Most of you know by now that Glen is VERY AWAKE. He's not on the ventilator any more, but he still has the trach and an oxygen mask that fits over it just to help him keep his oxygen level up. He needs to strengthen his chest wall and lungs so that they can inflate enough to support him without any help. Once he can do that, the trach will come out.
He's having to learn how to swallow again, and if they put a cap on the trach, he can "sort of" talk. Today, they have him up and walking on a walker. He's very weak, but I have no doubt he'll be up and around soon.
He still has lots of congestion around his lungs, and they are not going to use the cap anymore because it prevents the use of the oxygen that he needs. They are still giving him antibiotics in case the congestion turns into an infection.
One thing we're asking. Glen has been asking for all kinds of stuff. Hammers, nails, mirrors, water colors - cameras. He can't have any of those things at the hospital. Cameras due to patient confidentiality, and the other stuff for safety reasons and the fact that there is NO ROOM TO PUT ANYTHING ELSE in his little room.
I don't know when or if they are planning to move him soon, but whatever stuff he has up there, has to come home eventually. Right now, he has plenty of drawing material, pens, pencils, books, etc. I hate to even write this, because I know how much everybody wants him to have his "stuff." If we can just get him over this breathing thing and on the road to making himself stronger, he'll have all that at home. The sooner the better I'm hoping.
Once again - thanks for all you guys support of Glen. He loves company and having you all to share in giving it to him is a great blessing for us. Don't be afraid to give me a call at 713-966-9497 or email me at dgips@gipsgaits.com if you have any questions or want just to talk.
sincerely,
Darla
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Happy Day - A Stepping Stone
Desiree reports this morning that
Glen has been moved to a step down in the ICU. He is now in Bed # 27. Which means - that if you go see him, instead of going directly into the ICU as usual through those last set of doors, you turn to the right hallway before those doors and go to the other unit.
They said it would be a couple of days, and he would be eating again! Wow ! When good things happen - they happen fast, don't they?
Glen has been moved to a step down in the ICU. He is now in Bed # 27. Which means - that if you go see him, instead of going directly into the ICU as usual through those last set of doors, you turn to the right hallway before those doors and go to the other unit.
They said it would be a couple of days, and he would be eating again! Wow ! When good things happen - they happen fast, don't they?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday/Tuesday Morning February 15 & 16
Went to see Glen last night. He was sleeping. Guess he was so tired from not sleeping for a day or so. Left a note for Dr. Misselback to call since haven't been able to catch him at the hospital this last week. Glen woke up about 25 minutes into the visit. I Couldn't talk much with the nurse at first because she was busy taking care of another patient next door to Glen.
When I did get to talk to her, she told me they were planning to put the permanent pacemaker in today. The second temporary one went on the fritz so they are going for the permanent one now even though they haven't been able to pinpoint why he is still running that low grade fever.
Glen was more alert last night after his nap, which I was glad to see. I played him some music from my I-touch. I don't know who attached a small radio in a bag to his bed, but if it was one of you - what a great idea!
Update - this morning - call from Dr. Misselback
He called this morning to address my concerns in the letter I left. Will get me the letter for Social Security.
He's verified that the permanent pacemaker will go in today.
We discussed the marked difference in Glen's condition on Friday versus how he was on Sunday and even yesterday. Dr. said he was shocked when he saw him on Sunday and at first thought he might have had a stroke or something. But, he really thinks he may have been given some kind of medication that made him zombie-like. Anyway, he says he has withdrawn all medication other than the insulin and heparin(sp?){needed to prevent blod clots} and he should be better every day.
Dr. Misselbeck said that after the permanent pacemaker is in, then it will be heavy duty physical therapy. Getting him up and moving. I know Glen can't wait. Dr. Misselback said for every day of being bed bound, it takes at least 3 days of physical therapy to recoup. So, let's figure - Glen's been in bed since Jan 21. That's over 3 weeks. 21 days X 3 = 60 day of rehab. That's a lot - I hope it doesn't take that long.
When I did get to talk to her, she told me they were planning to put the permanent pacemaker in today. The second temporary one went on the fritz so they are going for the permanent one now even though they haven't been able to pinpoint why he is still running that low grade fever.
Glen was more alert last night after his nap, which I was glad to see. I played him some music from my I-touch. I don't know who attached a small radio in a bag to his bed, but if it was one of you - what a great idea!
Update - this morning - call from Dr. Misselback
He called this morning to address my concerns in the letter I left. Will get me the letter for Social Security.
