Wow! What a week it has been! I am definitely ready for the weekend!
I know it's been kind of lonely for Ron to have me back at work...no one to wait on him hand and foot! haha But we are adjusting and trusting God to continue to provide for our every need..
Ron started having problems with his PICC line Tuesday and after a call to Presby we were told they wanted him to have it changed on Wednesday. So, we moved things up from Friday. Always a long day at Presby but PICC line change went well. We also met with Dr. Arslanlar and, after seeing he has tipped the scales at a hefty 203; decided it was time to put him on a diuretic to try to get some of this fluid off. Always such a delicate balance of too much fluid, causing edema (swelling) and too little, causing dehydration.
There is some concern that he is having trouble progressing in consistency/thickness of foods. His last few CT scans have shown the lower part of his intestines is narrower than the upper part. They've been hoping that as he began eating it would stretch out but there has always been a concern that he could have a blockage and it is becoming pretty obvious there is at least a pronounced narrowing at one point. If this does not remedy quickly, the next plan of action will be an EGD with balloon inflation; a procedure where they will thread an endoscope down his throat to wherever the blockage/narrowing is and then inflate the balloon to stretch it. The most likely place the problem is located is where the scar tissue is (and fistula was); and, of course, they can't stretch this area without the possibility of reopening the fistula. In the meantime, he is to back off on foods again...avoid anything that will swell (rice, pasta, cream of wheat, oatmeal, etc) and stick with soups, soft-cooked veggies he can chew until mush, limited cooked fruits (not too many due to fiber issue).
He did begin the oral steroids...YEAH!!! No more injections!!! Dr. Arslanlar also tweaked TPN (removed sodium to help with swelling issue) and put him on a multivitamin. Even though he gets a multivitamin in TPN, Dr. Arslanlar thinks he may have a vitamin deficiency that could attribute to not being able to get rid of the thrush. It was 4:30 and raining before we finally left Presbyterian.
On to more excitement!
About 3:45 this afternoon I received a phone call from Ron saying he had just gotten a call from his parents caregiver and something was wrong with Mom. He had her call 911 and told her I would meet them at Harris HEB's emergency room. The was feeling rotten and no wonder; she has pneumonia and is dehydrated. I was there until a little after 9; wanted to make sure she was settled into a room.
Please pray for:
healing of Ron's entire intestinal tract
Ron's mom (Ruth Nordell) health issues
Kristin as she has begun the long commute to school in Plano
Aaron and his job search
rest!
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