It is Saturday evening and I thought it was time to update everyone on dad today. They were able to remove another tube and lessen some medicine that he must be off in order to get out of ICU. Unfortunately, they also had to increase some other medicines such as Potassium and blood pressure medicines.
He was able to stand for a few moments early in the day, and just this evening was able to walk from the chair to the door of his room and back. Needless to say, this greatly exhausted him. He was totally off all oxygen all day, unfortunately this evening his oxygen level is too low and they are going to put him back on oxygen for the evening. Not a ventilator, but oxygen through the nose to help breathing. This could be due to all the "work" they made him do today in walking and standing.
Either way, it was a good day for dad. He was able to take more steps towards leaving ICU. They are very conservative on the weekends due to the fact that the surgeon is not in observing and making decisions.
Please pray that his oxygen levels would go back up over night, his potassium levels would increase so that the heart and kidneys may work properly, and his breathing would be more regulated.
Again, thank you for your prayers. Mom said there were numerous emails recieved today as well and dad greatly enjoyed having them read to him. Pray for mom also as the days are "a lot longer sitting in the waiting room by herself." Pray for her rest and strength.
God is good! I am excited about being back home and at CBT in the morning. There is no place like home! Plus....I haven't preached in about 2 weeks, so hold on!!!
I love you all and thank you for every prayer and word of encouragement!
We serve a Mighty God!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday Evening Post
It is late Friday night, and I and my sisters just got home. I apologize for not being able to update this morning, but was lacking a computer to do so.
Dad had a good day overall. We went in this morning and spoke to his nurse. Dad was sleeping at the time. His nurse said that he had been up most of the night (not unusual for my dad) and had just been to sleep a few hours. We asked her if she felt comfortable with us heading home and she said 'yes.' She then woke dad up because she knew he would want to see us.
He told us he loved us and we kissed his cheek and told him we loved him. It was a difficult, yet relieving good bye. Difficult-because we hated to leave him and mom, especially with him still in the ICU; relieving-in that on a few occasions we thought we would never get to tell dad we love him again on this earth-but God had other plans.
We made the 15 hour drive-calling in and checking with mom as to dad's health every two hours. Here is a summary of his day...
Dad was able to again sit up in a chair. They were able to remove more tubes and wires and take him off a few medicines. There are a few medicines he must be off in order to be able to get out of ICU-one of which is a blood pressure medicine that keeps his blood pressure up. They tried taking him off that medicine today, but shortly thereafter his blood pressure fell to 50/40, so in a scramble they put him back on it. They will watch it, but are not over concerned; explaining it as "his body is just healing and was not ready for that yet, we will try it again tomorrow."
He was able to eat a few solid foods today and worked successfully on his breathing.
Overall, another blessed day.
Dad received nearly 20 more emails today-he already holds the all time record for Hays Medical Center thanks to everyone!
Please pray for dad that he would have another good night tonight and day tomorrow. The doctors feel he may be able to get out of ICU by Sunday, and then would spend 3-5 days in a regular room before going home. Pray for the Lord's will.
Also, please pray for our mom. It was most difficult to leave her there knowing she will spend hours in that same waiting room mostly alone. She plans on staying there until he is moved out of ICU and then will go home for a day or so-only to return to take dad home. Pray for her comfort and protection and health as she is worn from the last 10 days.
We again want to thank Pastor Duncan of Hillcrest for helping out and encouraging in so many ways. Also we want to thank Pastor Lynn Sparkman of the High Plains Baptist Church there in Hays. He and his wife have spent time every day with us and my mom. They invited us to their home for dinner last night, and even was able today to visit with and pray with our father. They and their church have truly shown a Godly love.
I will let you know how tomorrow goes and again thank everyone for their prayers and encouragements!
Dad had a good day overall. We went in this morning and spoke to his nurse. Dad was sleeping at the time. His nurse said that he had been up most of the night (not unusual for my dad) and had just been to sleep a few hours. We asked her if she felt comfortable with us heading home and she said 'yes.' She then woke dad up because she knew he would want to see us.
