tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24636253124102004052024-03-18T23:41:40.480-04:00Jon's JourneyOn October 23, 2008 Jon was involved in a motorcycle accident. This blog will be for updates and encouragement as Jon and those who care about him continue through this journey together.Angelique ~Niece~http://www.blogger.com/profile/00534623776078646603noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-21893038806076959772015-11-28T12:29:00.003-05:002015-11-28T12:29:40.171-05:00The Memorial Service for Jon is set as follows:Saturday, December 5, 2015 at St John United Church of Christ, 950 Webster St, Defiance, OH 43512.<br />
Visiting with family will be from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm with the Service starting at 1:00.<br />
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If you can not make it, please leave a memory on his blog. If you have "paid it forward", feel free to leave your story on the blog as well. To view peoples comments, please click on "Comment" at the the end of post. It will not show on the page itself.<br />
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The family thanks you for your friendship with Jon. Your thoughts, prayers and comments have meant a lot to us. Family and friends alike miss him very much.<br />
<br />Marj ~Mom~http://www.blogger.com/profile/11230439025445186649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-29405280785990590732015-11-22T18:03:00.002-05:002015-11-22T18:03:40.134-05:00<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here is the obituary we posted in the Defiance Crescent-News Sunday November 22, 2015.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jon P. Castanien, 50, of Defiance passed away Thursday. November 19, 2015. He was born July 9, 1965 to William J Castanien and Marjorie (Slawson) Castanien In Mansfield, OH. He</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">moved to Defiance in the fourth grade. Jon spent most of his working career at Silgan and Campbells.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jon enjoyed helping his friends with roofing, drywalling and plumbing with the idea he would build his own home. Carpentry runs in his dad’s side of the family. He had a love of nature and especially enjoyed hiking at Hocking Hills, camping, canoeing, fishing with friends at Independence Dam, shooting pool, bowling, playing with his dog, Bo. Jon taught himself to play the guitar and loved sing-a-longs.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Always a Harley fan he finally bought one and spent many hours enjoying the freedom of the road. Unfortunately he spun out on a stony curve in October 2008 and cracked or crushed many vertebrae including the C6 which left him a partial quadriplegic. He spent 14 months in various nursing facilities in the Columbus area before being well enough to return to the Defiance-Waterville area in 2010.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Never having married and had a family of his own Jon enjoyed watching his niece, Angelique (Jeff) Bailey, and nephews, Joe (Jenny) Bohn, and Josh Bohn grow and start families of their own; Liam, Aria and Rayla Bohn and Kendall Bailey.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">He will be sadly missed by his parents and siblings; Carol Castanien-Bohn (David Peebles), Napoleon; Barbara Castanien, Gahanna; Greg Castanien (Doris Newman) Defiance; and brother-in law, Marty Bohn, Defiance. He was loved by numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. He especially got a kick out of the family get togethers on both sides of the family.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Jon was preceded in death by his grandparents, Paul and Ruth Castanien of Marion, OH and Sam and Kathleen Slawson of St. Clair Shores, MI; and his sister, Jo Marie Castanien.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even a wheelchair could not keep Jon from reaching out to fellow patients and others. In line with the Slawson grandparents’ tradition we would ask that you “pay forward” a good deed in his memory in lieu of flowers or cards. If you’d like to share your experience the family would love to hear of them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Following in the footprints of those same grandparents, Jon donated his body to the University of Toledo medical studies. It is hoped the students will learn much about how the body copes with injuries such as he sustained. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Plans for a memorial service have not been finalized. Please check Jon’s blog for final details: <a href="http://jonpc.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0726a7; letter-spacing: 0px;">http://jonpc.blogspot.com</span></a>. Condolences and favorite memories can be left there also.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are 10 super easy acts of kindness you can do to continue to spread the love and make the world a kinder place:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">1. Thank someone who's supported you in the past, like a teacher, friend, or mentor, by giving them a hand-written letter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. Spend a couple hours <a href="https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/advanced.jsp"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">volunteering at a local nonprofit organization</span></a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">3. Donate goods to a local shelter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">4. Buy lemonade at a child's lemonade stand.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">5. Call a friend and tell them how much they mean to you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">6. Send kind words to someone getting a lot of hate on social media.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">7. <a href="http://websearch.about.com/od/onlineshoppingsearch/tp/online-grocery-shopping.htm">Send groceries</a> to a friend who is busy and/or going through a difficult time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">8. Put a quarter in an expired parking meter to help a stranger avoid getting a ticket.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">9. Send flowers anonymously to a receptionist or security guard. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">10. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Leave an encouraging note somewhere on a store shelf or in a popular library book.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We are adding a few other ideas we found on other sites: </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">When going through the take out line pay for the person’s order behind you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Give a smile to someone who seems on the “grumpy” side.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Write a letter to a child who could use some extra attention.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Offer to pick up groceries for an elderly neighbor, especially in extreme weather.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Each time you get a new item of clothing donate something old.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Out of the</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b> </b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">blue, send flowers to a friend.</span></span></div>
