Slow, slow, slow
Much as we'd all like to see Dad up and about and eating normally by now, the doctors are being more cautious. Here is Mom's email from Wednesday:
Richard called me this morning, unhappy to report that Dr. Shear had gone out of town until Monday. A Dr. Baxt will be seeing him in the meantime. Dr. Baxt said they were going to remove his tube gradually, over four days. I am not sure why he made that choice--too much fluid still coming up? From stomach or lungs? He won't be getting any food until then--not real food, that is. They also plan to remove the many, many staples from his stomach today.
He just called as I was writing this and told me a physical therapist came today and got him up into a chair. I guess he walked him about ten feet in his room, too. (I didn't know there were ten feet in his little room!) Richard wanted to take more of a walk but the therapist said they would do that tomorrow--he wants to do things slowly, too. Dr. Shear has mentioned several times that Dick is fragile, and I guess all of this is in keeping with that theory.
We later sorted out that he was talking about removing the stomach tube gradually. Yesterday they turned off the pump on the tube, and here is Mom's post from this morning:
Dick called me this morning. First he told me he wanted his walker, in case he needs it, and would I please go to the attic this morning and see if I could find it? (I did and I found it.) Then he said that the PA (I think) told him that Dr. Backs--I called him Dr. Baxt yesterday--might completely remove his ng tube to day and (horrors!) order a swallow test. Will you all please pray that if he has a swallow test he actually passes the whole thing the first time? I think it is spaced out over three days. The failure to pass the swallow test the last time was one of the things that led to his long hospitalization.
If our swallowing therapist from last time shows up, Dad needs to run away!! He asked Mom to pick him up to go to OLLI classes anyway -- that's as good an excuse as any. ;-)
Richard called me this morning, unhappy to report that Dr. Shear had gone out of town until Monday. A Dr. Baxt will be seeing him in the meantime. Dr. Baxt said they were going to remove his tube gradually, over four days. I am not sure why he made that choice--too much fluid still coming up? From stomach or lungs? He won't be getting any food until then--not real food, that is. They also plan to remove the many, many staples from his stomach today.
He just called as I was writing this and told me a physical therapist came today and got him up into a chair. I guess he walked him about ten feet in his room, too. (I didn't know there were ten feet in his little room!) Richard wanted to take more of a walk but the therapist said they would do that tomorrow--he wants to do things slowly, too. Dr. Shear has mentioned several times that Dick is fragile, and I guess all of this is in keeping with that theory.
We later sorted out that he was talking about removing the stomach tube gradually. Yesterday they turned off the pump on the tube, and here is Mom's post from this morning:
Dick called me this morning. First he told me he wanted his walker, in case he needs it, and would I please go to the attic this morning and see if I could find it? (I did and I found it.) Then he said that the PA (I think) told him that Dr. Backs--I called him Dr. Baxt yesterday--might completely remove his ng tube to day and (horrors!) order a swallow test. Will you all please pray that if he has a swallow test he actually passes the whole thing the first time? I think it is spaced out over three days. The failure to pass the swallow test the last time was one of the things that led to his long hospitalization.
posted by Emily @ 10:18 AM
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