Great News

Dad is now completely off of dialysis and talking. The recovery will still be a long haul, but things are definitely moving in the right direction. 

Moving in the Right Direction

Dad is now completely off of Ativan and much more awake and responsive. Despite being off of Ativan, he seems very calm and comfortable.

Yesterday, he was able to stand up and sit in a chair. In terms of his other abilities, he is now able to write a little bit and in a couple of days, he will be able to talk because the doctors are downsizing his tracheotomy and capping it.

So, news is good for now.

Ventilator

The doctors took Dad completely off of the ventilator and he is breathing easily on his own.

Esophagus Repair

As I mentioned in a previous post, there was a leak in Dad's esophagus which was repaired by a stent. It now turns out that the leak had formed a hole in the esophagus which caused the infection that was effecting his kidneys. So, the source of the infection has finally been found, which is a big relief. The doctors have detached his esophagus from his stomach and are draining it. They are confident that this takes care of the infection. However, they are still keeping him on dialysis, but they may slow that down and just put him on it for brief periods of time.

In addition to the detachment of his esophagus, the doctors performed a tracheotomy. So, he no longer has a breathing tube and he seems to be breathing easily on his own.

His esophagus will be detached for quite some time, but I don't want to reveal any certain amount of time until the doctors are absolutely sure.

This all sounds very serious and it is, but I want to assure you all that Dad really is getting much better. Now that his infection is solved and he's breathing more on his own, he is much more comfortable and able to rest more easily. He is also less heavily sedated, more awake and alert. Yesterday, he was even smiling and mouthing messages to us.

Alas, I am not a doctor. So, I cannot be as specific about all of this information as I would like to be. I hope you all feel well-informed, though and let me know if you have questions about anything.

Current Status

Dad is much less sedated. He's not up and talking yet, though.

There was leakage in his new esophagus which the doctors solved through putting in a temporary stent.

All in all, he's doing well. Heart rate and blood pressure are a little high, but that is normal given the lack of sedation.

That's all the news we have for now.

Coming Soon...

Sorry I haven't updated this lately. I promise to write a new post tomorrow. News is good for now, though.

Improvement

Dad's heart rate is now in the 60s (HUGE improvement from a few days ago when it was 150) and the doctors are slowly taking him off of his blood pressure medication.

The doctors also think the dialysis appears to be helping with his infection.

That's all the news for now. We'll continue to keep you updated...