EVENING update on dad November 28, 2008

Mom and Dad's anniversary July 12, 2008

Dad got his catheter removed.....and they are waiting on culture results to find out for sure whether it is a kidney or bladder infection and then how to treat it.

They attached a shorter tube to the chest tubing and attached that to the new portable machine so he can get up and walk around.

He DID get up and take a walk or two.

The chest tube will remain in there over the weekend at least.

The doctors came in to see him. They have all said his lungs are pretty bad....but the one doctor said he had seen some improvement in them since he was admitted. At least he felt there had been. Dad may have to go home on oxygen for a few days or so until he regains his lung functions/strength back which might be a process..because a lot of the tissue in his lungs has been damaged from the emphysema.

Mom and dad still don't know for sure what his options would be if this ever happened again....but I think the doctors are hoping this sticky stuff creating that seal inside his lung will work and hold for a very long time. I imagine the only other option would be surgery...even if they would not want to perform it.

Mom said dad and her watched a movie in his room today on the television and dad really laughed a lot...so he was in better spirits and feeling better it sounds like.

I will go see him again tomorrow or Sunday....maybe I will have some new photos after that.

UPDATE on dad November 28, 2008....

I just called down there. Mom is with Dad now. They are keeping the chest tube in for a few more days. They are going to try to make Dad more portable by hooking his tubes to some other gadget....so he can move around easier. His lung doctor had not yet been in this morning.

He also now is having kidney stone issues or bladder/kidney infection or both. They are running tests to see what is wrong and how to treat it. He has kidney stones and one really large one that might be causing him problems....not sure if it would be able to pass on its own. It definitely would never make it through a catheter so his bladder would then become blocked and the doctor said he would definitely know if that happened. Then they would have to do surgery to remove the stone!

So when it rains it pours. He sounded pretty good on the phone.....but I know is not feeling great and is in some pain.

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.

HAPPY BLESSED THANKSGIVING!

asking for prayer for my dad....

You know him here as oldmanlincoln Brookville Daily Photo

He was rushed to the hospital this morning with difficulty breathing...found out he had a collapsed lung....and they reinflated the lung but I still do not know any more than that.

He had a bleb (air sac/bubble) on his lung that burst causing the lung to collapse. He had this happen 20+ years ago too.

Anyway...ANY prayer for him and my mom(as she was really upset because dad really thought he was dying and kept telling her so)....would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE: This was the same lung that collapsed before. SO now they may have to do surgery so this will not happen in the future.

more updates on his blog

dinner caught.........

Homemade turkey pot pie........mmmmmm.......mmmmmmm.......good!

I had some leftover turkey that I needed to use up so I decided to find a recipe for homemade turkey pot pie and make one today.  This recipe is soooooo delicious and all made from scratch so I wanted to share it now BEFORE Thanksgiving and leftover time!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 recipe pastry for a (10 inch) double crust pie
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 tablespoons dried parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1cube chicken bouillon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup of turkey drippings/broth/stock
• 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out bottom pie crust, press into a 10 inch pie pan, and set aside.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onion, celery, carrots, parsley, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the bouillon/broth and water. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir in the potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the turkey and flour. Add the milk, and heat through. Stir the turkey mixture into the vegetable mixture, and cook until thickened. Cool slightly, then pour mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Roll out the top crust, and place on top of filling. Flute edges, and make 4 slits in the top crust to let out steam.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F  and continue baking for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Mr. Hawk came back for seconds......

this hawk has been showing up in my backyard and sits on the fence.....waiting for a bird to come out of the bushes to eat the seed I put out...and then he grabs one and has his own meal...

Mr. Hawk waiting for a BIRD to eat for his breakfast!!

It Won't Be Long Now.....

Christmas cookies.......

I take my camera with me everywhere I go now.......

last night my son and I headed to the park as the sun was setting as we had not been there for awhile and he had a bite of supper to eat. It was very dusky and hard to see.....we saw a bird come in for a landing at the one pond at the park and my son thought it was a duck. I looked and said "NO...it's the crane!" SO since I had my camera I got it out and took some shots. Problem is....unlike the last time I shot pics of the crane in the daylight....this was almost shooting pics in the dark....and you could barely see anything. The crane got in the water and caught a very large fish for his supper....and took it to the shore to eat...then got back in the water. It was dark by the time we left.

I lightened up a few shots...just to give you an idea...but they are still pretty crappy as the images on my camera all seemed to blend in together. I lost all detail....even with a flash one time. ALL these shots were MUCH MUCH darker to start with......it was near dark when we arrived. From what I could see I believe it was actually a Blue Heron.......

hoping for a kiss??

koi pond ...

God's magic at work again......the beginning of the fall colors!

Albino squirrel.......

Noah and I went to Cracker Barrel in Piqua, Ohio for breakfast today and then to a small park nearby....where we went leaf hunting for some colorful fall leaves.  He eventually went over to the swings to swing for awhile and suddenly shouted out to me "MOMMY!", "There is one of those white squirrels like you showed me on the videoclip on the news yesterday!"

I thought to myself he probably saw a cat so I asked him WHERE it was...and sure enough it WAS an albino squirrel.  I went and got my camera out of the truck and zoomed in and tried to keep a steady hand to capture some shots.  CHECK HIM OUT!  I told Noah this is a once in a lifetime thing for most people if you ever even get a chance to see an albino animal up close and personal.  I will post some of the gorgeous trees tomorrow..... here is the little guy...... I found it amazing that we had just seen for the first time on our local tv news channel's website a short videoclip of someone filming an albino squirrel......and we had never seen anything like it......and then we saw this guy for real today!

what's that in the grass??

Can you see him??

running away....

can you see him??