Tubes Galore!

They pulled the NG tube out of Tim's nose today and so far so good. He was hesitant to pull it out because he didn't want to have it put back in later if he started to get nauseous. The new g-tube is putting out more than it has been but there is still a lot of leakage around the hole. The old g-tube hole is also leaking. The doctors have put a heavy duty dressing over both holes that pretty much covers Tim's entire abdomen.

He was able to get out of bed and walk down the hall to the nurse's station, and afterwards he sat in the chair for a long time. He's making a little progress in the right direction.

Change of scenery

Tim was moved from the ICU to another room on a less critical floor. He had his picc line replaced with the Hone catheter without any problems. He is doing well. The only things keeping him from coming home leaking from the old g-tube site and his new g-tube doesn't seem to be draining that well. It would be wonderful if they could get him fixed up so we could home soon...I won't hold my breath.

Mystery solved...well sort of

The mystery of the low blood sugar has been fixed. I'm not exactly sure what was wrong but magically the problem went away after they hung the new bag of TPN. My mom suspects there was insulin added by accident.

The doctors decided to pull his picc line out and give him a new one. They were going to just put the new one in his left arm but he has too much scar tissue. The only other option is to put Hone catheter in his neck. This is something completely new for us. My mom has never even heard of one, and I guess it doesn't really matter as long as it works. Hopefully it will last longer than a couple months. I spoke to Tim this morning and they were getting ready to take him down to the procedure. He should have it by the time I get up there to see him this afternoon.

On an unrelated note, my brother and his wife are back in town for their friend's wedding! They can only visit with us for a couple of days but I am oh so happy to see them. It lifts my spirits and I know it does the same for Tim.

Low Glucose Level

The bleeding is a lot less than it has been. So that's really good news. Hopefully it continues in that direction. Everything else is the same except his glucose level is really low. The docs are trying figure it out and since nothing has really changed, it doesn't make much sense. They gave him so glucose and it went up but it went back down again. So who knows. It always something with that boy!

IR Procedure

Tim continued to bleed all night. So they took him down to IR for a procedure to try and clot areas that are bleeding. He's been down there for about an hour and the procedure usually takes around 4 hours. I am waiting for him in his room and will post more when he gets back.

...He just came back about 15 minutes ago. He was had to be awake for the whole thing so he is really tired. He is having some pain so his nurse just gave him some morphine. I haven't seen a doctor yet but since Tim was awake he said that they found about 10 different spots. So now we just wait and hope it works.

Still Bleeding

They moved Tim to a new room in Surgical ICU, and right now he is having a scope down his throat. He is still bleeding slowly and they don't really know why. So I am just hanging out in the waiting room. The nurse said Tim's vital signs are good and that when they are finished with the procedure they will come out to give us an update.

University Hospital, Take Two

Yesterday evening Tim started bleeding a lot from the old g-tube site. We called the doctors who told us to immediately come to ER at University Hospital in Denver. After holding direct pressure for over an hour, the bleeding finally stopped, which was good but then he started throwing up...blood They have given him two pints of blood to replace what he lost. But they are still unsure why he is bleeding. In unrelated news, they are going to adjust TPN in an effort to give his liver a break and perhaps get rid of his jaundice.

What Lies Ahead

In a few days when Tim is feeling up to it, we will have to have a very important appointment with his oncologist. We have to decide whether Tim should continue the chemo treatments. If he chooses to proceed, they will reduce the dose in hopes that it is strong enought to kill off any cancer but weak enough not to kill him. He has exhausted all of his options. So not continuing along this path, means we do nothing.

During this trying period, God has performed miracle after miracle. Of course, I have asked for one more, but I must accept whatever He decides. I do not understand why Tim has cancer or why he has suffered for so many years. I do not want to think about my life without my soul mate. And when I allow myself to entertain these thoughts, I am scared. I am sad. I feel like our time has been cut short. I want more of this precious thing called time. I crave it. But what's done is done and I cannot go back. I must move on. I must remember to look to Him. I am told the Lord will not leave my side. And if I truly believe that, I am not alone nor ever have been.

