Monday January 30 th , 7:50

Waited all day for Papa's physicians to FINALLY show up.   His tube feeding had been disconnected , because it was clogged , since 7:00 a.m. yesterday .  It had to be restarted by his surgeon and was  by 6:00 p.m. today.  We met Dr. Jason Breaux, his new surgeon, and his internist Dr. Dugas.  Both were kind and attentive. Dr. Dugas was amazed at the number of drains coming from his belly.  He was also not happy to know that Papa had not been receiving even some sort of IV fluids while off of his feeding tube.  This was something we were concerned about, asked the nurses about , but nothing was done to fix the problem.  Dr. Dugas ordered IV fluids for him and said he would get Papa fixed up.  I was sure to let him know about the uncooperative nurses we had over the weekend.  Papa looked relieved that his new Dr.s had arrived.  He ate today with no vomiting, but his tube wasn't clamped for most of the feedings.  Dr. Breaux reassured us that the stomach/ g-tube issue will take time to resolve and he suggested using the clamp slowly, for short periods  and building up to longer, just as Townsend had suggested.  He had occupational therapy, but was dizzy so couldn't do much more than sit on his bedside. Probably a drop in blood pressure, and weakness from lack of nutrition.Dialysis tomorrow.

Sunday, January 29th 8:00 a.m.

We are attempting to get Papa settled @ the LTAC.   Not exactly an easy transition.   Trying to get everyone on the same page has been difficult. We know Papa's needs, we know which meds he should be on, and we know the routine that was familiar to us at Ochsner.  The staff here, so far, has not been receptive to our input, in fact, almost resentful of it, as far as the nursing staff goes. It is has been very upsetting, but we think that on Monday, when we can get our physicians on board things should improve.  Papa went in for dialysis yesterday and was exhausted afterward. He had a rough evening , trouble with the nausea and he vomited, because they had his Gtube clamped.

Friday January 27th , 7:30

Good news...Papa is in Lafayette @ LTAC !  He is in a much better mood!  We are all so excited to be back home. He will have dialysis tomorrow. We will be updating then.

Friday January 27th 11:20 a.m.

Waiting to hear whether or not we will be able to leave here for LGMC LTAC today.  They are still experimenting with clamping the Gtube , and unfortunately Papa vomited again today after his breaksfast, which consisted of only a little soup.  Will update here as soon as we know anything .

Thursday January 26th 3:30

Papa vomited while he was receiving dialysis today.  His G tube was clamped and this is why he got sick.  The doctors want the g tube to remain clamped for as long as possible, doing it at longer intervals so that hopefully more of his food will empty into his intestines.  Obviously, the full food diet yesterday was too much to begin with, so he is back on liquid diet and will progress slowly from there .  Still waiting to hear if we will be leaving tomorrow to go to LGMC 's LTAC.

Wednesday January 25th 5:00

Papa was introduced to solid foods today for the first time in over 5 weeks.  He was thrilled to be eating.  He ate part of a chicken breast, corn and salad.  Unfortunately, he didn't hold onto it for long.  The doctor wanted to see if his stomach would handle solids yet, before he leaves the hospital here.  He was hoping to be able to remove the G-tube while he is still here.  Dr. Townsend said Papa will be here at least until Friday, because he would like to see how he reacts with the new feedings by mouth.  Townsend said he really believes Papa looks great and is doing well.  Looks like we will be here a little longer , but that's okay, as long as he is here we know he is in good hands.

Monday January 23, 5:20

Papa had physical therapy today and with the help of a walker was able to take a few steps.  It wore him out and he slept for the rest of the day.  His white count rose again to 21.  No talk of coming home just yet.

Sunday January 22nd, 3:30

Wonderful news today.....Papa has been moved from ICU to a regular room!  And his white cell count is down to 18 today!  That makes 3 "good" days in a row.  Amen !  Thank you Lord.

Saturday January 21st

Through this experience with Papa we have been touched by the goodness of our friends and family.  So many people offering prayers, even people who don't know Papa personally.  Friends and family helping with Grandma and Steven, people cooking food , helping to pay for expenses,  physicians and nurses taking a personal interest in Papa's case and offering their professional advice  (KAREN!).    The smallest gestures of help have touched our hearts and it has been an enlightening experience.  We have come across a beautiful poem entitled , "The Brave Little Soul", by John Alessi.  It tries to explain why God allows suffering to take place .  We have an excerpt from it that really hit home for us.  We have witnessed , through this experience with Papa and his suffering that many of these things here hold true.


