Today's appointment with the gastroenterologist went pretty well. The doc didn't see anything alarming on the blood test results, however, I placed a call to Tom's PCP to get his thoughts but did not receive a call back. Tom has an ultrasound scheduled for Wednesday morning just to get a status on things. The doc doesn't expect to find anything but I appreciate that he is being proactive.
Tom is not too sure about the gastro doc. When he was talking to "us" today, he was mostly looking at me. I wanted to point to Tom and say "that is your patient" but I held my tongue. I can't say that he is my favorite either but he seems to have a plan and I do like that. I told Tom the next time I would let him go by himself and the doc would have to look at him. I also told Tom that if he wanted to switch doc's he could. So I'll let him make that decision. I think he's afraid he will have to start all over but he can switch to the other doc in the same practice which happens to be my first "favorite" doc that saw Tom when he was in critical care. The gastro docs are part of the same practice as Tom's PCP so they should be able to share notes easily.
Tom will not see this doc for another month. Basically he wants to see how the next two months go. Hopefully Tom's health will remain stable and everything else will continue to improve. Meanwhile, Tom had a surprise physical therapy appointment today. It was originally scheduled for tomorrow but the therapist called and changed it to today. We had a fun-filled day with some friends yesterday, swimming in their pool so Tom has received quite a workout the past two days. I think it's great. Tom . . . not so much!
We had a fabulous meatloaf dinner tonight - courtesy of Tom's sisters. I even had time for a short ride on my new bike afterward. I realized tonight that we have reached the second half of summer - it's getting dark earlier. I know a lot of you are happy about that but I'm bummed. It hasn't been the happiest summer but I'm still out for some downtime for both of us - even if it's just a long weekend away. We have 3 new babies in the family that Tom and I have yet to meet so I'm hoping in the next few weeks he will get strong enough to take a trip to Georgia. I'm also hoping I can order up some more food and pick it up while we're there (hint, hint)!!!
Hope everyone has a good week. If there is anything new to report, I'll post. Otherwise - stay cool, pray for rain (at least for us) and please pray for continued healing for Tom.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
DR APPT FOLLOW-UP
Thanks to you all for being patient and waiting for this next post. There really hasn't been much to report. Tom had a follow-up doctors appointment this afternoon and as far as we know, all is well. The doc was pleased with how Tom looked. Of course, blood tests were done so we'll have to wait until next week to get those results. Tom has an appointment with the gastroenterologist on Monday morning. Hopefully that will go well also. I'm hoping the blood tests will be done by then but I don't know how fast the doctors office works. They had to stick Tom SIX times to get enough blood. It was painful to watch and I know even more painful for him!
It's been a busy week. Tom has had two visits from the home health nurse and two visits from the physical therapist. The highlight of the week was a visit from his Aunt Laurie and Aunt Jane who stopped by for a couple of hours on their way to Atlanta.
Tom has done really well with his diet and fluid intake. He could probably stand to have more protein (for energy) but he stayed away from all of the forbidden foods this week. The doc said today that he could reduce the amount of one med he is taking and can occasionally have a steak, hamburger or seafood. Tom is pretty excited about that so maybe we'll go out for a nice dinner this weekend.
Last Saturday, I returned home from getting my nails done to find Tom's sisters, Cathy and Debbie, and our niece, Abby sitting in our family room! I was so excited. Not only that but they brought LOTS OF FOOD that Tom can eat and the most amazing made-from-scratch birthday cake . . . with candles! I haven't had a birthday surprise like that in a long time. They were probably worried that Tom would starve with my cooking so we now have a freezer shelf full of taco meat, spaghetti sauce, mashed potatoes, and meatloaf. They also brought buffalo chicken dip, grape salad (which Tom loves) and homemade chocolate chip cookies. It is wonderful! They drove 4.5 hours one-way to see us and then turned around and drove home. Now that's LOVE!
Tom is planning to get up and go get his hair cut tomorrow morning while I'm at the Y. He's been working hard to regain his strength and feels like he is strong enough to get in and out of his truck. He is not "foggy" either and that has made a huge difference (for both of us). We have been invited to our friends Dennis and Diane's house to swim on Sunday. We're both looking forward to that.
