Update #78

I just talked to Cherie (Dave's mom), and things are going better today. Although Dave is still nauseated, he seems to be getting stronger and feeling less miserable. It could take four days to a full week before the meds for the UTI work completely (and the doctors are still not absolutely certain that he has a UTI), but the infection meds do seem to be making an impact already. Dave even said he might be up for going back on the trach collar today, which, considering how he was feeling yesterday, is pretty impressive.

With regard to the hole in Dave's colon, the level of drainage is down again - yeah! It was actually down substantially yesterday, but that may have been a result of the nurse stopping his tube feedings - and even cutting off any fluid that we had been giving him - because he was feeling so nauseated. The doctors never figured out why the octreotide had been stopped, so he's receiving a daily dose again, which also may be impacting the level of drainage (at least we hope). From all we can tell, the drainage will have to stop completely before the doctors can do a skin graft, and the skin graft seems to be one key step in getting him out of the ICU (getting off the ventilator is the other). Still no timeline on how long the hole will take to heal, but at least things are progressing in the right direction.

Because of the bleeding in Dave's throat the other day, the nurses have replaced the hard plastic suction catheters that they normally use to clean out his trach with soft rubber catheters. Since the change, we have seen little or no blood coming from his trach. Talk about an answer to prayer!

One other update, since I haven't mentioned it in a while - Darlene's husband Tony (the one who was hit by the drunk driver) was moved out of the ICU and to another hospital closer to their home! He has certainly experienced some ups and downs since the move, and Darlene sounds like she is getting tired, but Tony is doing speech therapy and rehab and seems to be making great progress.

Hearing about what Darlene and Tony have gone through after leaving the ICU (everything from pneumonia to really high fevers) makes me almost grateful that Dave remains where he is. Although it is difficult to be patient, there is some comfort in knowing that he is getting the best care that he can possibly get and that the doctors aren't taking any chances by trying to move him too soon.

I think that's it for today! Enjoy your Sunday, and check back for more tomorrow.