He told us he loved us and we kissed his cheek and told him we loved him. It was a difficult, yet relieving good bye. Difficult-because we hated to leave him and mom, especially with him still in the ICU; relieving-in that on a few occasions we thought we would never get to tell dad we love him again on this earth-but God had other plans.
We made the 15 hour drive-calling in and checking with mom as to dad's health every two hours. Here is a summary of his day...
Dad was able to again sit up in a chair. They were able to remove more tubes and wires and take him off a few medicines. There are a few medicines he must be off in order to be able to get out of ICU-one of which is a blood pressure medicine that keeps his blood pressure up. They tried taking him off that medicine today, but shortly thereafter his blood pressure fell to 50/40, so in a scramble they put him back on it. They will watch it, but are not over concerned; explaining it as "his body is just healing and was not ready for that yet, we will try it again tomorrow."
He was able to eat a few solid foods today and worked successfully on his breathing.
Overall, another blessed day.
Dad received nearly 20 more emails today-he already holds the all time record for Hays Medical Center thanks to everyone!
Please pray for dad that he would have another good night tonight and day tomorrow. The doctors feel he may be able to get out of ICU by Sunday, and then would spend 3-5 days in a regular room before going home. Pray for the Lord's will.
Also, please pray for our mom. It was most difficult to leave her there knowing she will spend hours in that same waiting room mostly alone. She plans on staying there until he is moved out of ICU and then will go home for a day or so-only to return to take dad home. Pray for her comfort and protection and health as she is worn from the last 10 days.
We again want to thank Pastor Duncan of Hillcrest for helping out and encouraging in so many ways. Also we want to thank Pastor Lynn Sparkman of the High Plains Baptist Church there in Hays. He and his wife have spent time every day with us and my mom. They invited us to their home for dinner last night, and even was able today to visit with and pray with our father. They and their church have truly shown a Godly love.
I will let you know how tomorrow goes and again thank everyone for their prayers and encouragements!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday Evening Update
Not much more to report other than that dad was back in his bed for the night. He was able to get off the ventilator, sit up in a chair, and cough out much junk from his lungs. He is EXHAUSTED! He is in pain. He is worn from the day. Please pray he would have a restful night and would be able to make more improvements tomorrow.
We are so thankful, but he has a way to go.
Should dad have a good night,and our 8 a.m visit seem well, I, Chrystal, and Rachel will drive towards home tomorrow. Mom will be staying with dad as he will be in ICU for 1 or 2 more days at best. I will let everyone know how things are in the morning.
Again, thank you so much for praying and encouraging the family.
We are so thankful, but he has a way to go.
Should dad have a good night,and our 8 a.m visit seem well, I, Chrystal, and Rachel will drive towards home tomorrow. Mom will be staying with dad as he will be in ICU for 1 or 2 more days at best. I will let everyone know how things are in the morning.
Again, thank you so much for praying and encouraging the family.
Mid Day Update Thursday
It is just after noon and we visited with dad. The doctor stopped mom and said, "He's doing great. Medically speaking, we are just where he needs to be. It is now time for that tough love we spoke of. He must make himself get better." We then went into the room and found dad sitting up eating a popsicle and drinking broth. He saw my beard I have been "working on" (just not shaving since I've been here), and said, "What is that?!"
He talked to us quite a while (15 min) and said that he knew it was going to be a very painful day, but that "I will do it."
He is coughing up the gunk in his lungs and they are about to start some therapy. He wanted us to make mom go back to the hotel and catch up on some sleep. I asked him if there was anything he wanted us to tell all those reading the blog...
"Thank you so much for the prayers. I don't know what would have happened without them, but please, don't quit praying. I need them now more than ever to get through these next days."
What a blessing it was for us to hear him say these words.
Again, the day will be long and quite painful, but should be a good one. Please continue to pray.
I will close with this for now. Dad told us at two different times, the last being 4:00 a.m. this morning, he got at his worst. His vitals were low and his breathing was so difficult. It was then, at 4:00 a.m., (in the words of dad), "a tall, dark headed man came in the room. He took my hand and said, 'Wayne, you are going to be o.k., the Holy Spirit is with you and will comfort and heal you.'" Dad went on to say, "I was filled with fear at that moment and before on Monday early, and both times, that man came and comforted me."