"through suffering and God's strength,  goodness and and love were unlocked in people's hearts.  For so many people dropped their differences and came together to show their love. Priorities became properly aligned .  People gave from their hearts.  Those that were too busy found time.' Many began new spiritual journeys, some regained lost faith-many came back to God. Families hugged each other tighter. Friends and family grew closer. Old friends got together and new friedships were made. Distant family reunited and every family spent more time together. Everyone prayed. Peace and love reigned. Lives changed forever. It was good. The world was a better place.

Saturday January 21st 5:00

Papa had a good day yesterday.  He received CRRT dialysis on Thursday night.   Yesterday we shaved him, trimmed his nails and cleaned him up as best we could.  He looked so nice when we were done...if only we could wash that hair!  He is drinking broth for his meals ( Grandmother even sent some homemade chicken broth for him).....and jello and fruit juices are now his diet, and he is enjoying it.  Papa sat for a couple of hours in his chair and again today is doing the same.  This is a huge thing for him, no blood pressure issues while up in his chair.  The best news for today is that he was able to tolerate regular dialysis.  His white cell count did go down to 20.8 from  26 yesterday.  He has had 2 "good " days in a row...this has never happened before , so let's hope this is a new beginning !  Thanks for all the prayers..they are working!

Thursday , January 19th 2:50

Papa was in very good spirits this morning when we visited him
just before his procedure to implant the medi port he will use for dialysis.  We are in his room now and he is awake and visiting with us.  He will probably receive dialysis (CRRT) tonight.  Improvement is slow , but he is coming along.  When he is off of the CRRT he will then , and only then,  be able to transfer to an LTAC facility back in Lafayette.

Wednesday January 18th 12:30

Libby and I are here in New Orleans now and were able to speak with Dr. Townsend.  He says that he believes Papa would benefit from being moved from ICU to an LTAC facility.  He believes that although he still has the issue of dialysis to deal with and the fluctuating white cell count,  Papa would benefit from having more physical and occupational therapy.  He says that it will be better to do this to "push him along" and help him,not only physically , but also mentally.  He does not seemed alarmed about the white cell count, and says that the dialysis can be done on an as needed basis.  As of now, he is having dialysis treatments usually every other night for 12 hours at a time.  We were afraid that they were trying to rush us out of ICU, and we even talked to him about our concerns.  Dr. Townsend reassured us that he understood our concerns, but says he wants to see Papa out of the ICU setting so that he can continue to progress.  He believes that Papa is at a point where he doesn't really have new issues , it is just going to take time for the problems that he does have to heal .  His lung looks good, no more pnuemothorax.  His drains will all remain in place until each one is no longer producing.  The section of his stomach where the bypass was performed is a concern because he would like for the gastric secretions to empty less from the G-tube coming from the stomach, and more to dump into his intestines (from the bypass). This is not a huge issue right now, but in the future if it doesn't improve, there will be the possibility of another small surgery to fix it...but it would be many months before resorting to that. Still having an issue with his blood pressure dropping during physical therapy, but it should get better as he begins to move around more.

Tuesday January 17th 9:50 p.m.

Today the dr.s  let Papa have clear  liquids...the first thing he had was orange juice.  It has been a month since he has been able to eat or drink anything, so this is a huge step for Papa.  He is still on CRRT dialysis.  White cells have come down today.  He sat in a chair for a few minutes and received some occupational therapy also.

Monday January 16th

Papa had 24 hours of dialysis which ended @ 8 p.m. last night (Sunday).  His white cells were high yesterday (32), and today went down to 26.6.  The lung tube has been removed because it wasn't helping, not sure what is going on with that.  He was able to sit in a chair this morning for a few minutes, then later on today P.T. came in and sat him up again.  He is still in a quiet mood. Not the same since Friday, maybe he is just tired.