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Marj ~Mom~http://www.blogger.com/profile/11230439025445186649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-64862511186452897952015-11-22T17:37:00.003-05:002015-11-22T17:37:27.362-05:00The last few monthsWe haven't posted in quite a while. Jon passed on the 19th so we thought we'd give you a quick run down of his last few months:<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Around the first of March Jon developed yet another bout of pneumonia in his right lung. Twin Rivers started him on a round of antibiotic but on the third or fourth day he became significantly worse. They called an ambulance to take him over to Defiance Regional and sometime between the time the EMTs got there and the delivery across the street his heart stopped and they administered CPR and intubated him for a breathing problem they saw developing.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Defiance Regional ran some tests and thought they saw something near his heart so made arrangements with Toledo Hospital’s cardiology department. He was life-flighted to the hospital. They ran more tests and by the time we got there they had ruled out heart problems and were concentrating on his pneumonia. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Within days, his right lung was full and the left lung started filling up. In order to help him breathe he had another tracheotomy...which meant he couldn’t talk. He really hates having to repeat things over and over but none of us have gotten very good at lip reading. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Days spread into weeks and the weeks went to a month before he could be taken out of the ICU. He needed to be weened off the respirator, something neither nursing home in Waterville or Defiance could do so he was taken to Advanced Specialty in Toledo. It was there that we learned Jon had developed ESBL, a condition where the antibiotic becomes ineffective. He has only a few antibiotics available for both pneumonias and urinary tract infections.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It took another month to get to the point where he could come back to Twin Rivers. He still could not get out of bed because his bed sores were so bad. By the time his sores would tolerate being in a chair for an hour he was too depressed to try. Toledo Hospital had put him back on tube feedings and he lost all interest in going back to regular food.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He was feeling fairly well toward the end of June and on the 4th of July he went outside to watch the fireworks. His birthday came on the 9th and he had developed another case of pneumonia. Thankfully, that did not develop into a serious condition but it did prevent him from coming to the house for a birthday celebration. He wasn’t even allowed out of his room for fear something would happen that required immediate attention. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">August and September came with beautiful weather and we tried to get him to agree to riding in the van to go to Independence Dam. He wouldn’t even go sit outside much less take a short trip! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Late September or early October Jon began talking about wanting to die. It was with a heavy heart we finally agreed to have hospice evaluate him to see if he could be admitted to their program. They could see where the pneumonias and UTIs were not only coming in more rapid progression but were significantly worse so he was admitted to the program.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He was taken off many medications, including the blood thinner for his clots. He had clots backed all the way up his legs and the filter which had been installed several years earlier had become clogged.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When he had his first serious bout with low oxygen in his blood on Nov. 3rd we thought perhaps a blood clot had worked its way around the filter and lodged in his lungs. He was running a fever and the nurses were sure he would not make it through the next 24 hours. I scurried around and got all his paperwork sent in for donating his body to the U of Toledo’s body donation program. Then Carol noticed that Jon’s eyes were open a bit and started talking to him. It wasn’t too long before he was making a recovery which astonished the nurses and us! Soon he was asking about her birthday party and what we were going to eat. He actually intended to eat something with us. We were amazed because earlier he had refused to even come to her party even if we had it at Twin Rivers. He did get dressed, came to the dining room, ate 5 or 6 small bites of KFC chicken and carried on conversations with us. He even was up in his chair visiting people the next few days.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We got past her birthday on the 7th but he had another oxygen level problem on the 13th. Again his nails turned blue and his readings were in the 40s and 50 percent range and again had a fever. He even had some of the mottling of the skin that indicates body functions were shutting down. His breathing became very rough and his sleep apnea was quite obvious. He would take 9 quick breaths and then wait 6-7 seconds before taking his next breath. He did come out of that but it was at this point that Carol had decided that she wasn’t going to leave his side. She ate and slept at the facility. He was a little better but on the “loopy” side. He asked Angelique one day “to comb his arm.” We think that was a combination of blood oxygen deprivation and a reaction to the hourly doses of morphine he was getting. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Wednesday, the 18th, his blood oxygen fell into the 40s again, his breathing looked like what I describe “as a baby elephant kicking him in the ribs.” His nailbeds were blue again and the undersides of the tips of his fingers were quite dark. A breathing treatment seemed to pull him out of it and his oxygen readings were back in the 90s where they should have been. He had a relatively decent night’s sleep.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The next day the aide from hospice came and gave Jon a bath and shaved him. Shortly afterward he had trouble breathing again and that was when he passed on, around 11:15 a.m.</span></div>
Marj ~Mom~http://www.blogger.com/profile/11230439025445186649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-78581763260182238962014-02-07T22:39:00.000-05:002014-02-07T22:39:21.788-05:00Success!<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jon had his gall bladder surgery today and we are pleased that everything went so well! The surgeon was able to do it laproscopically (sp?) but had to leave a small portion behind that was hiding behind an artery. The surgeon said he must have had a problem with his gall bladder for some time as it was quite enlarged.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We were hesitant about a general anesthetic but the docs were very positive about it and foresaw no problems and we are thankful that they were right. After surgery he was sent to ICU where he could be closely monitored in case something went wrong….especially important since he can't feel anything below the mid-chest line. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jon was a changed man in ICU! His eyes were bright again, he appreciated jokes and he wanted to celebrate with a steak dinner from Applebees. We had to explain to him how he would have to be careful of his fat intake for a while and especially the first two weeks after surgery so he was convinced it would be better to wait a while to celebrate. