wednesday, march 26

last week they sent off for dad's blood to get tested for his levels for them to ascertain how dad is doing on dialysis. if you remember, we were all praying for his BUN levels and creatinine levels all the while dad was in the hospital. these tests are all along the same line. for you detailed folks, they test his albumin, calcium, phosphorous, and hemoglobin. it helps understand more of his nutrition needs, electrolytes, minerals, etc., because obviously they all go hand in hand with the kidney function. we used to get these results on a daily basis at the hospital (sometimes twice), so it's been hard not knowing for several weeks, especially for those of us who have a bit of a control issue (who, me?)...ha!

good news is that everything seems to be within the parameters they need to be in for a dialysis patient. the only category that was a little bit low was his hemoglobin (the protein that carries oxygen to his blood), but this is due to his low iron levels (i'm assuming), which is due to his low food intake. this can be corrected! that's great news!

also, his BUN levels were almost where the doctor would be in the "okay with" zone! for those of you who remember, while he was in the hospital, his BUN numbers were in the 100s-150s (which are shockingly high). i read somewhere that over 100, the person could slip into a coma along with other things (phew - dad defied the odds AGAIN!).

dad's results from last week came back with it at 77. YIPPEE! i'm not saying that this is a number that would make one of us jump up and down if we had it, but for dad, it's great! they said they would be happy with it being at 70 or under, so he's not too far off! remember, the BUN measures the urea and nitrogen that are waste products of protein being broken down. it shows how much of the waste is hanging around in the blood due to the lack of the kidney/dialysis flushing it out. obviously, waste in the blood is poisonous and can make someone feel pretty crappy and out of it, so there are some unpleasant side effects to the number being high. dad's is lower than it's been in awhile, so that's all we need to know for the bottom line!

he went this morning for his barium swallowing test. we should find out the results of that in the next few days. it will help them understand why his throat muscles are hurting and affecting his swallowing (and desire to eat). he goes in this afternoon to the rehabilitation clinic for some physical therapy, etc. it's his first trip out there, so let's all pray it leaves a good taste in his mouth and helps him feel altogether better and doesn't wear him out too much.

so the focused prayers need to be:

kidney begins to function at or above 15%
he starts to eat more (affects EVERYTHING) and gains weight
physical therapy goes well
his spirits
he and mom get some good rest (some of his meds make him have insomnia - yuck!)

yesterday someone mentioned to dr. patel (his kidney doc) about whether they should plan on making dad's dialysis catheter permanent. dr. patel said he wasn't ready to do that yet...that he wants to still give the kidney some more time. he seems to still have good hope that sooner or later it WILL kick in. he was really positive about things...

pray believing.

thursday, march 20

please pray for dad's weight to increase. he's lost weight everytime he goes back in for dialysis. they weigh him before and after, and he's not gaining any positive pounds between dialysis treatments. also, when he gets the treatments they take off several pounds in fluid alone so he needs to be able to counterbalance and actually overcompensate for the dialysis treatments. he's having trouble with his swallowing. his throat hurts and it's tough to get things down, so they'll be doing a swallowing test (barium) to figure out what's going on with his throat muscles.

tuesday, march 11

just wanted everyone to know that dad's in a holding pattern with his healing; hence, why i haven't updated much. he's got about 10% of strength, endurance, etc., of what he used to have on a daily basis. it's just an extremely long and rough healing process. and obviously, like most of us when we're sick or ailing, we just need time alone to gather strength and to heal. it still hurts for him to talk, so he's pretty much "mute." it's just a quiet and contemplative time in our family's life, and there's not much change from day to day, so forgive my lack of frequency of updates, but when there are things to report or changes to address, i will definitely inform you all so you can fix your prayers on those things.

keep praying for his one kidney (5% functioning) and for the dialysis treatments and just for his overall mind, body, and spirit.

thanks so much for considering our family so much during this time and for being so understanding and selfless.

friday night, march 7

i'm writing from nashville. i must admit that leaving on wednesday was one of the worst feelings i've ever experienced. mandy stayed to help until today when she went home to lubbock. so now it's just dad and mom for the first time since this all began. they're experimenting with his diet. mom's just trying to get organized with his medicines and all of the paperwork and learning that this new season is insisting on. there's just a ton of bricks sitting on the backs of the two at 2624 shepherds glen. we would give anything to make it all better. but we're so thankful that dad is here with us. even now i can feel that horrible feeling i felt on the night when the aneurysm ruptured, and i immediately googled it and saw the words, "catastrophic" and "quick death." i'm thankful i'm now back at the same screen with a different set of emotions in my heart.

pray for dad's kidney. also, his dialysis center is saying that they'll only test his levels twice a month which shocked us. so mom is going to insist they check it more often. it's vital to know whether or not his levels are high so that we can keep things in check and not just be in the dark on his condition. his treatments have been longer than expected (sometimes he's there for 5 to 5 1/2 hours each time). and let's just say that it's like a bunch of pigs at a trough lined up in their dialysis chairs, so it's anxiety ridden and full of chaos which is the last thing he needs considering the circumstances.

pray, also, that mom and dad will be quick learners about dialysis and the steps they need to take with the newness: from his diet to all of the paperwork involved with insurance, medicare, etc. and continue to put yourself in dad's shoes when you pray for his emotions. there's just so much on their minds. i can only begin to fathom...

keep lifting him and mom up in prayer because the next several days reality will really begin to set in now that it's just the two of them.

