August 11, 2009

Boy, I can see I should update this blog more often. It is hard to believe what I have to remember, considering my brain is so stressed. Well, here goes:

The doctors are having a hard time getting the pain medication the right combination and won't release him until they get it under control. The problem being, if he came home, the pain puts stress on other parts of the body, especially the heart and then we would have to go right back into the ER and start where we are right now. His heart has returned to normal for now, but still has a heart monitor on.

Sometime during the first few days, he got a bacteria infection and they are waiting for the culture to grow to find out what it is. They should know tomorrow. In the meantime he got a contaminant in the blood and had to give him two blood transfusions. Now, Bruce Tall, whom a lot of you know and his a doctor, tried to explain that this is not like an infection, but that the chemotherapy causes the red blood cells to not reproduce as quickly and normal and the white cell are lower than usual, so it is normal to have blood transfusions. So, we are ok with this. Forgive me, Bruce, if I slaughtered explaining this. But, who would know, but you and a few other doctors that will be reading this.

He has had little appetite and frowns at "Ensure", but smiles at chocolate...... go figure. But, he has thrown up a few times and they think it is probably from the pain medications and not the chemo. Never the less, it starts causing trouble with his blood sugar count and this morning his count was 48. For those who don't know, a good count in the morning is around 80-100. Then later in the day it would be 170. Too low is as bad as too high.

So, if he were to come home, all of the above things would have to be watched very carefully and could cause some serious trouble. The main thing, like I said, is the pain. Pain can cause stress to the heart and cause heart failure. Not to mention, his pain level is still too high for him to tolerate, The meds are making him "goofy" and his concentration is difficult. So, I tell the pain specialists, "your cocktail mixture is not right yet".

We both think the best thing for him is to remain in the hospital, until there is more stability than there is right now.

He has been able to take phone calls and visitors, with no restrictions. But, when that word got out, there was a lot of both coming and going. I don't know what to tell you there, except sometimes he can't hold a very good conversation and gets tired.

We both are anxious to get him home, but reality sets in, when we see what happens to his system during the day.

I'll know more tomorrow about all the areas of concern and I'll probably report back sooner than this last time.

Keep the cards and letters going and, of course, the prayers. Love again from us both.