Dad is still in the hospital with the chest tube in......

I wanted to go see him yesterday afternoon since it was Thanksgiving and I wanted to surprise him as I knew he figured no one would show up to see him as it was a holiday..etc.  My son and I and my one sister and her daughter drove down to surprise him.  When we walked in the room this is what we saw:

I said "OH I have GOT to get a picture of this!" to which dad responded when I told him I brought my cameras "GOOD!  I figured that will likely be the ONLY way a picture of me gets online!"  He wanted to share this with everyone......and I sent them to mom to post...but she may not have time.  SO I decided to post them here.  That THING on his head is something new where they WASH your hair by placing it on your head....it gets  hot....there is some moisture in there too or maybe the heat creates steam?  It washes the hair ......I thought that was a pretty amazing thing. 

Dad still has the chest tube in...and about 3 IV's in his arms.......a catheter still in place too....he is hooked up to so many tubes and gadgets he could never move too far.  BUT when we got there....he was sitting up in the chair for the first time....and had already been in the chair for about 2-1/2 hours.   He has been having problems with his heart rhythm and it beating too fast so they have him on IV drips for that.   AND give him medicine to help prevent blood clots......

He seemed in good spirits but I thought his skin was looking a little yellow on his arms and parts of his face.   He was very excited and happy I think to have someone come visit him.  He said to me he was starting to wonder "gee does nobody love me?"   I told him we were THANKFUL he was still here......on this Thanksgiving day....and I bet he never thought he would be in the hospital on Thanksgiving!

We had a nice talk......but dad let us know that his lungs are pretty much SHOT.  He said the surgeon told him that they are pretty sure his lung will do this again one day.....and if so.....they do not know what they would do....but that they would NOT put in another chest tube....and the one surgeon said he would NOT operate on dad because of how bad his lungs are and because of his heart issues he has or has had in the past.   The combination of heart issues and emphysema and asthma, etc. has not done his lungs any good.  It has all taken a toll. 

I am not sure what that means.  I need to talk to one of the doctors and ask some serious questions.  I told mom to ask some today and her and dad BOTH to ask questions...like what does that mean for me if it does happen again?  WHAT are my options?  I think they are hopeful this sealant they sprayed in dad's lung will help create a strong barrier....so if another bleb bursts......that seal would  not allow his lung to collapse again.  This is basically the same sort of repair they would do on the outside of the lung if they had operated....they resect away the bad portions and place a patch over the hole.  Much like a flat tire with a hole in it.  You can patch on the outside or inside.....dad's lung was patched on the inside with that sealant. 

That "sticky stuff" as it has come to be known basically BURNS the lining of  your lung.....which causes scar tissue to form.  That creates the barrier. 

The doctor told dad his lung was NOT reinflating to the capacity it should....and they did not know why...but maybe because he was not doing much but lying around.  So they wanted to get him up to sit in the chair to allow the lung to drain.  And drain it was!  There was all sorts of bloody liquid coming out of that tube!

Pretty soon the SHAMPOO head-dress came off and dad started to look a lot better:

So at this point we are not sure what is going to happen.  Dad thinks they may try to remove his chest tube TODAY (Friday November 28) but he is not positive.  AND no one seems to know for sure what will happen if they remove the tube.  Mom is exhausted.  Mom is so tired she almost fell asleep at the dinner table yesterday.  Dad is worried about her too. 

I have to admit us kids did not know any of this until we went to see dad at the hospital because Mom had not yet mentioned this to us.  I don't think we realized just how BAD his lungs might be and the fact that the surgeon told Dad outright that he would not want to do surgery on Dad. 

Hopefully we will find out more today....

Mom will probably still try to keep everyone updated on Dad's blogs and her blog.....but if not.....you can check here as I will try to keep everyone updated too. 

Please continue to say prayers for Dad if you are inclined.  ANY would be appreciated.  I told Dad about everyone giving him well wishes and leaving comments.  He said to post these pics of him as it would probably REALLY bring the comments in!  That sounds like Dad.