There were no registered visitors Monday morning or at 4 a.m. this morning...
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
"Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us "
"As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you;"
He talked to us quite a while (15 min) and said that he knew it was going to be a very painful day, but that "I will do it."
He is coughing up the gunk in his lungs and they are about to start some therapy. He wanted us to make mom go back to the hotel and catch up on some sleep. I asked him if there was anything he wanted us to tell all those reading the blog...
"Thank you so much for the prayers. I don't know what would have happened without them, but please, don't quit praying. I need them now more than ever to get through these next days."
What a blessing it was for us to hear him say these words.
Again, the day will be long and quite painful, but should be a good one. Please continue to pray.
I will close with this for now. Dad told us at two different times, the last being 4:00 a.m. this morning, he got at his worst. His vitals were low and his breathing was so difficult. It was then, at 4:00 a.m., (in the words of dad), "a tall, dark headed man came in the room. He took my hand and said, 'Wayne, you are going to be o.k., the Holy Spirit is with you and will comfort and heal you.'" Dad went on to say, "I was filled with fear at that moment and before on Monday early, and both times, that man came and comforted me."
There were no registered visitors Monday morning or at 4 a.m. this morning...
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
"Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us "
"As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you;"
Thursday Morning Update
It is Thursday morning and we are in "our spot" once again in the ICU waiting room. We are allowed a 15 minute visit every two hours on the even hours. We walked into his room a little bit ago and met the nurse at the door. We asked the same question we have asked for the last 6 days, "Well, how is he doing?" Thus far, the answer has always been the same, "He is doing...O.k." Today, we got a: "Good, he had a good night." That thrilled our hearts. We looked into the room and he looked a little better. There were a few less tubes, but he was still on the ventilator. The nurse then said, "If you will step out a minute, we are going to remove the ventilator." AMEN!
Soon we were back in the room with him and he was off the ventilator. Now, while this is indeed good news, he is in for a very rough day. Every breath he takes reveals the great amount of stuff in his lungs. You just want to cough really hard for him to get it all out. He can't cough right now and his breathing is difficult to say the least. Also, because he is alert and off the ventilator, the pain is excruciating.
Today will be that "rough love day" we heard about earlier. Please pray with us that dad's pain would be less, he would be able to cough and get some stuff out, and his breathing would improve. Their goals for him today is to sit him up, get him to control his breathing, and eventually get him into a chair.
This is the point he was at Sunday before he 'crashed.' I believe this is the reason they kept him on the ventilator longer. They are hoping his body was able to rest and heal more so that he is ready for this battle today with pain.
Because of his past conditions and migraines, his body is accustomed to pain medicines. To give him what he would need to get rid of pain, would be too much that it would slow his breathing. Thus, the reason he is in more pain than most who go through this surgery.
We just ask that you pray his pain would be manageable, these goals would be met, and that our Lord would comfort and guide him in takes steps towards healing today.
Thank you again for all the emails and words of encouragement. Dad cannot believe the quantity of emails sent and was so encouraged by them.
We love you all and I will update this afternoon as to progress made.
Soon we were back in the room with him and he was off the ventilator. Now, while this is indeed good news, he is in for a very rough day. Every breath he takes reveals the great amount of stuff in his lungs. You just want to cough really hard for him to get it all out. He can't cough right now and his breathing is difficult to say the least. Also, because he is alert and off the ventilator, the pain is excruciating.
Today will be that "rough love day" we heard about earlier. Please pray with us that dad's pain would be less, he would be able to cough and get some stuff out, and his breathing would improve. Their goals for him today is to sit him up, get him to control his breathing, and eventually get him into a chair.
This is the point he was at Sunday before he 'crashed.' I believe this is the reason they kept him on the ventilator longer. They are hoping his body was able to rest and heal more so that he is ready for this battle today with pain.
Because of his past conditions and migraines, his body is accustomed to pain medicines. To give him what he would need to get rid of pain, would be too much that it would slow his breathing. Thus, the reason he is in more pain than most who go through this surgery.