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">He will be in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) overnight and into the day tomorrow. Not too sure how long he will stay in the hospital but it is comforting to see that they are taking extra measures to be sure he is okay. Thanks for all your prayers and concerns.</span></span>Marj ~Mom~http://www.blogger.com/profile/11230439025445186649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-47078791024913867022014-02-03T19:23:00.002-05:002014-02-03T19:23:23.117-05:00Not better but not worse either<span style="font-size: large;">Had a chance to talk with Jon's surgeon today. The CT scan today showed that the pancreas is no worse but is not any better either. His vital signs, however, are all stable so that's good. If he remains stable and the pancreas "cools down" she would like to operate on Friday and will keep him in the hospital until then. The one big indicator of problems with the pancreas is pain--extreme pain-- and since he can't feel pain it would be difficult to know if and when the pancreas could flare up so there is hesitation about sending him back to Waterville until after surgery. Another reason for removing the gall bladder is because the gall bladder could again produce stones and irritate the pancreas. It is interesting that the gall stones in this case are more like gritty sand than what we think of when we hear "stones." </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are some other factors that present problems for the surgeon. She would like to use the smallest incision possible. The feeding tube going into his stomach may block the view which would mean a full incision. Being a spinal cord injury patient ups the risk factor as does the fact that he already has so many blood clots. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We discussed anesthesia somewhat and the need for general anesthesia. We asked about a spinal block which she thought was a possibility but Jon wants to be completely unaware of what is going on. The pulmonologist at Heartland says that if Jon has a trach put in during surgery she won't recommend ever taking it out which adds another infection risk down the road. The talk about a spinal block also led to a discussion on having a neurologist do a pre-op assessment to determine pain levels so we need to double check the location of the break in his spine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the meantime, they have put him on liquids which includes jello and his tube feedings are being restarted. The colon seems to be operating normally. If I have not already mentioned it in a previous post he does not have a mega-colon which is a relief.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the gals that used to work at Heartland is now connected with St. Luke's and she popped in for a few minutes while we were there. It sounded like she might stop by again after work. It's good that he can see a familiar face once in a while. We are due for still another bout with snow starting tomorrow afternoon so it may be toward the end of the week before we get back up there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The hospital's address is:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #6c6f70; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jon is in room 378 Phone number for the hospital is 419 897 9386. He can't answer the phone in his room.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That's it for now…keep up the prayers and thanks for tuning in.</span><br />
<br />Marj ~Mom~http://www.blogger.com/profile/11230439025445186649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-81950245024735210472014-02-02T16:48:00.000-05:002014-02-02T16:48:18.454-05:00Gall Stones!<span style="font-size: large;">The CT scan of the pancreas also showed the gall bladder and stones were found. The gall bladder is irritating the pancreas. The two enzyme levels go down after the initial flare up so I guess pancreatis is the diagnosis. There will be another scan tomorrow and then I gather they will decide how they are going to tackle things. It's a good thing he can't feel things like hunger since he hasn't had anything to eat in about 9 days. His nurses at Heartland were concerned about how much weight he's gained this year…at least 35 lbs…he'll be a lot lighter when this is over! Dave, Carol and I were thinking of going to see him but the roads are still not the greatest, Dave's hips are bothering him and my right knee is absolutely killing me. I couldn't possibly hike around to get to his room! Will keep you posted as things come along.</span>Marj ~Mom~http://www.blogger.com/profile/11230439025445186649noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-81163293303235886002014-02-01T14:01:00.001-05:002014-02-01T14:01:30.244-05:00Update<span style="font-size: large;">Jon's nurse practitioner was dismayed that he couldn't be scheduled for an appointment before Monday so she sent him to the E.R. at St Luke's. They admitted him last night. They are thinking pancreatis but Jon doesn't have the really high amylase and lipase levels that usually go along with that condition. (Aunt Eleanor will understand those levels…) Will keep you posted.</span>Marj ~Mom~http://www.blogger.com/profile/11230439025445186649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-66484862798549700902014-01-29T17:22:00.001-05:002014-01-29T17:24:02.282-05:00Complications have set in<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Just a note to update you on Jon’s present condition. It started harmlessly enough with a cold and urinary tract infection combined. It has spiraled into a colon blockage and edema in his hands, feet and ankles. His poor tummy looks like he was expecting quadruplets anytime!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">His blood tests results are all over the place. Many results are in the too high or too low zones. Test are being scheduled as we speak for a CT scan of the abdomen (abdominal series) and a doplar of the left arm which is cold as ice in addition to being swollen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">There is talk of his having developed a mega-colon which would require one of several things: either the removal of the enlarged section or having a colostomy. One of the nurses pulled out quite a bit of bile and some air. Presently he is connected to some apparatus which operates on zero gravity to pull air and liquid out of his belly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Due to the increased size of his belly he is not breathing properly and has been put back on oxygen at a level 4 (4 liters an hour???)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Needless to say his spirits are dampened considerably. One look at him and you know its just not Jon! His appetite has disappeared which may be fortunate since he’s not allowed to eat...and hasn’t been for almost a week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We will be meeting with the respiratory specialist on Monday. He has all the staff quite concerned and puzzled. Anyone with a connection with the good Lord should feel free to dial him up now!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Will keep you informed as things unfold.</span></div>
Marj ~Mom~http://www.blogger.com/profile/11230439025445186649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-83131107341669304332012-05-27T20:28:00.000-04:002012-05-27T20:28:12.585-04:00Catching UpSorry we have not posted for such a loooong time. That's because in general Jon has been doing relatively well. He has changed rooms to room 404. He went from having a roommate to having a room to himself and is now back to having a roommate again. He really enjoys having a room to himself. But now he has two tvs going at the same time.