He's verified that the permanent pacemaker will go in today.
We discussed the marked difference in Glen's condition on Friday versus how he was on Sunday and even yesterday. Dr. said he was shocked when he saw him on Sunday and at first thought he might have had a stroke or something. But, he really thinks he may have been given some kind of medication that made him zombie-like. Anyway, he says he has withdrawn all medication other than the insulin and heparin(sp?){needed to prevent blod clots} and he should be better every day.
Dr. Misselbeck said that after the permanent pacemaker is in, then it will be heavy duty physical therapy. Getting him up and moving. I know Glen can't wait. Dr. Misselback said for every day of being bed bound, it takes at least 3 days of physical therapy to recoup. So, let's figure - Glen's been in bed since Jan 21. That's over 3 weeks. 21 days X 3 = 60 day of rehab. That's a lot - I hope it doesn't take that long.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday February 8 - PM Update
Went to see Glen this evening. Horrible, horrible storm was brewing and passed through while there. On a good note, Glen was looking good. He'd had a shave, they brushed his teeth and he looked comfortable. Bill Shackelford and I had a good visit with him, but we weren't able to talk to the doctors about how his tracheostomy went. On the other hand, though, we could see that it was done and he is now able once in a while to mouth words. We told him that he still wasn't able to talk because of the trach and he seemed to mouth the word "Why?" Pretty good, huh? To say we're encouraged is an understatement. Last night they had no sedation meds or pain meds on board and yet Glen didn't appear to be uncomfortable. No fever last night when we were there. He's on a mattress that "floats" to several different positions to prevent bed sores. I'm hopeful that soon he will have the drugs out of his system enough to make him more aware. Looks like a long recovery time as he seems to not have strength in his arms and legs from being in the bed for so long. Thursday will be 3 whole weeks. Keep up the good thoughts and prayers for Glen. He will get better! Will post more later when have updated info
Monday, February 8, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Desiree and I visited Glen at 1:00 today. The anesthesiologist came by to check on him and told us they would be doing the tracheostomy in about an hour. He's expected to be in there for about and hour and then in recovery. Will be putting in a permanent pacemaker later, but not today. Will post again this evening if possible on how the trach went and how he fared. Mary J. and Robert from Pasadena were up to visit with Glen as well and he was alert enough to blink an eye to let them know he recognized them.
Sunday, February 7, 2009
Sorry I've been so long in posting - running back & forth to the hospital and between Glen's house and back home has been a little time consuming. When we went to see Glen on Sunday morning, he was running a temp of 102. He was also hooked up to the temporary pacemaker that had been left in when he had his original surgery. His heart was beating in an irregular rhythm, and was slow. Dr. said he was puzzled by this development and the cardiologist is coming to consult and try to find out why this happened, as his heart had been doing just fine after the initial slow start after surgery. It was mentioned that it may be necessary to place a permanent pacemaker in at some point. The nurse gave Glen tylenol for the fever and they are giving him lasix to pull some of the fluid off his body. By evening visiting hours, Glen looked much better and the pacemaker had been turned off as his heart was beating correctly on its own once again. The nurse also told me they did a procedure on Sunday afternoon to scrape the mucous out of his bronchial tubes (I think). This helps get out all the gunk. The doc said his pneumonia is getting better. I'll be checking on him again at 1:00 on Monday, and will try to post any new developments.
The doctor did say the best thing we could do for Glen was to keep him psyched up about getting well and wiling himself to get better. Dr. Misselback said he has had more visitors than he's seen anybody get in the ICU - and it's important that everybody be positive and upbeat that he will get better and that he has to keep a positive attitude and not give up.
The doctor did say the best thing we could do for Glen was to keep him psyched up about getting well and wiling himself to get better. Dr. Misselback said he has had more visitors than he's seen anybody get in the ICU - and it's important that everybody be positive and upbeat that he will get better and that he has to keep a positive attitude and not give up.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Aortic Stenosis
As most of you know, Glen had open heart surgery on Thursday, January 21, 2010, at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, TX.
His diagnosis was Aortic stenosis which is the narrowing or obstruction of the heart's aortic valve, which prevents it from opening properly and blocks the flow of blood from the left lower chamber of the heart to the aorta. The aorta is the main artery leaving the heart. His aortic valve was replaced with a mechanical one and he seemed to tolerate the surgery well.