Saturday January 14th 4:00

Not much change today.  John , Steven and Andrew got to New Orleans this morning and will spend the night.  Papa was groggy this morning.  He is weaker today.  Must have worn himself out with his busy day yesterday.  White cell count has risen again to 24.  He had CRRT dialysis last night.  Boys were going to his room to try and watch the Saints game with him.

Friday, January 13 5:00pm

Papa was very alert today and in good spirits. He had physical therapy this morning and did extremely well. He sat on the side of the bed then stood briefly with the help of a walker. While doing this his blood pressure did not drop as it had done in the past. Occupational therapy also came in and he brushed his own teeth and did some arm and leg strengthening exercises. Being bedridden for a month has really taken a toll on his muscles. We did see Dr. Townsend this morning and he commented again on how much papa has improved these last couple of days. His red blood cells were low this morning so they gave him two units of blood again. Not real sure why this has been happening. He says the two new tubes are draining well. The chest xray shows little change from yesterday. Still not making any urine. Scheduled for CRRT dialysis again tonight for 12 hrs. and the plan is to continue this dialysis every other night. His white cell count has dropped from 31 yesterday to 24 today. Just praying this number continues to drop daily.

Thursday January 5th 2:30

Papa is back in his room..all done with new drains and he is snoring away.  He was in good spirits after this latest procedure, not complaining of any pain.  Heart rate did become elevated but an EKG showed nothing critical.  Drains are doing well, lots of fluid coming from them already.  A couple of days should show a difference in his numbers.  An xray of the chest shows improvement today.  Dr. Townsend came in and seems to be pleased with the progress as of today.

Thursday January 12, 10:50

Papa had a round of the CRRT dialysis last night...he was much more alert and talkative, apparently the dialysis helps to detox his body and he is much better afterwards.  The CT scan results showed two pockets of infection.  He was just taken in to have two drains inserted directly into these pockets in order to remove the infectious fluid.  He did have P.T come in and he sat up for a couple of minutes before his blood pressure went down too much.

Wednesday January 11th 9:00

Done with the CT scan and the chest tube has been inserted to relieve the pneumothorax.  Papa is resting very well now.  Haven't been able to talk with any of his dr.s today.  Haven't received results from CT  yet.  He is back on the CRRT dialysis machine tonight for the next 12 hours.

Wednesday January 11th , 12:45

Libby and I are now @ Ochsner with Mama.  We are sitting in Papa's room watching him sleep.  He is resting well, very groggy when we roused him.  This afternoon they will be doing a CT scan with contrast and will be putting the tube in his lung using a local anesthetic.  Renal dr. came in and says the kidneys are not functioning.  Please, everyone , pray pray pray for Papa's kidneys to start working again.

Tuesday January 10th, 10:30 p.m.

Sorry  I am late with my entry...just slowing down now.  Papa received a dialysis treatment last night and then was removed from CRRT machine.  The renal team wants to monitor his electrolytes , potassium and ( other ?) levels.  This is just temporary and he will probably return to dialysis either tonight or tomorrow.  White cell count has dropped from 29 to 25.8.  Dr.s have Papa on Doripenem, another antibiotic which seems to be helping bring the white count down.   Papa does have a pneomothorax...air space on lung or collapsed lung.  They will have to replace the tube going to his lung once again.  Physical therapy came in today and worked with him for a little while,  moving his arms and legs around.
      We need to pray for his kidneys to do their thing!  Thank you!
      Mary Ellen

Monday January 9th , 6:00

Papa has slept a lot today. Dr. Townsend is pleased with his recovery so far, although his kidneys aren't responding as well as they would like.  They removed the drain going to his lung. Physical therapy came in to sit him up and were able to  stand him up for a second.  His white cell count is still high.

Sunday January 8th 12:30

Papa had a good day yesterday...especially when he saw his boys coming in to visit him.  He even wanted to watch the Saints game with them.  Of course, he is still very weak, but was able to talk with them and they were happy that he was making sense , knew who they were etc.  Seems like the rest he has gotten has helped.   He did't complain of any pain.  Today they changed his "wound vac", which is painful, so he was given some meds to help with that. (The wound vac is the dressing in his incision which was left open so it could heal from.  the inside out.  It is a sponge that collects the fluid draining from the incision) There is talk of doing the CRRT dialysis for 12 hours then resting , rather than round the clock   as it has been.  His white count has shot up again to 29, so dr.s are still talking of doing another CT scan to see if they can find the source of infection.  They believe that the source is localized...just need to figure where it is coming from so that they can treat it.  We have reminded them of the tooth abcess that started this whole mess, and they say that that is still "on their radar".  They examined his jaw and applied pressure to the area, saying that
Papa felt little if any pain there, which makes them think that the "hidden abcess" that they are searching for is not stemming from his tooth. Aunt Née and Jim brought Steven there today. Papa was so happy to see his boy and Steven was lonesome for his Papa.