For Christmas Mom made him a quilt using the fronts/backs of 6 of his Harley shirts with some of his old jeans. I made him a pillow out of the front and back of a Harley shirt from Traverse City. His room looks more like home rather than a nursing home. To add the finishing touches, he has put up 3 pictures from his favorite artist, Albert Mukasa Wilson.
He would really enjoy some company. He misses seeing everyone. Carol keeps him up to date with what she knows. But he would really like to hear it directly from his friends instead. The family was up to visit with Jon on Easter. Joey has gone up to see him with Liam a few times. Liam seems to be getting comfortable with Jon. Mom and Carol go up at least once a week, usually on Tuesdays.Barb ~Sister~http://www.blogger.com/profile/00108583083159364790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-12201278318905864032011-07-29T20:40:00.004-04:002011-07-30T23:12:26.280-04:00A Visit from Liam<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRepUXK_S0aYfl71bRfG6HYKtq0Cgd1Qr7q1R8agcPTkIV8ghsi7XTW_OlXtAYA38_TEbjR5yIE12vr1InENfwx16_f_leBQMh0Of6gtDJjn-WqBtfOy3T8YOpe9LaEQP11ey1fqvg7U/s1600/DSCF0306+cropped.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRepUXK_S0aYfl71bRfG6HYKtq0Cgd1Qr7q1R8agcPTkIV8ghsi7XTW_OlXtAYA38_TEbjR5yIE12vr1InENfwx16_f_leBQMh0Of6gtDJjn-WqBtfOy3T8YOpe9LaEQP11ey1fqvg7U/s320/DSCF0306+cropped.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634940231712880434" /></a><div>Wednesday Carol and I went to see Jon. Since she was babysitting his nephew Joe's son, Liam, we took him along. We had a good visit. Jon thought he recognized my car pulling in the drive when he was coming out of physical theapy so he was waiting for us in the lobby. We went into the activity room where the finches and doves are and Jon pulled into his usual laying back position. I couldn't resist temptation. Liam has learned to balance himself in a sitting position so I scooped him up and put him on Jon's lap. They had a good time checking each other out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jon says he's back to working with weights in therapy. I took his electric toothbrush so maybe he can add that to his occupational therapy sessions for a few days when he gets the hang of it back. Jon continues to look good. Have heard no complaints so far--of course my hearing hasn't been so good these last few months so maybe I've just missd them.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-75742711669985653062011-07-25T21:28:00.003-04:002011-07-25T21:39:35.719-04:00Miscellaneous ThoughtsA call from Mother reminded me that I haven't updated for a while. Carol and I visited Jon yesterday and are pleased to report that he looks great. He is eating pretty much by himself after he gets the appropriate silverware in his hand, is sitting in his wheelchair and looking comfy, is going back to bed early in the evening as recommended without a squawk and in general doing very well. He's back to going to therapy. The chair will be having new pressure mapping in the near future. Something finally triggered his memory as to where his disability checks have been going so we've got that all squared away also. <div><br /></div><div>There was a car show next door last week-end and Jon was all set to check it out when someone checked the thermometer and their weather policy and deemed it too hot for the group to go outside. Can't help but think how that might have prevented some of the problems of last summer!</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of being hot, does anyone know how to find past temperatures for the month of July for this year? It looks like we are slated for another week of 90+ temps and it seems like we've had a run on them all month. Hope all of you are coping well.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-81282728020225537052011-07-09T13:24:00.002-04:002011-07-10T08:47:11.291-04:00Catching upI knew I had become lax again but didn't realize how much! My apologies. Jon has been feeling pretty well this last week. For one thing, he was accepted by Heartland of Waterville and was moved there after dinner Wednesday evening. <div><br /></div><div>It is barely inside the south limits of Waterville at the end of a small road which also is home to a Masonic Village. The rooms are small and he has an elderly gentleman for a room mate. Carol and I had visited on Thursday and were there at supper time. He didn't think he was going to get real food until Friday but what he was given was mostly soft food; bread with gravy and small chunks of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, cooked carrots, pea pods etc. and after several tastes I declared it to be a strawberry crisp. He ate most of the bread and gravy, only a few bites of potatoes--it seemed awfully salty!- most of the veggies, his milk but turned down the dessert.</div><div><br /></div><div>Carol and I had visited on Tuesday at Liberty and when I left I checked his Foley bag to see how everything was going. I was amazed to see chunks of stuff in the tube. I took a picture so I could show Jon and as I was leaving I showed one of the staff. She immediately went down to check it herself and said there were a number of things they could do but did not elaborate. When I left yesterday I noticed there were still some floaters in the tube and said something to the nurse. His night LPN called at 5:50 a.m. Saturday morning morning (she gets off at 6, I think) to tell me they had sent a urine sample out for testing but results wouldn't be back until Tuesday so they wouldn't know until then which antibiotic to give him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yesterday was his birthday. I took Greg and a mutual friend of his and Jon's to Waterville to say Happy Birthday and spend some time with him. Barb came up and Greg passed her on his way home. Jon ate about a fourth of his sandwich, it was supposed to be steak? but sliced very thin and he didn't want the green peppers and onions that came on the side. It didn't look that great to me either. No to the soup, cake and only ate about 4-5 tator tots.