3:10

The dialysis is ongoing until the renal team decides that enough fluid has been removed and then they will likely remove the machine and test the kidneys on their own to see how they function without any help. Papa is on two broad spectrum antibiotics right now. The blood pressure medicines are reduced to a minimum. The drain at the duodenum (site where perforation was and where the bypass was performed) is still draining more than other drains are, but the nurse said that since this is the site of the original infection it is not surprising. Urine output for the last few hours has only averaged about 3cc's per hour, which is very little, but its good to have any at all and hopefully the dialysis will boost this. Going to mass now @ St. Mary Of The Assumption , where Father Seelos's Shrine is......prayers for intercession from him.

Saturday Dec. 31st 11:15

Started dialysis on a CRRT ( Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy) machine. It will remove fluid and cleanse the blood. It is a form of dialysis that is slow and takes 24 hours to complete. Had to give a minimal dose of blood pressure medicine which is typical for dialysis, the nurse said. His kidneys are still producing a small amount of urine which is good. Blood glucose level is being controlled well with meds. Good report on his white cell count...went down from 27 to 18 which is a significant drop. Red count did drop a little, so they have given him 2 units of blood. Ran low grade fever for a little while last night...gone now. The drains coming from abdomen are collecting less, except for one on the right which is still having a fair amount of output. He is receiving less oxygen on the vent today and they will keep him on vent for now so his body can work on getting rid of fluid and healing.

Saturday December 31st 7:00a.m.

Got a phone call @ 12:30 last night from a Dr.explaining that he would have to insert a dialysis line in Papa's neck so that they could start dialysis to give his kidneys a boost.

6:40

Papa's kidneys are not functioning well..nurse gave him a dose of Lasix, which did not help, and then a little later another dose. She said if the last dose didn't help the kidneys to kick in they would have to resort to dialysis. She also mentioned that he had fever again, just under 101 and that his white count was still rising. She also mentioned that usually in patients with sepsis it is difficult to regulate the blood pressure, but Papa's is holding steady and not presenting a problem, so that is very good.

Friday Dec. 30th 11:30

Nothing new today. Papa is in same condition as yesterday. Talked to Dr. Townsend who said that Papa's condition is what he expected it to be at this stage. He explained again about the swelling and that it is necessary for them to continue pumping him with the fluids to help his condition. Please know that if anything changes we will update the blog asap, otherwise no news is good news at this stage. There is nothing we can do for him right now but to offer up our prayers. We will visit ICU again this afternoon and if anything changes we will update. Thank you for your concern and your prayers. Our love, Mary Catherine
, Lala, and Libby

Thursday Dec. 29th 9:50

Visited Papa again for a few minutes tonight. He is about the same. They started him on an insulin drip. His nurse said this is not alarming..many times after major surgery and when on TPN the blood sugar will rise. No fever lately which is excellent news. He is very swollen because of the fluids they have been giving him to flush his body of the toxins. Please keep prayers coming for our sweet Papa.

5:30

Saw Papa again this afternoon. No new news. We went to the shrine of Blessed Father Seelos today to pray for Papa. A woman who attributes her healing from a brain aneurysm to the intercession of Father Seelos, came to pray with us today. She has relics of Seelos's that we held as we prayed. We were inspired to hear her story. Please continue to pray for Papa. We will go to see him again tonight. We don't expect much change for the next couple of days.

Thursday Dec. 29th 10:30

We just visited Papa in ICU.  They have strict visiting hours and rules.  The halls here are buzzing with Dr.s and nurses.  We are definitely thankful to be here .  Papa is swollen, his vitals are good.  He did run a fever which has come down with medicine.  One of the surgeons on his case explained again what each tube is for, how they work, and said that it is typical for the body to react by swelling the way his is.  He says the same goes for the other organs such as the kidneys.  It will take time for everything to calm down and function to return to normal.  He said that today all of the signs so far are ideal for his situation.   There is a drain tube coming from the duodenum (this is the area which they blocked off and where the repair was done)....then he explained how they re-routed that area with a tube from the stomach to the intestine.  He now has an OG tube (tube from stomach coming out through his mouth).... a drain from the right lung .....and drains from the abdomen.  They will leave him on the vent to give his body a rest, and he is sedated but the nurse says he can be roused so that she can question him about pain, etc.  We do not want to rouse him by talking
 to him right now.  He just needs time for rest so his body will heal .  

9:00

Saw Papa in his ICU room.  We have faith that the staff here are so good and well equipped.  He has drains everywhere... blood pressure is controlled.  All vitals look good.  No more fever.  We are thankful that we were able to get here when we did.  We can come back to visit tomorrow @ 9 and will keep updating.
Keep the prayers coming please.  Thank you.