Saturday January 7th 4:00

John and my boys are in New Orleans with Mama today.  They were happy to see Papa recognize them and being more alert than he has been.  His white cell count has been going down for the last couple of days the highest being 28 and today down to 20.  Still having a little trouble with the blood clotting at the site of the catheter for dialysis, so he received a unit of blood today.  Dialysis is removing more fluid than he is receiving, so slowly, his swelling is going down ( he is still very puffy).  So far it seems that the procedure to cauterize the bleed from his stomach has been successful.
Mary Ellen

Friday January 6th 3:15

Papa had scope done. They went down his esophagus, into stomach, and were able to find a few areas that they then cauterized. One in particular was where there was an incision made during his surgery. Dr. explained that in surgery, the tissues in his stomach were inflamed and that now those tissues are shrinking and this could be the cause of the bleed (at the site where it was stitched). It sounds like they were happy with the results of the procedure. Also, they are replacing the old dialysis catheter with a new, longer one. They were having trouble with it clotting and say by inserting this longer one, it will access a larger vein which will be less likely to have this problem.

Friday January 6th 11:44

Papa has a slow bleed coming from his upper stomach area. ( this is what they believe to be the case) . Doing a GI scope to see if they can see the site of the bleed and cauterize it. They are giving him 2 units of blood and then will do the procedure. He looked really good this morning...was sleeping, snoring. That was so good to see. Pray that the scope will give us the answer and that they can stop this bleed. After the scope is completed they will return to the CRRT dialysis for now. His white cell count has come down.

Friday January 6th 8:45

Saw Papa last night around 9. He was calm and trying to rest. We were surprised when they told us that they were once again starting the CRRT dialysis. Apparently the regular dialysis did not agree with him, his blood pressure had continued to drop during the process, so they removed him from it more than 3 hours after beginning. We gave him goodnight kisses and let him rest..we hope and pray he had a good night with some decent sleep. Headed to ICU soon to check on him.

Thursday January 5 th 7:00

Papa has had a rough day today. He is so exhausted. Last night he did not sleep well, even though the nurse had given him medicine to relax him, it seems like it may have had the opposite effect. He fought with the bi-pap mask all night, saying it was uncomfortable. So today we got his mask from his own c-pap for him to use tonight. Hopefully he will be able to rest. They think he may be experiencing what they call "ICU Psychosis". Because of all of the constant sounds, lights and poking and prodding, it is difficult rest, and therefore he is disoriented at times because of lack of quality sleep. Today he was a little combative, pulling one of his IV lines out, and saying he wanted to go home, and get out of here. Libby and I were able to calm him and reminded him of all the people who love him and are counting in him.
He did have a round of regular dialysis which he seems to have tolerated well, but this too will add to his exhaustion. They did say his blood pressure dropped a bit , so he had to receive a little blood pressure medicine to bring it up. He also received another 2 units of blood. Our nurse today was so busy we didn't get any specifics on other vitals, so we plan to do so when we visit tonight .

Thursday January 5th 1:00

Visited with renal nurse this morning. Papa received a new dialysis line and they took him off of the CRRT machine. They are trying him on regular dialysis now. It will remove more fluid from his body more quickly. The other machine is for use in critical patients who cannot tolerate regular dialysis...so hopefully all will go well and he will be able to receive the regular dialysis treatment without any trouble.
Papa was on pain medicine when we went in to see him, so he was almost asleep ..not at all like yesterday. His nurse was super busy, so we didn't get many details, but he did have his first b.m. which is good news.