That's about it. I'll post again after the appointment on Monday. Pray for more good news.
Have a great weekend!
It's been a busy week. Tom has had two visits from the home health nurse and two visits from the physical therapist. The highlight of the week was a visit from his Aunt Laurie and Aunt Jane who stopped by for a couple of hours on their way to Atlanta.
Tom has done really well with his diet and fluid intake. He could probably stand to have more protein (for energy) but he stayed away from all of the forbidden foods this week. The doc said today that he could reduce the amount of one med he is taking and can occasionally have a steak, hamburger or seafood. Tom is pretty excited about that so maybe we'll go out for a nice dinner this weekend.
Last Saturday, I returned home from getting my nails done to find Tom's sisters, Cathy and Debbie, and our niece, Abby sitting in our family room! I was so excited. Not only that but they brought LOTS OF FOOD that Tom can eat and the most amazing made-from-scratch birthday cake . . . with candles! I haven't had a birthday surprise like that in a long time. They were probably worried that Tom would starve with my cooking so we now have a freezer shelf full of taco meat, spaghetti sauce, mashed potatoes, and meatloaf. They also brought buffalo chicken dip, grape salad (which Tom loves) and homemade chocolate chip cookies. It is wonderful! They drove 4.5 hours one-way to see us and then turned around and drove home. Now that's LOVE!
Tom is planning to get up and go get his hair cut tomorrow morning while I'm at the Y. He's been working hard to regain his strength and feels like he is strong enough to get in and out of his truck. He is not "foggy" either and that has made a huge difference (for both of us). We have been invited to our friends Dennis and Diane's house to swim on Sunday. We're both looking forward to that.
That's about it. I'll post again after the appointment on Monday. Pray for more good news.
Have a great weekend!
Friday, July 15, 2011
EVENING DRIVE
The highlight of yesterday would have to be the evening "family" drive. I think it's good for Tom to be able to get out of the house and since we purchased a booster seat for the puppies, it seemed like a good time to try it out:
The puppies enjoyed it. We rode around for about 45 minutes. Finley (red) ended up laying down, Fritzi still wanted to get out. At one point, she managed to "jump" onto the console of my car. Neither one of us could figure out how she did it - we just looked down and there she was! I had to stop the car and put her back in. There is a way to secure them but they don't have harnesses yet so I didn't want to attach the strap to their collar.
Last night I told Tom he could just about have anything he wanted to eat. He had done so well all day with his sodium and protein intake. He chose to have some sherbet.
While we were out driving around, his sister called to tell us she had been on the Internet searching for low sodium, low protein foods. (What a blessing to have help). The one food that kept coming up was dog food. So, guess what Tom is having for dinner tonight?!? I know how to prepare dog food!! The puppies get oatmeal for dinner so Tom can have their Puppy Chow. My niece has also sent me a link to MealsForYou.com so that looks like a good source for other ideas - maybe even some for Tom!
A home health nurse came by to see him yesterday. She didn't have orders for blood work or anything but it was still a good thing for her to check on Tom. An occupational therapist is supposed to come by on Monday I think and he will probably have physical therapy at least one day next week.
He was to have lunch with his good friend, Dennis, today. I'm still waiting on him to call me and tell me how that went. I'm guessing I will have to wait until I get home unless I call him. I know he was looking forward to it.
That's about it for an update. Don't panic if you don't hear from me this weekend. Lots to do!!
I'll leave you with another picture of the puppies. They sleep with us, of course. They are in the middle of our bed. The blue thing is a heating pad:
The puppies enjoyed it. We rode around for about 45 minutes. Finley (red) ended up laying down, Fritzi still wanted to get out. At one point, she managed to "jump" onto the console of my car. Neither one of us could figure out how she did it - we just looked down and there she was! I had to stop the car and put her back in. There is a way to secure them but they don't have harnesses yet so I didn't want to attach the strap to their collar.
Last night I told Tom he could just about have anything he wanted to eat. He had done so well all day with his sodium and protein intake. He chose to have some sherbet.
