Sorry for the delay in blog posts. We just need everyone to be patient with us-- Reiterating the same information through phone calls, e-mail, etc. to several family members can be very tiring. However, we appreciate your concern, so we will try to stay more consistent with these blog entries.
Dad was moved to the rehabilitation center yesterday. This transition was a little tough on him, but the facility is very nice. The doctors and nurses are very warm and accomodating and even an improvement over the nurses in the regular ICU from what we have seen so far.
Dad is now on a feeding tube (which he will have for a few months until the next surgery to reattach his esophagus to his stomach.)
Other than that, he is in good spirits (talking, moving around a lot--walking the halls a little bit, etc.)
Please let us know of any questions or concerns you have so we can address them in this blog. Thank you.
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Three questions:
ReplyDelete1. Is the feeding tube a PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy)?
2. When do they anticipate reattaching esophagus?
3. How long does the procedure to reattach eso. normally take?
Sam,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the address and room number of the rehab center? I'd like to send your dad some cards.
Glad he has moved into a more comfortable enviroment. How is his strength and endurance? Has he lost a lot of weight? Please let him know that he is in our prayers. Mary Anne
Jerry,
ReplyDelete1. Dad's feeding tube is a J-Tube (Jejunostomy Tube) which bypasses his stomach and feeds directly into his intestinal tract.
2. The doctors say they can reattach his esophagus in approximately 3-4 months. Six months is a possibility too, though. It all depends on how well his rehabilitation goes. They don't want to push another surgery on him too soon because he still needs time to recover from his other surgeries.
3. The procedure to reattach the esophagus only takes about 2 hours and I'm told it will not take as much of a toll on his body as his initial operation did. Thankfully, recover should be relatively quick.
Mary Anne,
The address is 8050 Township Line Rd, Indianapolis, 46260. Let me confirm that address before you send anything, though because I'm not absolutely positive that is the exact address. I'll get back to you on that.
In terms of Dad's strength, he is actually weaker now than he was in regular ICU. The transition to this rehab center has been tough on him and he is very tired lately. Plus, he is dehydrated, but the doctors are working on that and he should bounce back a little bit soon.
Thank you both for your concern and we will keep in touch. Let me know if you have any further questions.