</div><div><br /></div><div>Physical therapy came in and worked on his legs so I'm glad to see therapy continue. Somehow we took Liberty West at their word about the status of the bed sores. True, they are much better but somehow a third one on his rear was never mentioned. He has spent so much time laying at the same angle that somehow it doesn't surprise me but still it would have been nice to be informed. The one on his leg is pretty much healed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Am still worried about another urinary tract infection. The first results of yesterday's analysis shows he is positive for an infection but they still won't know until tomorrow at the earliest which kind of bacteria they are fighting. It's amazing how many different kinds of antibiotics they have which are tailored for the various bacteria...no genetic forms there! He was running a slight fever.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today we're all going up to officially celebrate both Jon and his dad's birthdays...Bill's is today.</div><div>Have things to do for today so I'll sign off for now--may have another post tonight.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-65001031025777537832011-06-24T23:35:00.002-04:002011-06-24T23:50:00.907-04:00Something -things is/are missing?When I walked in Jon's room yesterday the first thing I noticed was that the rails were off his bed...if the rails are missing so is the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Camelbak</span> that hangs on them. When I found it it had been taken apart. Strange, it was like being at home; no one knew who took it apart or why, some of them weren't even working the day before. Seems the rails became loose and fell off; Jon couldn't get the new mouthpiece on the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">water bag</span> to work so I guess someone was investigating how it was put together(?) I got it back together and put the old mouthpiece back on so when the rail goes back up itt is ready to go.<div><br /></div><div>After visiting a while, Jon said, "they took me off the oxygen today" and that's when I noticed they had also shaved his mustache. He had been off the oxygen for 4 hours and was still maintaining an oxygen level of 96. Had him do a couple of his breathing exercises which he really needs to keep up. He was really upset about the mustache bit--seems they were originally just going to "trim it up a bit." I told him I couldn't get over how much younger he looked without it. Don't think that cheered him up much though.</div><div><br /></div><div>He was also disappointed with the news that it didn't seem like he would be going to Golden Living in Napoleon--they weren't sure they could "meet his needs." I'm having the social worker check out 3 places one of which is another place in Napoleon. He really wants to be in a new place by his birthday (July 9). It would be so much closer for everyone and for family get <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">togethers</span> in the summer. It would be handy for the 2 fellas working at Campbell Soups; they ought to start working 7 days a week pretty soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm leaving for Chicago and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">NEA</span> Retired convention on Sunday so unless one of the gals goes up and wants to leave a post you probably won't hear anything until late next week.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope all is well with the rest of you.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-33834006342985394182011-06-22T22:48:00.003-04:002011-06-22T23:11:30.696-04:00At a loss for a title-sorry!Carol and I visited Jon yesterday. Carol massaged his hands and I soaked them and trimmed his nails. Angelique had found a neat hose for his Camelbak water bag that bikers use to hold it in position. We thought it might work well with Jon in several different ways. It is thick enough he can grasp it more easily with his hands when in the splints or if it had enough stiffness to it he could have it pretty stable and close to him. He fussed and fumed a bit. Said he had just figured out how to manage it by himself--refrained from saying I knew he would given enough time. I reminded him that any new adjustment usually took some time to adapt to and by the time we left I think we had a workable arrangement. Thanks, Angelique, for your thoughtfulness! <div><br /></div><div>I also cleaned and sterilized the water bag so its good to go for another week or two. Also fixed the fan. It had been knocked off the stand a few times and rattled like crazy. Finally took it apart and tightened everything up and got rid of most of the noise. It seems like the low speed is awfully fast and high makes it look and sound like it could take off for open spaces all by itself!<div><br /></div><div>Jon was up in his chair for 30 minutes yesterday. They used a transfer board to get him in the chair. I also noticed a lift in the hallway but didn't ask if they had tried that first or just had it handy if the transfer board didn't work. He had gotten all the way to the fifth step in eating at the hospital and when he got back to Liberty he said he tried to eat but the meatloaf didn't taste anything like mine so he decided to forgo food for a while. His logic is driving me crazy! (Didn't know he liked mine all that well, either...) Also claimed he couldn't feed himself while in bed and I asked if they wouldn't feed him. He said some of them had said sure and others acted like "no way!" Doesn't matter I guess since he seems to have given up already.</div><div><br /></div><div>He got a chance to talk with several of his friends. Carol's cell phone is easier for him to use than mine and whenever she comes he spends half his time on her phone. Such is life. Will visit tomorrow, Carol has to work so will probably go by myself. Take care.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-9023840738659247602011-06-19T00:03:00.002-04:002011-06-19T00:17:46.599-04:00Back at "Home," ....AgainJon was sent back to Liberty West about 5 o'clock this afternoon. I had been feeling guilty about not getting up to see him on Friday and had been busy all day today but headed toward Toledo about 6. Someplace along the way it dawned on me that visiting hours were over at 8 but I decided to go ahead. (I had a Father's Day card for nephew Joe for him to sign--Joe will think that's neat! I got to the hospital and went to the desk to double-check on his room number and the nice person at the desk said they had no record of his being there so I headed back to Liberty (thank goodness it's just a matter of blocks) and called ahead to make sure he was there.