While we were out driving around, his sister called to tell us she had been on the Internet searching for low sodium, low protein foods. (What a blessing to have help). The one food that kept coming up was dog food. So, guess what Tom is having for dinner tonight?!? I know how to prepare dog food!! The puppies get oatmeal for dinner so Tom can have their Puppy Chow. My niece has also sent me a link to MealsForYou.com so that looks like a good source for other ideas - maybe even some for Tom!
A home health nurse came by to see him yesterday. She didn't have orders for blood work or anything but it was still a good thing for her to check on Tom. An occupational therapist is supposed to come by on Monday I think and he will probably have physical therapy at least one day next week.
He was to have lunch with his good friend, Dennis, today. I'm still waiting on him to call me and tell me how that went. I'm guessing I will have to wait until I get home unless I call him. I know he was looking forward to it.
That's about it for an update. Don't panic if you don't hear from me this weekend. Lots to do!!
I'll leave you with another picture of the puppies. They sleep with us, of course. They are in the middle of our bed. The blue thing is a heating pad:
Thursday, July 14, 2011
AN EDIBLE DINNER
Well, I did cook dinner last night - Tom and I both survived! It was a new "low sodium" recipe for marinating pork chops. I grilled them on the George Foreman instead of outside. I do believe they were a little over-cooked but OK. I need to practice on the timing a little more. Tom ate all of the rice and most of the green beans too.
He did really well with the rest of his limitations yesterday. Overall I don't think he ate that much - I'd like to see him improve there. I received a call from the nutritionist today and she is putting together some more ideas for us. A home health nurse is coming by the house this afternoon. That will make me feel a whole lot better. Seeing Tom every day, I don't notice changes a trained nurse will see. He'll probably be more willing to answer her list of questions also. The occupational and physical therapists are back on-board as well so that will help keep Tom busy.
I think he has slept well the past two nights which wasn't always the case even when he was home before. Hopefully he can keep that up. It was nice to get a little more sleep myself last night. I was not in the best of moods when I got home yesterday after work, grocery shopping, and going to the pharmacy. Finley decided to run out of the gate as I was pulling the car in and I had to chase her around the cul-de-sac (which she thought was a lot of fun). Thankfully one of my wonderful neighbors saw me and came outside to help. It was so hot and I was so upset, I was just going to let her go and hope she had enough sense to come home. Once again I asked myself . . . what were we thinking when we got two puppies?!?!
When I left home this morning, I put a binder on the counter with all the spreadsheets I put together for Tom to log his meals, sodium, protein, liquids, weight, etc. Having to keep up with that, alone, should make him better in no time!!!
He did really well with the rest of his limitations yesterday. Overall I don't think he ate that much - I'd like to see him improve there. I received a call from the nutritionist today and she is putting together some more ideas for us. A home health nurse is coming by the house this afternoon. That will make me feel a whole lot better. Seeing Tom every day, I don't notice changes a trained nurse will see. He'll probably be more willing to answer her list of questions also. The occupational and physical therapists are back on-board as well so that will help keep Tom busy.
I think he has slept well the past two nights which wasn't always the case even when he was home before. Hopefully he can keep that up. It was nice to get a little more sleep myself last night. I was not in the best of moods when I got home yesterday after work, grocery shopping, and going to the pharmacy. Finley decided to run out of the gate as I was pulling the car in and I had to chase her around the cul-de-sac (which she thought was a lot of fun). Thankfully one of my wonderful neighbors saw me and came outside to help. It was so hot and I was so upset, I was just going to let her go and hope she had enough sense to come home. Once again I asked myself . . . what were we thinking when we got two puppies?!?!
When I left home this morning, I put a binder on the counter with all the spreadsheets I put together for Tom to log his meals, sodium, protein, liquids, weight, etc. Having to keep up with that, alone, should make him better in no time!!!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
HOME!!
Tom was discharged from the hospital yesterday evening and is HOME! There was lots to do last night to get settled so my apologies for not updating the blog.
