Good evening, everyone! At least those of you in the US...for our family in Germany & Greece, I have no idea as to the time of day when you are reading this! Isn't it exciting that we have people all over the world praying! God is so big...and how often I'm guilty of placing Him in a box!
Today has been a fairly quiet, but good, day! Ron has been seen by all 3 doctors and the physician's assitant, as well. Everyone is pleased with his progress, and not concerned that it is slow (even though we tend to get anxious about it)! GOOD NEWS: His numbers are going down....Kidney function is 1.5 (creatnine) which is barely on the high side of normal for him; pancreas inflammation is much improved, amylase and lipase (pancreatic enzymes) are way down. Only number that has stayed high is his White Blood Cell Count...24,330 (normal should be below 10,000).
As a precaution they have him using an incentive spirometer which gauges how well his lungs are functioning. Four times a day he takes deep breaths from this device (10 repetitions) and it has a little ball that rises to gauge the volume. He is NOT having any breathing problems, but since he has a history of lung collapse, they want to be overly cautious since he's been down so long.
He has walked the halls 3 times today (once even made a loop of the entire floor) and sat up in the chair for about 30 minutes after each time. He has been able to eat popsiciles twice...a real treat!!!...still nothing to eat or drink but they liken this to ice chips!
They decided they didn't like the side effects the Dilautid was giving him so they discontinued this and placed him on a Demerol drip instead. The tremoring and fidgeting have stopped but still having the sleep/mini-dream/startling awake issues...should clear up soon, though.
Another vein collapsed this evening and they are having a hard time finding a good vein to replace the IV in so they are calling in a nurse anesthetist. He continues to have a lot of abdominal pain--consistently 5 or above even on the meds--doctors say this will reduce over time. They are thinking about removing the catheter tomorrow and see how things "go" (pun definitely intended! haha!)
Still no indications as to when he might go home, and no timeline given as to when they'll allow him to start drinking or eating. Soooo....we continue to rejoice over each victory that comes and try to patiently on those yet to come.
"But if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently." Romans 8:25 NLT
Thank you for your prayer support and words of encouragement. Our love to each of you!
Christie
**** Hoping he'll feel up to visitors soon, but not yet! ****
"Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:32b-34 NLT (verse God gave Ron to claim following Aaron's traumatic accident, and it holds true in all circumstances!)
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