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.