God has been so merciful.

monday night, march 3

dad got in some good rest last night...for the first time he didn't have any visits from nurses every few hours, so that helped!

he has his first outpatient dialysis treatment tomorrow morning for 4 hours. please pray that the first visit goes well and sets a positive tone for the following appointments.

more importantly, we're praying that his kidney goes from functioning at 5% to a minimum of 15% within a short period of time so that he can discontinue dialysis!

also, one of the many side effects of all of the medications and dialysis is a lack of appetite, so pray that he'll still get the important nutrition that he needs in spite of this huge thorn in the flesh.

sunday evening, march 2

the old dog has come home. :)

he's so relieved to be out of that hospital...but he's taking it really slowly. he's quietly taking it all in. it's been the perfect weather day for him to sit out back and watch the wind blow the pine trees.

he's really enjoyed reading through everyone's cards and emails. he said he'll be in touch with everyone as soon as he's up and running which might take a couple more months...but i know you'll all be ready and willing once the day arrives!

more later...

saturday night, march 1

tomorrow is the day! dad is coming HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

they've worked it out where he will do his rehabilitation during the day at healthsouth, and then he will come home at night so he can FINALLY sleep in his own bed! i can't imagine how excited he is...it will be really difficult for both him and mom to adjust, but luckily mom is a good caretaker! there was a time when i walked into the house and i felt fear and sadness thinking that dad might not ever come home again, but now the rascal is almost on his way! what an amazing turn of events...

they found out the results of the imaging of the kidneys. the left one is dead (we had been prepared for this), and the right one is only working at 5%. in order for him to be off of dialysis, it has to be functioning at a minimum of 15%. now we know specifics, so now it's time to pray in a focused way about his right kidney.

i spoke with a nurse today and found out that they have not yet placed dad on a restricted dialysis diet. that's good news to his ears. he hasn't experienced any edema, so he just has to eat healthier and leave out the salt, so mrs. dash will be his new best friend! let's pray he won't ever have any edema, so that he can continue to be able to eat more of a variety, but at this point, he'll do anything to remain as healthy as possible!

specifics:

dad's progress continues to move forward after his release from the hospital
kidney function raises upwards of 15%
dad will get some good rest
mom will have all the energy and rest she needs to be a full time nurse
the rehabilitation will go smoothly as well as his first visits to the outpatient dialysis center (tues., thurs., sat., at 5 a.m.)

God has been so merciful!

friday night late, february 29

one of the doctors (i think dad has 58 of them) mentioned that it might be POSSIBLE for dad to come home on sunday night or monday...home, meaning HOME. not the rehabilitation hospital. he said the decision will be made between the doctors and him and mom. it's basically a matter of whether he and mom think they can make a go of it on their own. it'd be pretty tough, but for dad's spirit's, it might do him better to just be in his own bed and space. so we'll see how the next couple of days go.

dad isn't eating much. this isn't good. obviously, dialysis makes him a bit queasy and he doesn't have much of an appetite due to the treatments as well as his meds. but the doctors all get a really worried look when they find out that he's only eating jello, peaches, half a cup of soup, etc. we all know it's important for his health to eat - even if he doesn't feel like it! so pray about this.

also, i was looking over the diet he will have to be on for dialysis and it looks almost impossible! no salt, no foods high in potassium or phosphorous (whatever that is!), limited amounts of liquid, etc...i don't think dad has a clue about this part. i mentioned that i would bring him up some low sodium campbell's soup tomorrow, and he looked at me like, "why low sodium?" and let's all think for a second about dad's lifetime "diet": cream gravy, fried pork chops, butter, steaks, potatoes, cheese, burgers, homemade french fries, bacon and fried eggs...shall i go on? i know we're all thankful that he's alive, but if we are honest, dad doesn't remember how close he was to death. he was paralyzed and sedated throughout the first half of the experience. yes, the past two weeks have been a reality check, but he was asleep through the really scary days. so the next few weeks are going to be probably the toughest time for him yet. please be praying about the transitions (food, emotion, lack of nursing care, being so weak, no cigarettes, and so on)...

after dialysis, they took him to do some kind of imaging of his kidneys today. this is the first real "view" they've taken of the kidneys. we haven't found out what they've seen yet, so we're all on edge waiting to find out. it's one of those situations where you want to know but you don't want to know. i'll update when we find out what the test reveals. his creatinine and BUN are still on the rise. his pre-dialysis labs had his creatinine in the 12's and his BUN in the 140s. not good numbers...

thanks so much for all of the cards and emails!