<div><br /></div><div>He looked really rugged; could hardly talk once I woke him up and was sleeping with his mouth open and his chest jerking with every breath. I immediately got the nurse who told me he was breathing like that when he came back. I assured her that it was not his normal breathing and usually signified something was wrong. I had already checked the urine and it was fine. She said she had just done his vitals and his oxygen was 99 but checked them again for me and his oxygen level was 88 so she upped the flow of oxygen. I assured her I wasn't leaving until his breathing improved and a half hour later told her it was the same. She checked his oxygen level and it was back up to 99. She listened to his lungs and stomach and declared them both ok. I called Barb and asked her if she remembered what Westerville did when he breathed like that and she said they either gave him an inhaler or a breathing treatment. The nurse said he did have orders for the inhaler so she gave that to him. A half hour later his breathing was much smoother, his head was not jerking back with each of the"kicks" in his ribs and the kicks themselves were considerably less strong so at 9:00 I headed for home.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for checking in. Hope you have a great Sunday.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-13251262552320360322011-06-16T21:35:00.003-04:002011-06-16T22:46:52.384-04:00Let's be Hopeful<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Carol and I went to the patient care meeting and asked many questions. But many of them refered to a behavior management program which can only be administered through the psychiatrist and Jon refuses to see him--Jon still does not believe he has any problems--at least not ones that need work on! I get the feeling they still think Jon is getting enough fluids even though the color of the urine would indicate a lack thereof. They will try to give him a larger glass of water when they give him his medications. The chair did safely arrive and is stored. They emphasized he will have to get back in bed several times a day. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica; min-height: 17.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We went from there to St V’s to see Jon. He was being exercised by the occupational therapist and she put his arms through a range of motion workout. She did a little work on his feet and legs.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The cute nurse asked if he would like to try eating some food. He agreed to give it a try since he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life going around town with a food tube hanging on his chair... actually what he said was he’d like to someday be able to eat another Big Mac. She explained that starting food was a process of moving through the 5 stages of food types: clear liquid, full liquid, soft, medium(?) and anything he wants. That was also influential! He ate about a1/4 of the jello, some of the soup, 3/4 of the Ensure Enlive and a few spoonfuls of the cherry ice. If there are no problems he goes to the next stage. Of course he had the nurse feed him (there was no adaptive silverware so someone had to do it.)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica; min-height: 17.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">His vital signs are much better today. The staff were more comfortable with his blood pressure readings which were up. That 51 figure referred to yesterday stands for the “mean arterial pressure” which needs to be 60 or above. When we arrived it was 64 and when we left several hours later it was 75. The blood pressure on our arrival was 117/43. His urine is much clearer but still reddish. He was more alert and didn’t fall asleep at all. As long as a person kept the conversation going Jon stayed in it. He had a fever today of 100.6 when we arrived but when we left it had fallen to 98.7. Still is a little high for him since normal is somewhere in the 97 range. The white blood cell counts have fallen considerably, from 50 to 20 and from 26,100 to 11,400.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica; min-height: 17.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">He did not have a central line inserted because his blood pressure started to rise and stabilized last night shortly after we left. Yeah! His IVs have been changed to mispenem cilastatin and norespinephrenine bitartrate. Earlier today he was taken off levothid and put on tobramycin. Then later tonight they started him on primaxim--don’t know if that replaced any one, or all the others, or not. This infection is still a form of gram negative bacteria but is called proteus miribilis.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica; min-height: 17.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 17.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">When we called for a 9 o’clock briefing we found that he had been transferred out of the ICU to the fourth floor, room 404, another step forward. Hope they keep him long enough to have this one thoroughly licked.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 17.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The nursing home in Napoleon has backed down somewhat and said there were other issues other than the bedsores and would check with the administrators again. I thought yesterday they said it was stabilizing his risk of infection but there might be something else involved.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 17.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Thanks for checking in, hope your summer is off to a good start. We’re still planning on celebrating Josh and Angelique’s birthdays, Father’s day for Bill, Joe, Marty and David on Sunday.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-27653693067326223342011-06-16T01:31:00.002-04:002011-06-16T01:40:10.680-04:00Oops? Not again!!!<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">How fast things can change! Thursday I was so pleased with how things were going. Saturday my Mother and and sister, Peg, came to visit Jon. He was sleeping when they got there and seemed sleepy after about an hour so they said their goodbyes.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Sunday, Barb and her dad and Greg and I went up to visit. I noticed his urine was getting dark again and even had a few “floaters” in it. He assured me he was getting enough fluids and that the staff thought so, too--between the liquids with meds, his drinks at mealtime and whatever drinks he either got from the Camelbak or he asked them for.