8:00 Follow up on Papa's Surgery

Papa has come out of his surgery.  We have faith that this surgeon is very knowledgeable and has reassured us that this surgery was a success.  He drained and washed out the abdomen and closed the muscular layer , but left the outer tissue open to allow it to heal from inside out and to prevent further infection.  Dr. Townsend said that the infectious fluid was everywhere from chest to pelvic area...said he "had a mess on his hands" when he opened him up.  They did do the bypass of the duodenum.  This will keep the gastric juices isolated from this area...and he will be able to tolerate some liquids soon.  He was anxious to remove the NG tube because he said that Papa seems to "hate that thing"..(he is so right!)  May do this as early as tomorrow.  They left a drain in right lung and removed a lot of fluid from that area.  Also placed tube for tube feeding .   Inserted more drainage tubes.  He is heavily sedated and will remain on the vent for the time being.  He informed us of the possible compliations, such as damage done to other organs prior to this surgery.  Please lift our  wonderful Papa (Saint George as we call him!)  up in prayer!  Thank you

3:30

Met with surgeon to discuss procedure.  He says Papa is septic now , which explains his confusion which began yesterday evening.  He stressed the importance of immediate surgery.  He says best case scenario would be to open him up, clean out abdomen very well, look at the first repair that was done and try to find source of leakage.  Expects several drains to be placed in abdomen.  They say there is pnuemonia on the right lung, which they will put a drain in.  Otherwise he may have to do a bypass of the duodenum.  He wasn't sure depending on what he found upon opening him up.  Surgeon says he will be on vent again, possibly for a number of days, and says it is good that we are here now....his condition was declining quickly.

2:15

In New Orleans @ Ochsner with Papa.  He was airlifted here from OLOL.   The Dr.s have read his CT scan and are going to do surgery, mostly to clean out the infection and explore, then do whatever repairs they feel are necessary.   Please lift him up in your prayers.

Wednesday Dec. 28th 9:15 a.m.

Papa's temperature spiked last night to 102.9 and hasn't really completely  returned to normal.  CT scan this a.m. shows a lot of infectious fluid still in abdomen .  Dr. Paredes (the surgeon) has come in for consult.  His suggestion is to move Papa to Ochsner in New Orleans for more acute care and to possibly have another surgery.  Apparently the fluid is not draining as quickly as it needs to and the antibiotics are not working to rid the fluid of infection.  This is preventing his duodenal fistula from healing.  We have consulted other doctors and surgeons and everyone we  have spoken with agrees that is the best thing to do for Papa.  We are now just waiting to hear from the staff here as to when the transfer will take place.....will definitely be happening as soon as possible (probably before noon).

Papa continues to improve .  Had a rough night last night.   He was irritable and talking about wanting to go home, wanting to know why they wouldn't feed him or give him any drink.  It is so sad to see.  The doctors say they see improvement and that it will be a very long, slow recovery.  His kidneys are still slowly improving, the lungs looking good too since his procedure yesterday, heart dr. believes there is no damage to the heart and that the a-fib is due to anxiety or reduction of the meds used for sedation.  He will have another CT scan tomorrow a.m. to determine whether he needs another drain inserted in a different area because he is still retaining so much fluid.  Still in ICU.

Monday Dec. 26th 7:30

Surgeon came by and thought Papa looked good..much better than yesterday, he said.  Says they  may be putting another drain in to relieve more fluid or an air pocket. Will be doing an x-ray in a.m. to determine what is necessary.  We have the Saints game on...he is trying to keep his eyes open to watch.  Don't think he wil see the whole game at this rate, but good to see him interested and trying.

Monday Dec. 26th

Papa went in this morning and they did a procedure (thoracentesis) to remove fluid from his lung area.  Have removed a liter or more .  His kidneys continue to improve.  He is resting comfortably.

Sunday December 25th 6:30 p.m.

Papa is scheduled for a CT scan early tomorrow morning and they will perform a thoracentesis to remove fluid from lung.  He is resting well and vitals looking better.

Sunday December 25th

Papa had a rough night last night.  Respiration , heart rate  and blood pressure were high throughout the night.  Giving him meds on a regular basis now to regulate his heart rate and blood pressure.  Respiration rate has come down.  Surgeon has ordered chest x-ray to see about the pocket of air (located in the right lung...lower lobe).   Checking for air or infection..may insert drain @ the site if needed.

News on Papa Saturday Dec. 24th

We have created this blog for all of our friends and family so that we can keep everyone informed about Papa's progress.  This morning Dr. Gupta said that there was a lot of improvement in the kidneys..good news since for the last few days he had said there was no change for the better or worse. Heart Dr. on call came in and said they had not yet received results from the ultrasound of his heart which was performed yesterday...but they are confident that there are no problems with the heart.  Talked about moving him out of ICU today. They started him on new feedings today which now contain lipids (fats)...and he has been having regular bowel movements throughout the day......a little too regular.  They believe that this may be disagreeing with him because of the fact that he now has no gall bladder...so they may adjust this . Around 1:30 this afternoon Papa's heart rate shot up again...he went into a-fib and are now waiting for his heart rate to lower again.   He will remain in ICU for now.