in Tom's case. It's pretty obvious that what we all want is for him to get better, as Bishop Whiting said on Sunday night,  but it takes time for the body to heal and in the meantime his incisions are pretty well there and he's a few days out from having the cath withdrawn. Dr. Willis and Dr. Foot, urologists with Dr. Bob Stephenson dropped by and explained the suction on the cath and putting the other gravity drain back on after seeing today's CT scan that shows less fluid below the bladder, which has less in it than Sun. and Mon. and there is a granularization process with tissue as it heals that takes time. One of the other patients we have visited with has been in longer than Tom. She has had her whole throat and mouth rebuilt because of cancer. They can shave off skin and muscle tissue from a leg and refashion it into all that's necessary for her throat. Pretty spectacular sculpting! Everywhere I turn, I see others whose place I wouldn't want to be in. We continue to appreciate your prayers----Love, Ruth Ann

(Tick tick tick tick...)

Pappy had a better day. He looks more and more like himself. They're trying an "experiment" to see what effect clamping the abdominal drain will have - hopefully sending the urine out the right way, through the foley catheter. Rashes still persist from the aforementioned frost, but all indications are that we'll be outta here this week! Stay tuned. We're hoping to be out on Wednesday. - Nathanael

A delay in routing---

   Tom is a little grouchy today. Hmmm. Maybe more energy to feel that way. The docs were thinking seriously about releasing him, but thought of more to check out before they do. They found the labs to be seriously lower (yes!) and the flow still mirroring the input. He has a bad uremic frost because of toxicity over the last 15 days...it's the body's way of ridding itself of poison and it's dang itchy, so we wipe him down with aloe wipes and he has vetoed the benadryl they gave him yesterday. Wade the nurse is watching the flow from the JP drain in the lower abdomen and comparing the outflow from the Foley cath to see if it will help the healing process on the urethra.  We are doing a dance again, called cause and effect. He'll be here tomorrow I guess.  Ruth Ann

Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008

Tom's kidneys are working at a better rate than yesterday----blood labs and urine are looking better. Possible return home tomorrow depending on the labs tomorrow morning. He will have his lower drain in abdomen and the Foley catheter which will both remain until Dr. Stephenson decides otherwise. The kidney docs have signed off on going home. Heart and lungs look clear and strong. It looks like a renal diet for him on low sodium, and less phosphorous. I will be getting more info from the diet tech.  He is walking some today, but I anticipate that he has a ways to go towards normal activity---- we have our Davenport nurses lined up, but we might have to call Sadie every now and then, or some of the nurses in our ward! 

The clouds are lifting!

Good things are happening!! Last evening when we got back to the hospital after a wonderful dinner at the Hardings, his flow had increased significantly and along with that, today his blood and urine labs took a turn downward. What a relief----so no dialysis! He has an infection they're treating with an IV, but he ate a little more than he has in the past week and they'll do some CT scans this afternoon to verify what's happening to the leak. More later... Ruth Ann

I just erased a bunch of info about Christmas eve and morning: we ate dinner at the hospital to be near Tom and watched a Christmas Story together. We were glad to see the Whitings for a cheering visit. Then we headed into the hospital early to have Christmas morning together and watch Esther and Ezra open their presents. Several caroling families have graced the time here. The normalcy is a pleasant reprieve...Later that night we watched It's a Wonderful Life. Compared to many of the other patients here, Tom has a lot less to worry about though I doubt we sense his pain level accurately.

On Christmas day the nephrologists came by with the same news about the kidneys as the day before: kidneys working at 60% of normal and the peritoneal cavity still absorbing fluid from the lower pelvis, with a quantity also being drained on the right side. Little was coming from the catheter. They wanted to do another dialysis on Friday because the creatinine number is high. But last evening, more urine was coming out the cath and this has continued through the night and this morning, over a liter. He's restricted to one liter of water to drink in 12 hours along with juices, milk at meal times. No IV. We'll see what they say this morning about dialysis. Ruth Ann