Wednesday January 4th 4:45

Just went to see Papa again. First visit this morning he seemed a little groggy and tired. This time, we were so happy to see him more alert and responding well to us. We told him his buddies Roland and Bernard had been asking about him, ...his response.."they were asking about me, huh?"...and he said.."tell everybody not to catch all the fish". He also talked about the firewood he got from Uncle Howard ....said he gave him a "really good deal". He asked about "all my little angels" (his grandchildren). He sounded like our old Papa when we mentioned the name Grayson, he used one of his familiar nicknames to refer to him as "my little monkeyshine". It was so good to see him coming out of his drug induced stupor. We told him that there are so many people praying for him and wanting him to get well soon.

Dr. Townsend met with us today and gave us the CT scan report. There are still some small pockets of fluid.. He will be monitoring these for the next couple of days.The white cell count is still elevated and he has a low grade fever. The cultures have been coming back negative and he is puzzled by this. We did remind him about the abcessed tooth he had prior to entering the hospital.' He said that he would definitely check into it, that though unlikely it may be the cause of some source of infection. Also they removed the central line he had when he was admitted, thinking that this could also be the source of an infection. Dr.'Townsend continues to remind us that it will be a very slow recovery.

Wednesday January 4th

Just called Papa's nurse. His vitals remain steady,they have switched him from the full oxygen mask to a nasal canula. She says when we make it there we will be able to meet with a doctor about the results of the CT scan, because she did not have that information.

Tuesday January 3rd , 6:15

Sorry I am late with a blog...things aren't happening as fast now and so there is not as much to report ...and I am in Lafayette and have to call the nurses or Mama to get specifics, so your patience with me is appreciated. Libby and I will be going back tomorrow morning to stay until Friday. Papa had a CT scan done of his chest, pelvis and abdomen today. Will receive a report from Dr. in the morning, but the nurse said ,according to Dr. Townsend, it looked good. White cell count is elevated again from 26 to 28, so they did a culture of blood and urine and will have results after 24 hours. This will tell them which specific bacteria is not being treated with the antibiotics he is already on. He is still on CRRT dialysis machine. They have increased his tube feeding. His blood pressure is fine and he is still on his oxygen mask and breathing well. Thanks for your continued prayers. We are overwhelmed by your concern and generous support. Steven and Grandmother are being well cared for by Aunt Née, Libby and family and my family. Love to everyone following Papa's progress,
Mary Ellen (Lala)

Monday 8:30 p.m.

Papa is off of vent and on oxygen mask only. He is breathing well on his own. John, Mama and my boys were there today and talked to him. Everyone is so excited to be able to communicate with him ..(Papa still can't really talk but tries) Still on dialysis.
Mary Ellen

Monday January 2nd, 10:30

Dr. Townsend continues to be encouraged by Papa's slow but steady progress. He has decided to implement the tube feeding, which will bypass his stomach and go directly to his intestines. This will give him more nutrition which is needed for his recovery. He is still on dialysis, which is continuing to progress well... taking off more fluid than he is receiving. Removing a net of 200 cc's per hour above what is being put in. Rested all night on vent but today have decided to try to wean him from vent slowly.

7:00 p.m.

Nothing new to report tonight.

Sunday January 1st 11:00

On our visit with Papa this morning we were happy to see his eyes open. The nurse explained that they had reduced his sedative in order to put his vent on C-pap mode. He would be "awake" for about 2 hours on c-pap in order to exercise his lungs, and later they would sedate him and put vent on once again. This process will be repeated every few hours.This will open his up his lungs, exercising them and allowing them to be stronger when they eventually remove him from the vent. He is still connected to the CRRT dialysis machine and they increased his fluid amount from 400 ccs to 450 ccs , which is good. White cell count did rise again to 25, but our nurse had warned us about that yesterday saying that this number will fluctuate and that is normal as long as there is infection still present. He didn't seem overly worried. He said that Dr. Townsend, the surgeon,came in this morning and was very pleased with the progress. While I talked to Papa he was definitely aware of what was going on. I kissed his cheek and rubbed his forehead. I asked him if he knew where he was, and he gave me a little nod...so I told him that he was @ Ochsner, that his ulcer had made him sick, but he had the best Dr.s and nurses here and we were always here with him. I held his hand and he did squeeze it. We were all able to talk to him. It was wonderful! Thanking everyone for the prayers and please keep them coming
LALA. (Mary Ellen) and family