The last couple of weeks before Christmas were very hectic. Alot of things going on with no time to keep everyone up to date. So, I'll try to catch you up...
Ron hit a pretty rough time about a week before we were to leave for our Christmas vacation. And honestly, I was beginning to doubt the wisdom of going. Extreme fatigue, weakness, increased reflux and regurgitation, as well as continued weight loss. Results from his routine blood work showed a marked increase in his white blood cell count (19,000) which led to orders for a CT scan to check out abdomen, pelvis and chest.
The timing of the CT on Wednesday, December 17, worked out well; we had plans to take Christmas snacks up to the nurses at Presby on that day so we were able to take care of both things at the same time! It was great to be able to bless these wonderful nurses who ministered to Ron (as well as our entire family!) for so long with such professionalism, care and compassion. They hold a very special place in our hearts. It was a very rough day on him but he was determined to stick it out.
We also saw Dr. Shires and he reminded us "the rule of thumb for rehab after a lengthy illness is 3 days for every day in hospital. So you're still looking at a good 21 months or so". I know we've been told this before, but it's still hard to hear; especially for Ron. And as we talked about it later, he admitted it was very discouraging, but he did agree at least it's good to know that his lack of energy and his extreme fatigue is not unexpected or out of the ordinary. As hard as it is to imagine, he's still got a very lengthy healing process ahead.
We received CT results Friday before we left which showed "no abscess or infection in the chest, pelvis or abdomen. And no abdominal abscess, inflammation, kinking or blockage" All good news. (Another blood workup was done before we left town and white blood count had considerably decreased, now at a slightly elevated level of 11,000) .
Reflux and regurgitation comes and goes. Extreme fatigue goes without saying. For instance, after going to church, he has to come home and take a 2 hour (or more) nap. I also know he doesn't interact with others because it requires so much expended energy it's exhausting. If you notice, his entire posture looks very stiff (especially the way he holds his hands at an odd angle) which is caused by muscle fatigue and tightness. And he often struggles with difficulty sleeping at night.
He did pretty well on our Christmas vacation; some sinking spells and a few puking episodes but overall it was a good trip. It was great for him to be surrounded by his family. And of course there was plenty of family there! As well as lots of great food to try to fatten him up a little! Only one afternoon did things get really bad and he had to give in to a few hours in bed and a little bit of a pity party, but who can blame the guy???
Ron has spent today sleeping off and on; I'm trying to cut him some slack and have only forced him out for one walk and a short trip to the grocery store. But tomorrow, I'm hoping to start whipping him back into shape! (At least get him back into a more consistent sleeping, eating and physical therapy schedule).
Keep praying....God hears and answers!
1 comment:
It's great to hear that you guys got to have so much fun!
And Rob will tell you that my favorite part of any vacation is the day that I spend in the hotel room watching movies on TBS! I think it's good to spend some down time in a different space :) I hope we run into each other soon!
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