Dad in ICU

It's me again. My situation hasn't changed (no job).

My dad went in on July 13th for a medically needed gastric bypass. While the doctors had him under they were going to repair a hernia via laproscopy. The first part went flawlessly... but not the second.

It seems there was a lot of scar tissue from previous hernia surgeries and it had wrapped his intestines up in it. They had to open him up and remove the tissue, perforating the intestine in the process. This went well and he was up walking on Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, however, he was in intense pain and his belly was swelling. The doctors went back in and discovered more scar tissue below the operation site (that they didn't catch) had also wrapped up the intestines and once swelling had set in was ripping the surgical site from the first surgery.

My dad has been in ICU since last Tuesday. He is on a ventilator but is breathing mostly on his own. They are keeping him mostly knocked out but he can sometimes nod when we talk to him. He has 6-8 IVs going at a time and the staples from the surgery had become infected. They think they have that infection under control but are talking like it could be weeks before he can get out of ICU.

I forgot to mention he is in Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, which is about 3.5 hours from here.

My mom just called and gave me an update. They are going to replace the vent tube with a tracheotomy tomorrow. His vitals have taken a slight setback (white blood count up by two points, fluid output not up to what they want it to be) but he was very alert this morning.

 

He is still in ICU. I just came home from spending four days with him so my mom could come home and get some rest and take care of some business.

His condition has not changed and remains dire. Mom called and said that they finally found a source of infection and were about to try to frain it. They basically had to wait until it got big enough to show up on a CT scan. He has not regained consciousness for about a week now.

I will say that I am not overly impressed with how his welfare has been handled and leave it at that.

 

I am headed back to Nashville tonight. The doctors got the cultures back on the infection they had found and it is Necrotizing Fasciitis. They are going to watch my dad through the night and make a call on what to do in the morning. Should they do surgery and remove the affected tissue my dad may not be able to survive it, much less living through the aftermath on top of everything else. I honestly don't know how long I will be gone with this.

To say I am mad at the world would be an understatement and a half. All of this stemmed from the doctor's not bothering to look when they performed the original surgery. My nerves are shot and my mind is going in a million different directions... but it is the feeling of being helpless that is the worst. My wife has been trying to help me but she hasn't been very effective at it.

I don't have the words to express what I feel like I should. Even if I did I don't know if I could get them out. Thank you for the prayers... he's going to need them.

 

Mom called back. Seems another doc said it isn't Necrotizing Fasciitis, but staph. I don't care which as long as they get busy with it. Both could kill him.

 

Update:

It was necrotizing fasciiitus. Mom got confused and is still calling it staph. The doctors removed a swath about 18" long and 9" wide from the top of his right shoulder down his chest and under his arm, all down to the muscle. If he lives they will do skin grafts later on.

They still have not found what infection Dad has. He is still in ICU and still unconscious. His fever will spike up around 103-104F and they will use chill blankets to keep it from going higher and his white count will go into the 20s, but then the fever comes back down and so does his white count. The doctors don't know if it is baterial, fungal, or viral. Nothing shows up in the cultures because of all the anti-bacterials/fungals they are pumping into him to try to keep it at bay. Basically they are shooting in the dark.

Thank you all for the prayer, and please continue to remember him and my family. My mom is in denial with it all and only hears what little good he doctors say. They are trying to prepare us for the time when a decision has to be made but Mom won't hear of it. The longer this goes on the smaller the chances of him coming through it.

I just came home for a couple of days to rest and then I am headed back up to let Mom come home for a few days. We are exhausted, sleeping in the hospital waiting room. We don't want to leave him alone but we can only visit during visiting hours, and one of us needs to be there in case something happens..

 

I am headed back up to Vandy tomorrow. Mom said Dad kept his eyes open the whole time she was in with him, but he isn't focusing or tracking as of yet. She said he krinkled up his nose when a gnat landed on it, and then blinked and flinched when the nurse shooed it away. Right now that sounds like great news to me but he could still go either way.

They have finally brought in an infectious disease specialist and the head doctor of the ICU was involved in the rounds this morning.

Thank you all for the prayers. It means a lot to me to know that people are coming alongside us.

 

Dad is making slow progress. He has not regained consciousness (two and a half weeks now). He has not had a fever in several days, though, and the site where they removed the necrotizing fasciitis has not shown any further infection.

He is currently undergoing dialysis to help out his kidneys and to clean his system where his kidneys had been in failure and unable to remove both waste and the drugs they have given him.

They are also beginning to have him breathe on his own with only pressure support from the ventilator. He can only go a few hours at a time right now, but they are building up his endurance with it.

The doctors don't know when he will eventually wake up, but think that he will begin to do so as he gets better. They don't think that he has any brain damage (thankfully), but that this is his body's way of protecting itself from all that he has been through.