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Monday, I had a meeting in Perrysburg, about 20 minutes away from the Liberty Nursing Center so I decided to make a quick run his way to see how things were going. Angelique and Jeff had stopped by on their way home from a trip to New York. I was mortified at the color and the amount of cloudiness (4 inches or so) in the tube. I just lifted the foley bag to show it to him and he snapped at me-- so I left. Before leaving the building I asked one of the staff to check on him after his company left and see how he was doing. I reminded her that the infection he had never really goes away it just needs to be under control and he had gone very quickly from being incoherent to just plain out of it! </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I really expected to receive a call during the night so I didn’t sleep well Monday night. I did call though in the morning to see how he was and if they were keeping track of his output. While the gal was searching for that info I explained why I was concerned and when I got to the 4 condensed inches of cloudiness she gasped. She said that they could probably use extra fluid when they flushed the feeding tube to get more liquids in him and I agreed it would be a good idea. Ten minutes later she called and said that St. V’s had discontinued the cranberry capsules and she could start those up again and I thought that would be a good idea, too.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Today, actually yesterday but to be exact Wednesday, Carol and I stopped by for a quick visit. As I was parking in their lot I got a call from Liberty saying he had gone to the hospital for an appointment with his wound care doctor and then commented about how his stomach had gotten bigger. They took his blood pressure and it was low enough they agreed with him that he needed to go to the emergency room, again!</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">So, off we went to St.V’s. When we got there they had already taken 5 vials of blood, 2 samples of urine (very red), then he had x-rays of his stomach and chest followed by a CAT scan of his tummy. He had 2 IVs put in; one for 2 antibiotics (cipro and cefetime) and another for something to help with his blood pressure. At that time it was pretty obvious he was going to be admitted and probably to ICU.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">An ICU doc explained that while he was admitted to the ICU he would not be under the care of that staff since he was not in quite the critical condition he was in 2 weeks ago. Instead he would be under the care of the infectious disease staff. A while later when we were allowed to see him the nurse sounded like he was indeed back under the critical care staff’s care since his blood pressure had not responded like they anticipated. His infection is systemic or septis meaning it is through all his body. He would need another central IV line like he had last time and probably in the neck again...something that Jon was very unhappy about. I imagine that any movement of the head irritates the area around it. Last week I had kidded him saying that the marks left on his neck made it look like a very thirsty vampire had attacked him! </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Just before we left the results of the blood test had come back. His white blood count is 26000--two weeks ago when he was there it was 18000! The blood pressure numbers are 82/37. However, there is another number that goes with that that neither Carol nor I understood and that was 51. While we were there it dropped to 48 and what they were aiming for was to get it up above 60! That’s what brought on the central line--the medicine will be levophed.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">That’s about it for now--time to hit the pillow. The chair has made its way to Toledo, the patient care meeting is still on for tomorrow at 1 and the place in Napoleon says they will take him once he gets into a stable condition. Neither Napoleon or Defiance hospitals have an intensive care unit so he would have to be taken to Toledo anyway if another problem developed.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Take care...</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-10367934657875958652011-06-09T23:07:00.003-04:002011-06-09T23:27:23.127-04:00Jon Meets Liam<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_523QAfRbh0VWd6IukVcEtygy7WnbCyg12aVVRgtl-GKTZ4801SBLmf4iLFWdK1alfXJ_mmw5iFMtG4XD0Fu9_isYqqIEVVNBusmFvjSRl5A_kS1ODXX3Gl-YTuFvePIAjRAI0ES9ex4/s1600/DSCF0004.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_523QAfRbh0VWd6IukVcEtygy7WnbCyg12aVVRgtl-GKTZ4801SBLmf4iLFWdK1alfXJ_mmw5iFMtG4XD0Fu9_isYqqIEVVNBusmFvjSRl5A_kS1ODXX3Gl-YTuFvePIAjRAI0ES9ex4/s320/DSCF0004.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616427077756177234" /></a><br />Jon was perhaps in the best spirits I've seen in ages. His face looks good, his voice is strong and he's been doing some exercise on his own. Since he has come back from the hospital he could have some therapy start up again and they put some weights on his wrists while doing some exercises. He has obviously been drinking quite a bit of water which is great--even if he slacks off a bit.<div><br /></div><div>I exercised Jon's hands and he even asked to have his legs and feet exercised some also. Every little bit of directed movement helps to keep him flexible. I think I have forgotten to mention that Jon is still on oxygen and is supposed to be blowing on the "pickle" daily to strengthen his lungs. He also has a breathing meter but we only did the pickle today.</div><div><br /></div><div>Joe (sister Carol's son) and Jenny came shortly after I arrived and brought Liam. Jon has never seen him yet, only looked at pictures on our cameras. We played airplane with him and Jon was able to give him a few smooches on the cheek. I tried sitting Liam on the bed close to Jon but couldn't get the baby in a comfortable position. </div><div><br /></div><div>Supposedly getting the chair up to Toledo is back on the plan but I'll believe that when their van drives into my driveway!</div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-91131045665762099442011-06-09T12:39:00.003-04:002011-06-09T12:56:15.497-04:00Home-I guess that's what this is.This was Jon's comment we overheard when he was talking with his dad on the phone. He has been moved back to Liberty West. He's feeling much better although I'm still convinced he's having some thought process difficulty. He's well aware of the seriousness of his latest UTI. There had already been some damage to the kidneys before this last infection and new damage showed on the CAT scan. However, I'm still not sure we've convinced him how much water is enough. Not sure the staff is helping either--they seem to be giving the impression he's getting plenty of water....