There's fluid (pancreatic juices) behind Ron's kidney, not uncommon for someone with severe pancreatitis; but his is increasing in size. So, this afternoon he will have a procedure performed that will place a "percutaneous" (I think this means through the skin?) drain in to help get rid of this fluid. It will also help drain any fluid the pancreas continues to produce. This procedure will be done by the radiologist using ultrasound to guide where to best place the drain.
The CT scan also revealed that he has a bowel perforation (basically his upper intestine is leaking into his abdominal cavity), most likely at the place in the intestine where the upper drain was placed. During the surgery they had tried to remove as much of the dead intestine as possible but evidently the integrity of the intestine made it hard to determine how far to go. This leak should be controllable with the existing drains and should hopefully heal itself and could better be dealt with later if needed.
The consensus is this is most likely the cause of both the elevated white blood cell count and temperature. He will continue to be on heavy-duty antibiotics and obviously they will monitor this condition very carefully.
Please join us in praying:
- that the procedure to place the drain will go without any problems
- that the bowel perforation will heal itself (quickly!!)
- that God would heal him of any/all infection;
- .....actually, complete healing is what we are praying for!
On a better note: Ron rested better last night than he has in a long time. He's gotten a bit tired today from all the running around they've done to CT and Xray; but overall is having a pretty good day!
I know people really want to visit; but at this point Ron is NOT READY FOR VISITORS. You can best minister to us by your continued prayers.
"If the Lord delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand." Psalm 27: 23-24
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