Thursday Morning

Dad has made some great progress today. He is now off all of his heart medications, so the only IV drips he is on now are antibiotics and calcium (due to the fact that the anti-coagulant for the dialysis binds to calcium and clears it out of him). His vitals are much improved with a pulse of about 75 and a blood pressure of 160/65. They were also able to reduce one of the settings on his vent today, which is another good sign.

Early Wednesday morning, Dad's hematocrit was at 19 (which is low) so they gave him two units of blood and the number jumped up to 28, which the nurse Jill said was a big jump, so that was positive as well. Because the hematocrit keeps dropping, the care team is assuming that he is still bleeding somewhere, but they did another CT scan today and couldn't see anything which would be causing the number to drop like that. The resident on tonight, Dr. Millar, said that it is possible the dialysis is causing the problem, so they will just keep monitoring him and see what happens.

The CT scan did reveal that Dad's NG tube (which drains fluid, mostly bile, from the stomach so it doesn't seep up through the esophagus and go into the lungs) was too far down, which may have been the cause for the issues with his pancreas. They pulled it out a little, and we are currently waiting to hear back from the lab to see if the pancreatic enzyme numbers have improved. If they have, then they will be able to start feeding him through his feeding tube again, which I know will make Dad happy.

When Dr. Millar came around tonight he started talking to my Dad about the priesthood blessing he received on Saturday night (the 21st). For those of you who aren't aware of it, we are members of the LDS faith and believe in the anointing of the sick and afflicted as spoken of in James 5:14. So, on Saturday night, when things were bleakest, my brother-in-law Enrique did just that, with the aid of one of the doctors here in the SICU. He was anointed with oil and given a blessing that he would be able to have the strength to make it through the night and the procedure he was going to have the next morning. Dad was also given a blessing by his bishop (local church leader) a little bit later, in which he was told that he would be here long enough to complete his mission.

Anyway, doctor Millar was trying to tell Dad something about the blessing, but Dad started talking about having a care conference for all of the patients that he would lead, so the doctor wasn't able to finish. A few minutes later I went out and asked the doctor what he was going to say. He said that he and the doctor who helped Enrique on Saturday (his first name is Matt) are both LDS as well, but that it is very hard for them to participate in blessings sometimes b/c their education and training sometimes overshadows their faith. He said that the expectation of the doctors on Saturday night was that Dad wouldn't survive until the next morning – medically it looked like he didn't really have a chance. So, it was a somewhat difficult task for Matt to have the faith to participate in a blessing for Dad to get better when he didn't really think that would happen.

Dr. Millar continued to tell me that because he had been asked to help, Matt was happy to, despite his reservations. Then, miraculously, Dad started to improve – against all odds. The medical team hadn't done anything different to help him, he just started to improve on his own. Dr. Millar said that ever since Matt told him the story of what happened that night, Dad's experience has been a source of spiritual strength for him and helped renew his faith in the power of priesthood blessings. I can only say, "Wow!" Dad continues to touch so many people's lives, many of which he doesn't even know about. We're sincerely grateful for the priesthood and the Lord's continued sustaining of Dad and the family.

I also had a frank discussion with Dr. Millar about what we can expect going forward. He said that Dad is still very sick, and actually used the term, "pulmonarily disabled". It will be a minimum of "weeks" before Dad will be able to get off the respirator and breathe on his own – assuming everything continues to improve as it has been over the last few days. Any setbacks could obviously change the time frame. He also said that he has renal failure, and that it is fairly likely that Dad will never regain the full functionality of his kidneys. The doctor also said that Dad is extremely weak, and it will be a long time before he can stand up on his own, or even sit up. When I asked about what kind of quality of life Dad could expect, he said that as long as they can get him off the respirator and home Dad should still expect to have a high quality of life. As far as predicting anything else, Dr. Millar said it was anyone's guess. So, we'll just continue to take each day as it comes and hope for the best.

I noticed that Pam Slade (one of my parents' neighbors) left a comment to the effect that they would like to come see him, but can't. Well, you can! The SICU is open to visitors 24/7, with the exception of shift changes which occur every twelve hours from about 6:30 to 8:30. If you would like to come visit Dad, it would be best to come between 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m b/c that is when he is most likely to be awake. We would only ask that if you are sick with a cold or the flu that you wait until you are better to visit, and that you keep the visits short (5 - 10 minutes), as communicating is difficult and tiring for him. But, I'm sure he would be happy to see any of his friends, family, neighbors, etc.

I have a favor to ask. I have a new nephew who is being blessed in church on Sunday morning, and I would like to attend. If someone would volunteer to stay with Dad on Saturday night, from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., I would greatly appreciate it (my wife would also like to have me home at least one night this week :-). It's a pretty easy job, as he sleeps the majority of the night. You would just have to be here to help him when he is awake, with things like more blankets, suctioning out his mouth, listening to his iPod and watching TV. Just post a comment here on the blog, or call or email me if you're interested.

Thanks to everyone for all the help and support. We know Dad wouldn't be doing as well as he is without your collective faith and prayers.