Pop needs to Poop

Greetings,

So my father continues to improve. He developed a blood clot in his lung last week apparently about the time I left town. They figured it out over the weekend, and they are now treating it with blood thinners. Also, he had a lot of fluid build up in his chest which was constricting his breathing. That is dissipating and his blood/oxygen level was 98% last night and 95% when he woke up this morning. They had put him on an oxygen mask over the weekend, but now he is back to the nasal apparatus. They continue to ween him off the oxygen. He has been eating solid food the last two days, but he has not had a bowel movement yet. They won't let him out until he poops; so, in the words of my brother, "Pray for Crap!"

Thanks, as always for your prayers, keep 'em coming.

let the liquids flow

So, he has gotten to have some coffee, diet sprite and a little bit of broth. The broth was too salty for him. He is doing well about not pushing it though. He tried to sit up for a little while early this morning and got very dizzy. So after the liquids and a couple of naps, we are going to try again.

He got his catheter taken out a minute ago; so he is much more comfortable on that front.

Thanks again for the prayers.

Pappa's numbers

Dad continues to improve. They are going to take the catheter out and take him off of the oxygen. He will start today on sips of liquid, for which dad is very excited. He isn't having to use his pain meds very much, mainly when he gets up and down. Now that he'll have to use the bathroom on his own, he'll be getting up and down more often. So, we'll see how much he uses the pain medicine today.

His ct number, the number that measures his kidney function was 1.13 which is apparently great for one whole day after the surgery. His blood sugar is also holding well, since he isn't eating. He's a diabetic; so we watch that closely.

He's going to get up in the chair now and we'll go for a walk soon. I leave for Omaha this afternoon; so I'll get a couple more updates done today. They will come slower after today. Thanks again for all your prayers. God is good!

Third stroll

Pappa sat up in the chair and played Skip-Bo with mom and me this afternoon. Mom won, of course, in classic come from behind fashion ("Can I do this?"). We went on his last stroll for the day, and then he took another nap. He really wants to eat something, but the doctor won't let him until his bowels wake up more. They changed the dressing on his incision and it looked really good; no evidence of seepage or drainage. They said his urine was too dark this afternoon so they pumped some more fluids in rapidly. It has lightened up considerably. You camp counselors out there know the importance of light colored pee.

All in all he is improving about as rapidly as we could expect. I am feeling confident he'll be out Friday or Saturday, which was the projected time line. It does not hurt for him to walk. He gets woosey simply because he hasn't eaten anything, but there isn't pain when he walks. The only pain is when he leans up to get out of bed. The last time he got out of bed, however, he did not have to use his pain pump to prepare himself. He hasn't needed the pain meds since about 1 this afternoon.

We remain grateful for your prayers and the healing power of God. The nurses, technicians, and the doctor have all been outstanding. They are instruments of the Lord on this, and we are grateful for them as well.

second update on pop

We took pop for a second walk a moment ago. He did well. There was less pain getting up and down, which is the hardest part. Then the doctor came by and said he was very pleased with the way dad looked. They are going to increase his fluid through the IV over the next hour because his urine is to concentrated ergo he is dehydrated. Other then that we are moving along well. Pop thought he heard his bowels rumble a little bit ago, which is good. His bowels have to wake and he has to be able to handle solid food before he can leave. He is napping now.

I took a picture of Mom and Pop holding hands as they walked the halls. It might be the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. It's posted on Facebook.


As always thanks for the prayers and keep them coming.

pop's surgery

So my father had a kidney removed yesterday and is in the hospital recovering. He is doing well. The surgery could not have gone any smoother. Apparently the tumor had enlarged his kidney to the size of a football. The doctor is very certain that it was cancerous, but he did not see any signs that it had spread past the kidney...no abnormal lymph nodes or such. They will of course watch his kidney functions very intently now that he only has one, and will continue to scan for cancers.

The doctor wants him to sit up in a chair three times today and to walk three times today. So, about 9:00 we got him up in the chair. He was feeling pretty good and didn't want to have to get up out of the bed again; so we went ahead and did a lap around the floor. He did well, but he is exhausted. He's sleeping now, but we'll get him up and around again later.

I'll post more later. Thanks for your prayers and support.