The next day, when the breathing tube was removed, Glen's lungs were unable to sustain him. Because his airway swelled upon removal of the breathing tube, another, smaller tube was used and Glen was given steroids to alleviate the swelling. In addition, Glen, being the anxious person he is, was given a drug that kept him asleep and unable to move to help his body rest and regenerate. Three or 4 days later, the larger breathing tube was reinserted to better support him.
On Monday, January 26, and he was taken off the medicine that kept him asleep. Additionally, they began to wean him from the sedation meds and the pain medication to get him more alert in an attempt to get the breathing tube out. It took several days for Glen's body to process the medicine through his body and he gradually became more and more aware of his surroundings.
However, another complication - pneumonia - also developed in the next few days. The doctor ordered a sample of his bronchial secretions be cultured and Glen was diagnosed with pneumonia. While the chest tube that had been inserted on his left side was removed on earlier in the week, another was inserted in his right side on either Tuesday to drain his lungs. Another tube was inserted on the left side on Thursday to help drain his lungs. He was given antibiotics to target the pneumonia and I' glad to say that he responded well to that treatment and according to the doctors, the pneumonia is resolving.
Glen's lungs were only functioning at one-half capacity before he had this surgery. It's not an unheard of complication that he has had lung failure. The doctors have counseled that it may be necessary to perform a tracheotomy on Glen. While we were hoping that would not be necessary, it appears that in order to prevent a secondary infection and to give Glen's lungs more time to heal, he will require one this week. The doctor says it would be for about a two-week period - so that's good news. Not permanent - yeah!
They will be able to get him up and moving around - and he'll get some rehab since he's been immobile for so long. His muscles will be weak and he'll need some support to get around. Having the trach in will allow him to be up and moving.
Glen's family wanted to thank all of his friends for their support and concern for Glen and his Aunt, Karine. We are going to try to update this blog at least every other day or so to let you know how Glen is doing. I'm confident the news will be better and better every day.
If you'd like to leave a comment or two for Glen, please feel free to do so and we will take your good wishes up to him on one of our visits. Please keep Glen in your thoughts and prayers.
His diagnosis was Aortic stenosis which is the narrowing or obstruction of the heart's aortic valve, which prevents it from opening properly and blocks the flow of blood from the left lower chamber of the heart to the aorta. The aorta is the main artery leaving the heart. His aortic valve was replaced with a mechanical one and he seemed to tolerate the surgery well.
The next day, when the breathing tube was removed, Glen's lungs were unable to sustain him. Because his airway swelled upon removal of the breathing tube, another, smaller tube was used and Glen was given steroids to alleviate the swelling. In addition, Glen, being the anxious person he is, was given a drug that kept him asleep and unable to move to help his body rest and regenerate. Three or 4 days later, the larger breathing tube was reinserted to better support him.
On Monday, January 26, and he was taken off the medicine that kept him asleep. Additionally, they began to wean him from the sedation meds and the pain medication to get him more alert in an attempt to get the breathing tube out. It took several days for Glen's body to process the medicine through his body and he gradually became more and more aware of his surroundings.
However, another complication - pneumonia - also developed in the next few days. The doctor ordered a sample of his bronchial secretions be cultured and Glen was diagnosed with pneumonia. While the chest tube that had been inserted on his left side was removed on earlier in the week, another was inserted in his right side on either Tuesday to drain his lungs. Another tube was inserted on the left side on Thursday to help drain his lungs. He was given antibiotics to target the pneumonia and I' glad to say that he responded well to that treatment and according to the doctors, the pneumonia is resolving.
Glen's lungs were only functioning at one-half capacity before he had this surgery. It's not an unheard of complication that he has had lung failure. The doctors have counseled that it may be necessary to perform a tracheotomy on Glen. While we were hoping that would not be necessary, it appears that in order to prevent a secondary infection and to give Glen's lungs more time to heal, he will require one this week. The doctor says it would be for about a two-week period - so that's good news. Not permanent - yeah!
They will be able to get him up and moving around - and he'll get some rehab since he's been immobile for so long. His muscles will be weak and he'll need some support to get around. Having the trach in will allow him to be up and moving.
Glen's family wanted to thank all of his friends for their support and concern for Glen and his Aunt, Karine. We are going to try to update this blog at least every other day or so to let you know how Glen is doing. I'm confident the news will be better and better every day.
If you'd like to leave a comment or two for Glen, please feel free to do so and we will take your good wishes up to him on one of our visits. Please keep Glen in your thoughts and prayers.
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