There was one trip to the grocery store where it takes forever to look at every label for sodium content and two trips to the pharmacy to pick up RX's. Tom is going to be eating a lot of english muffins with jelly. Remember, I'm not the cook at home so this is a real challenge for me. Tom is on a low sodium diet which in and of itself is not that difficult however, there are certain other foods he cannot eat because they affect his ammonia level - those two together make it a bit tougher. I have left a message for a nutritionist to get some help. He still has fluid restrictions to help alleviate the swelling. I know after a while this will be much easier. Right now it is overwhelming.
My co-workers are munching on lots of salty snacks I cleaned out last night. There is also a bag of canned soups (even though they are "low sodium") ready to go to the food bank. I feel comfortable that Tom will not eat the things he shouldn't but I don't want him to be tempted. It will be better for me too (after I help eat all of this junk at work).
His follow up appointments have been scheduled and I think (hope) he has everything he needs today while I'm at work. I woke him up before I left at 6:15 this morning just to make it feel like he was still in the hospital - but at least I didn't turn on the bright lights or stick a needle in his arm (although I can do that if necessary). I simply reminded him to take his medicine and write down everything he eats and what's in it. I have lists all over the house of what meds to take at what time, charts for writing down sodium and protein content, and because he needs to weigh himself every day, a place to write that down too! It's all kind of funny when you take away the importance of it. He'll probably get a few phone calls from me today too.
The puppies were quite happy to have him home and couldn't wait to snuggle between us when we finally got to bed about midnight last night.
Please continue to pray for Tom's complete healing. I wouldn't mind if you prayed for my cooking abilities also. Our family and friends have been so encouraging and helpful. We draw our strength from your support and especially from The Almighty God!
There was one trip to the grocery store where it takes forever to look at every label for sodium content and two trips to the pharmacy to pick up RX's. Tom is going to be eating a lot of english muffins with jelly. Remember, I'm not the cook at home so this is a real challenge for me. Tom is on a low sodium diet which in and of itself is not that difficult however, there are certain other foods he cannot eat because they affect his ammonia level - those two together make it a bit tougher. I have left a message for a nutritionist to get some help. He still has fluid restrictions to help alleviate the swelling. I know after a while this will be much easier. Right now it is overwhelming.
My co-workers are munching on lots of salty snacks I cleaned out last night. There is also a bag of canned soups (even though they are "low sodium") ready to go to the food bank. I feel comfortable that Tom will not eat the things he shouldn't but I don't want him to be tempted. It will be better for me too (after I help eat all of this junk at work).
His follow up appointments have been scheduled and I think (hope) he has everything he needs today while I'm at work. I woke him up before I left at 6:15 this morning just to make it feel like he was still in the hospital - but at least I didn't turn on the bright lights or stick a needle in his arm (although I can do that if necessary). I simply reminded him to take his medicine and write down everything he eats and what's in it. I have lists all over the house of what meds to take at what time, charts for writing down sodium and protein content, and because he needs to weigh himself every day, a place to write that down too! It's all kind of funny when you take away the importance of it. He'll probably get a few phone calls from me today too.
The puppies were quite happy to have him home and couldn't wait to snuggle between us when we finally got to bed about midnight last night.
Please continue to pray for Tom's complete healing. I wouldn't mind if you prayed for my cooking abilities also. Our family and friends have been so encouraging and helpful. We draw our strength from your support and especially from The Almighty God!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
ALL DONE
The procedure this morning took about 30 minutes. I realize it's been over for a while but other duties required my attention.
In a nutshell, they found very little - which is a good. There is a small hiatal hernia and a slight narrowing of the esophagus. The doctor recommended Gaviscon for the reflux.
We're hoping Tom can go home today but will need to wait until the doctors can talk together. There is still some swelling in Tom's legs and they are treating that the same, with diuretics and limited fluid intake. He will go home with medicine to help control the ammonia level in his system and some antibiotics to make sure this infection is GONE! Tom said yesterday that when one of the techs we know and love came in and saw him again, she told him she was surprised he didn't have this infection earlier because of all of the antibiotics he has received. The gastro doc thinks Tom might have had it for longer than just this visit and that it was just masked by other things, so who knows?!?!