Surgery Results

The surgery only lasted about 2 hours and was a success! They created a new hole in his stomach and closed up the old one. Hopefully the old one or the new one won't leak but only time will tell. The doctor said Tim could go home today depending on how he feels. He is still in the recovery room so I haven't seen him yet. I'm of the mind that he should stay overnight but we'll see.

Surgery is a go!

Tim was released from the hospital a day early. He was told he would get out Friday, 08.15.08. So we were surprised and quite happy when they said he could go home early. He doesn't get to stay home very long because his surgery at University Hospital this Wednesday. I'm still not sure what time on Wednesday. We won't know that until the day before.

UPDATE!! Tim has to register at noon. So his surgery will be around 1:30 or 2:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon (8.20.2008).

Goodbye Uncle Jeff

Some of you may remember my earlier posts of Uncle Jeff. As of yesterday morning, I am sorry to say that he is no longer with us.

Even though Jeff was no longer married to my dad’s sister, he was a part of our family, and we loved him. Of course if you knew Jeff, you know it would be hard not to. He was there for Ken’s wedding and for mine. He went to my college graduation. And I still remember Ken and I singing him the AWANA song in the kitchen of our old house in Indiana. He was a wonderful person and always knew the right (or wrong) thing to say. He will not be forgotten but he will be missed.

Headed Home...Maybe

Tim was told yesterday that he might get to come home at the end of the week. Since then he has spiked a fever, so I'm not sure if the plans have changed. I know he is just dying to get out of there. It would be a shame if he wasn't able to come home.

Spoke to Pearlman

Dr. Shaffi spoke to the Dr. Pearlman. Dr. Pearlman is going to get Tim on his schedule for surgery in Denver to replace his g-tube in the next 7-10 days.

Blood doing better

Tim's hemoglobin has been slowly declining since he had his last transfusion. But this morning the oncologist said it didn't change much since yesterday. Also in the toliet, his platelets...as of this morning, they were at 100...the highest number he's had in the past couple of weeks.

Surgery in Denver?

Tim is still in the hospital. His white counts are low but his platelets are slowly starting to come up. His g-tube still needs to be replaced and Dr. Shaffi thinks Tim's problem is surgical. We contacted a local surgeon in Colorado Springs but he refused Tim's case. So now we are waiting for a call from Dr. Pearlman at University Hospital, the one who originally put in the tube. In the meantime, Tim is just trying to get stronger. Right now, even if the surgeon took his case, he is too weak.

As a side note, I just want to thank everyone again for the overwhelmingly generous donations. You have been an answer to our prayers. God has taken care of us time and time again and I know, no matter what, he will continue to do so. Isn't He so good!!

Can we do anything to help?

When we get asked this qustion, Tim and I say, "Oh, I don't know...we don't need anything right now". Well that has changed. It would mean so much to both Tim and I if my brother and his wife could drive or fly to Colorado from Seattle, WA. This would be an extra trip home since they are coming to Colorado next month for a friend's wedding. I'm not sure if this is something appropriate to even ask for but if you feel called to help, please let me know. And if not please continue to pray for Tim. He is fighting for his life and has a long road ahead of him.

...I have had an overwhelming response to this post and I just want to say thank you to all of you who have offerred to help. What a wonderful blessing it is to have my brother & wife here at a time when we really need need them. Thank you.

Status = Same

Tim is about the same as he was yesterday and the day before. His bp & hr are good although he does have a slight temp in spite of the antibiotics he is taking. Right now we are just waiting for his white cell (infection fighting) & platlet (clot blood) counts to come back up. Until then, he will not have his g-tube replace again.

He is a little better...

Mom and I left last night around midnight. Dad took the swing shift from 12 - 7 a.m. Overall Tim's blood pressure was stable and his heart rate was lower than it had been yesterday afternoon. Right now he is awake and talking. His bp is has been in the high 90s and his hr is hovering around 100. He is getting around 2 pints of blood because his hemoglobin is back down. His temperature his normal. He had a CAT scan this morning and we are still waiting on the results. His biggest complaint though...his head hurts! We haven't seen the GI doctor yet this morning. So I'm not sure if the g-tube will be replaced today.

...The doctor just came by and he's not going to replace anything today. Tim is just starting to get better. The last thing they need to do is make him sick again. Dr. Shafii is on call all weekend so he said he could change out the tube on Saturday or even Sunday. So for now...we wait.