Journal entry by Debbie Heiman — 11 minutes ago
I just realized that I haven’t updated since Saturday during the day. Everything becomes a blur when you’re in a hospital room day in and day out.
Rewind back to Saturday night, around 10 PM. Scott spiked a fever of 102. They ordered a chest X-ray, blood cultures, and an EKG. The blood cultures came back negative for now, and hopefully nothing shows up on them later. His EKG was fine, but the chest X-ray showed a slight issue with his lungs. I’m not even going to try to explain it, because I’ll probably say something wrong. Long story short, he needs to start using his spirometer more for breathing exercises, in order to prevent pneumonia from setting in. That is the big concern. His lungs need to expand and contract with deep breathing.
Dr. Mogal (his surgeon) came in this morning to talk to Scott. He said that the NG tube will have to stay in for at least 2 more days. It’s too risky to remove it until the bowels are fully awakened. If it’s taken out too soon, it will cause a lot of vomiting.
He is being given Tylenol around the clock to keep the fevers down. Thankfully, it is working. He can tell when he is due for it, because his fever starts rising again.
Scott took 2 walks in the hallway yesterday, which was VERY difficult for him, but he did it anyways. He uses a walker and goes very slowly. I’m so proud of him, because this is such a huge task for him. He just took a walk in the hallway today and did very well. It tires him out quite a bit and then he sleeps for a while.
He has begun to swell up pretty significantly in his arms and hands. His hands are numb, which is irritating.
I’m writing this in shifts, between helping Scott, figuring out kid’s schedules, replying to texts, etc. Right after I wrote about the NG tube, we realized just how important it REALLY is for him right now.
After I got him washed up and moved him to the chair in his room, his NG tubing didn’t get hooked back up correctly by one of the nursing assistants. He was starting to have difficulty breathing, due to all of the mucus. We realized just how important the NG tube is and how necessary it is for him to keep it in. He is getting used to it, which is a blessing!
Dr. Mogal noticed the swelling of the arms and asked for a test to be done to check for blood clots. I’m praying that this is not the case. He didn’t seem overly concerned, but they don’t want to skip a beat with anything that might cause a problem in the future. I love how the nursing staff is on top of things and helping him recover to the best of their ability.
Results from the blood draw this morning showed he had an elevated creatinine count, which shows how the kidneys are functioning. They are keeping an eye on that as well.
His potassium has been low, and they have been giving it to him in his IV. It burns his arm, like it’s being held in a fire. I can’t believe how painful it was for him. In NY, he just got horse pills for it. His pain tolerance is over the roof, so to see him in moaning pain means it’s REALLY bad!
Please keep the prayers coming! We could really use them right now!
Much love from Froedtert 8NT!
Rewind back to Saturday night, around 10 PM. Scott spiked a fever of 102. They ordered a chest X-ray, blood cultures, and an EKG. The blood cultures came back negative for now, and hopefully nothing shows up on them later. His EKG was fine, but the chest X-ray showed a slight issue with his lungs. I’m not even going to try to explain it, because I’ll probably say something wrong. Long story short, he needs to start using his spirometer more for breathing exercises, in order to prevent pneumonia from setting in. That is the big concern. His lungs need to expand and contract with deep breathing.
Dr. Mogal (his surgeon) came in this morning to talk to Scott. He said that the NG tube will have to stay in for at least 2 more days. It’s too risky to remove it until the bowels are fully awakened. If it’s taken out too soon, it will cause a lot of vomiting.
He is being given Tylenol around the clock to keep the fevers down. Thankfully, it is working. He can tell when he is due for it, because his fever starts rising again.
Scott took 2 walks in the hallway yesterday, which was VERY difficult for him, but he did it anyways. He uses a walker and goes very slowly. I’m so proud of him, because this is such a huge task for him. He just took a walk in the hallway today and did very well. It tires him out quite a bit and then he sleeps for a while.
He has begun to swell up pretty significantly in his arms and hands. His hands are numb, which is irritating.
I’m writing this in shifts, between helping Scott, figuring out kid’s schedules, replying to texts, etc. Right after I wrote about the NG tube, we realized just how important it REALLY is for him right now.
After I got him washed up and moved him to the chair in his room, his NG tubing didn’t get hooked back up correctly by one of the nursing assistants. He was starting to have difficulty breathing, due to all of the mucus. We realized just how important the NG tube is and how necessary it is for him to keep it in. He is getting used to it, which is a blessing!
Dr. Mogal noticed the swelling of the arms and asked for a test to be done to check for blood clots. I’m praying that this is not the case. He didn’t seem overly concerned, but they don’t want to skip a beat with anything that might cause a problem in the future. I love how the nursing staff is on top of things and helping him recover to the best of their ability.
Results from the blood draw this morning showed he had an elevated creatinine count, which shows how the kidneys are functioning. They are keeping an eye on that as well.
His potassium has been low, and they have been giving it to him in his IV. It burns his arm, like it’s being held in a fire. I can’t believe how painful it was for him. In NY, he just got horse pills for it. His pain tolerance is over the roof, so to see him in moaning pain means it’s REALLY bad!
Please keep the prayers coming! We could really use them right now!
Much love from Froedtert 8NT!
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