Tom will continue his very low salt diet and I'm thinking those "ammonia foods" will have to go as well - so I'll be making a trip to the food bank.
I'll post later with updates.
In a nutshell, they found very little - which is a good. There is a small hiatal hernia and a slight narrowing of the esophagus. The doctor recommended Gaviscon for the reflux.
We're hoping Tom can go home today but will need to wait until the doctors can talk together. There is still some swelling in Tom's legs and they are treating that the same, with diuretics and limited fluid intake. He will go home with medicine to help control the ammonia level in his system and some antibiotics to make sure this infection is GONE! Tom said yesterday that when one of the techs we know and love came in and saw him again, she told him she was surprised he didn't have this infection earlier because of all of the antibiotics he has received. The gastro doc thinks Tom might have had it for longer than just this visit and that it was just masked by other things, so who knows?!?!
Tom will continue his very low salt diet and I'm thinking those "ammonia foods" will have to go as well - so I'll be making a trip to the food bank.
I'll post later with updates.
Monday, July 11, 2011
FIRST POST TODAY?
I think this is my first post today - sorry to those who have been checking and waiting. The gastro doc came in to see Tom before I got here this morning at 7! He said he wasn't going to do any procedures, that Tom would be on antibiotics for another 2 weeks and he was pretty much ready to send Tom home but would talk to the PCP in charge first.
Then, after I left for work, the kidney doctor came in and asked Tom what he was doing in the hospital again? His kidneys looked great and his color was better than it's been. Tom told him he thought they found the reason for the infection and he hoped all of his docs would get together today and determine what the next step should be.
Apparently they did just that and have decided that Tom will have a "procedure" tomorrow after all. They are going to put a scope down his throat, into his stomach and look for bleeding, ulcers, polyps or whatever. Tom was told the procedure will be at 7 a.m. This is good news in that we will know what, if anything, is going on from that standpoint. Please say an extra prayer that this procedure will go smoothly and that whatever they find is easily treatable.
I received a call shortly after I got to work telling me they were moving Tom to another room. He has been on the surgery floor and they had 14 surgeries today with no beds. So, we're back on the sixth floor. I was originally told a room number that was in the cardiac wing but we're actually back in the same section where we've spent most of our hospital time. Fortunately we know most of the nurses & techs here.
Out Tom's window is a nice Serenity Garden that we didn't know existed. We requested a wheel chair and went to check it out. They originally were not going to let us go since there is a "heat emergency" in effect - it is so hot and humid here - but we were able to go out for a while anyway. I about melted but it felt good to Tom. He then had a nice shower. This room is a little bit bigger and the bathroom is actually smaller but the layout is much better overall.
I'll be hanging out here in the morning so as soon as I have some info, I'll post it.
Then, after I left for work, the kidney doctor came in and asked Tom what he was doing in the hospital again? His kidneys looked great and his color was better than it's been. Tom told him he thought they found the reason for the infection and he hoped all of his docs would get together today and determine what the next step should be.
Apparently they did just that and have decided that Tom will have a "procedure" tomorrow after all. They are going to put a scope down his throat, into his stomach and look for bleeding, ulcers, polyps or whatever. Tom was told the procedure will be at 7 a.m. This is good news in that we will know what, if anything, is going on from that standpoint. Please say an extra prayer that this procedure will go smoothly and that whatever they find is easily treatable.
I received a call shortly after I got to work telling me they were moving Tom to another room. He has been on the surgery floor and they had 14 surgeries today with no beds. So, we're back on the sixth floor. I was originally told a room number that was in the cardiac wing but we're actually back in the same section where we've spent most of our hospital time. Fortunately we know most of the nurses & techs here.
Out Tom's window is a nice Serenity Garden that we didn't know existed. We requested a wheel chair and went to check it out. They originally were not going to let us go since there is a "heat emergency" in effect - it is so hot and humid here - but we were able to go out for a while anyway. I about melted but it felt good to Tom. He then had a nice shower. This room is a little bit bigger and the bathroom is actually smaller but the layout is much better overall.
I'll be hanging out here in the morning so as soon as I have some info, I'll post it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)