We just ask that you pray his pain would be manageable, these goals would be met, and that our Lord would comfort and guide him in takes steps towards healing today.
Thank you again for all the emails and words of encouragement. Dad cannot believe the quantity of emails sent and was so encouraged by them.
We love you all and I will update this afternoon as to progress made.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday Night Update
As we end this day, we rejoice in that dad was able to respond to us that one time. Since then, he has remained asleep. There is really not much to report. Dad remains in the same state. He continues to remain on the ventilator. They are "hoping" to wean him off it tomorrow sometime. (We heard that yesterday)
His blood counts remain acceptable, and his color is moderate. We learned today from the doctor, that he remains on the ventilator primarily because of the amount of fluids his body has built up. Apparently, after the second surgery, he gained 42 pounds of fluid that one day. He now is only 18 pounds more than his before surgery weight. This has caused a lot of problems for him.
By far, he is not out of the woods. The best we get from any nurse/doctor is "He is doing...O.K." Please continue to pray for him. The hospital received nearly 50 emails today for my dad. His nurse said, "He must be quite an amazing man."
He has no idea!
His blood counts remain acceptable, and his color is moderate. We learned today from the doctor, that he remains on the ventilator primarily because of the amount of fluids his body has built up. Apparently, after the second surgery, he gained 42 pounds of fluid that one day. He now is only 18 pounds more than his before surgery weight. This has caused a lot of problems for him.
By far, he is not out of the woods. The best we get from any nurse/doctor is "He is doing...O.K." Please continue to pray for him. The hospital received nearly 50 emails today for my dad. His nurse said, "He must be quite an amazing man."
He has no idea!
Update IV on Dad
It is now 2:30 CST and we were just able to visit with dad.....
He's Awake!!!! Thank you so much for praying for this. Dad was awake...though his eyes did not open. He nodded and responded to questions. He is still on the ventilator, but he looks good and swelling is still down. The doctor should come in this afternoon and decide if he can start coming off the machine. Now, please pray he does. We feel that this is a good possibility due to the way he looks. I told him about all the emails that have been sent and he gave a "thumbs up." He truly appreciated them all.
Pastor Duncan and his wife from their church have been such a blessing. They spent the last two days with us and now, even at Ark City, continue to do things for mom and dad and have been such a blessing. The church here in Hays-High Plains Baptist, have now had three different families stop by and encourage us. I'm so Glad I am a Part of the Family of God!
Dad still needs to improve his kidney output, improve his breathing over the ventilator, and continue to see swelling go down. Obviously, we are encouraged at the fact that he awoke and responded to us. Please continue praying, and I will do my best to let all know what happens this evening.
Emails can be sent to him by going to this link:
http://apps.haysmed.com/PatientEmail/
We continue to pray and watch with thanksgiving!
Also, I want to thank my mom and sisters for decorating and taking over the ICU waiting room and throwing me a birthday party-cake and all!
He's Awake!!!! Thank you so much for praying for this. Dad was awake...though his eyes did not open. He nodded and responded to questions. He is still on the ventilator, but he looks good and swelling is still down. The doctor should come in this afternoon and decide if he can start coming off the machine. Now, please pray he does. We feel that this is a good possibility due to the way he looks. I told him about all the emails that have been sent and he gave a "thumbs up." He truly appreciated them all.
Pastor Duncan and his wife from their church have been such a blessing. They spent the last two days with us and now, even at Ark City, continue to do things for mom and dad and have been such a blessing. The church here in Hays-High Plains Baptist, have now had three different families stop by and encourage us. I'm so Glad I am a Part of the Family of God!
Dad still needs to improve his kidney output, improve his breathing over the ventilator, and continue to see swelling go down. Obviously, we are encouraged at the fact that he awoke and responded to us. Please continue praying, and I will do my best to let all know what happens this evening.
Emails can be sent to him by going to this link:
http://apps.haysmed.com/PatientEmail/
We continue to pray and watch with thanksgiving!
Also, I want to thank my mom and sisters for decorating and taking over the ICU waiting room and throwing me a birthday party-cake and all!
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