One More Thing

One thing I forgot to mention in my most recent post is that Dad is on TPN (Total parenteral nutrition), valium, and a pain patch (Fentanyl). This is all he is on currently.

Lacking Info

I've received a few e-mails saying you all need to be better informed, so I'm going to address some of your concerns here...

Dad has lost roughly 60-70 pounds.

In the rehabilitation center, he has a private room.

Also, if you want to send a card or anything like that, the address is 8050 Township Line Rd, Indianapolis, 46260.

Mom is hanging in there. She is exhausted, though and keeping up with updating everyone while being at the hospital has been stressful for her. Even with this blog and e-mails, she still gets several phone calls from her sisters and Dad's work associates and friends and it is tiring to reiterate the same information to everyone and rekindle stress.

In terms of Dad's state of mind, he is hanging in there too, but is understandably growing quite tired of the hospital. Thankfully, he is sleeping much better lately and with the reduction of the antidepressants, he is more alert.

Thankfully, Harry will be home for the summer this weekend. So, he will be able to give us some extra help.

Let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Medication Update

Last week, we were concerned that Dad was receiving too many antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications since he was appearing very weak and lethargic. We addressed these concerns to the doctor and he agreed that Dad may have been overmedicated, so he reduced the doses significantly and Dad responded well. More awake and alert. There was also a check on his kidneys recently and everything is fine.

That's all the news for now. Let us know if you have any other questions.

News on Rehab

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.

Rehab

Dad is on his way to rehab next week and doctors remain optimistic about his recovery.

Tracheotomy

Dad's tracheotomy has been removed and he is healing nicely. Doctors estimate a week or two of hospital time left, assuming everything goes smoothly, for physical therapy and overall recovery.

New Room

Dad has been moved to a regular room (no longer in ICU) which is a very good sign. Doctors remain optimistic about his recovery.