<br /><br />Have again asked for a patient conference, this time with the social worker who was on vacation when I asked the assistant director of nursing about setting one up. I'd like to see him on some combination of food and the feeding tube if we can't go back to food and ensure. One of the reasons he stopped eating breakfast was he'd gained some weight and figured that could be a solution.<br /><br />Am going up today...will keep you posted.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-85120570547610747872011-06-06T17:07:00.002-04:002011-06-06T17:13:56.636-04:00Not quite there yet-but movedI took the day off today and didn't go to Toledo but Jon called and said they had moved him from the ICU to room 430. Progress is being made if ever so slow! Was reading up on Urinary Tract infections (UTI's) and found that for people with spinal cord injuries the UTI's are among the most life threatening conditions....and the best advice, which he hates to hear, is to drink water; drink, drink and then drink some more is how the article put it!<br /><br />Carol and I are going to see him tomorrow so we'll have a better up-date.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-77699856366715085372011-06-05T22:02:00.003-04:002011-06-05T22:40:55.340-04:00Improvement ContinuesOn Jon's board on the wall have been his goals for his stay: Safety (I imagine that refers to quit batting the tube in your mouth!), Comfort, and Extubate with two exclamation marks. When I walked in today I noticed that he had no tube in his mouth so the third goal has been met! When I saw the machine being rolled out of the room we knew it was official so I went to the board and drew a smile under the exclamations to make a smiley. The only disadvantage I can see is that he started coughing quite a bit after his breathing treatment. That may have partially been the goal of the breathing treatment but he really sounded quite congested. <br /><br />We had a short talk about his stay. He couldn't remember his/our first night there--but that was to be expected. At first, he wasn't quite sure he remembered the second time Carol was there and needed to be reminded that Angelique was with me yesterday. He is hoping he can leave there tomorrow-in fact, he is sure he is but he doesn't always get his information straight.<br /><br />That's about it..he looks like Jon, talks like Jon and can occasionally be cranky like all of us! Wish him luck on leaving soon!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-83888895178703573612011-06-05T08:18:00.002-04:002011-06-05T09:24:12.216-04:00Things are looking up :)Angelique and I went to see Jon yesterday and caught him in one of his awake periods. The nurses were busy with him when we first arrived so we had to wait outside the room. This gave us a chance to "eavesdrop." They were telling him that they would try to start the "weaning" process with the ventilator tomorrow (today)...he is sooo anxious to get rid of all that head gear. Evidently he has been batting at it because not only was it fastened securely to his head he had cloth strips loosely tied to his wrists that allowed for movement, but not enough so for him to reach his face! Not only does he have to keep his oxygen level up when breathing on a reduced flow from the ventilator he has to be able to produce a "productive cough."<br /><br />He was delighted to see us. Angelique is much better with lip reading than I but when he has stuff in his mouth it makes it very difficult--even for her. When w asked him to spell the words we weren't getting the nurse produced a flyer that has the alphabet. He can point to the letters to spell the words. Usually it just takes a few letters at the beginning of a word. He got a "k" and an "i". Angelique kiddingly said "the next letter better not be an "l" and he shook his head violently. I guessed "kiss" and he nodded just as vigorously for a yes. So we both gave him a big smooch.<br /><br />His urine looks quite normal now-just a little dark. The nurse said occasionally it still has some clouds but on the whole is much better. She also said that part of the explanation for his unresponsive state when we first saw him Thursday night was due to the urine backing up in his system. Add to that the drainage of so much urine at one time is hard on the body also. So I guess he had had kind of a double whammy to the system. Kidney function is now normal.<br /><br />They have resumed the tube feedings and he is tolerating them well. The other new thing we noticed were the "mini air bags" (not a scientific name at all but I can't remember what they are called!") They are long and fit on his calf and have the air pressure fluctuating to prevent blood clots. In all this time that he's been confined to bedrest no one has put them on him. He had them the first few months after the accident though.<br /><br />Jon wasn't wearing hand splints--I have them in my car and they didn't ask about them. But I did notice that he was working his left hand. He can make some flexing movement but not much. <br /><br />Jon will likely be in the ICU for at least 1 or 2 more days. He might be transferred to the "step down" unit or be able to go back to a nursing home level of care. Nurses can't second guess that! Still haven't run into a doctor except for a very brief meeting on Thursday evening.<br /><br />It was good to see him awake. He was quite tired after a half an hour so we left. <br /><br />Barb called this morning to check on how he was doing. The nurse said he was keeping him busy with "commands." She hurriedly explained it wasn't necessarily a bad thing he just needed repositioning or the TV channel changed. She also said he slept well and did not indicate any pain. Food tube is running at 50 mL an hour. If he tolerates that well it will be slowly increased every 4 hours.<br /><br />I will be going to see him this afternoon so I'll see how everything is going.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-8817176603173303402011-06-04T00:33:00.010-04:002011-06-05T08:39:06.662-04:00A Listing of Things<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I thought I’d change my reporting today and just list the things I learned</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">While visiting Liberty West:</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">none of the 3 I was talking with were working yesterday so they didn’t know if he was unresponsive when he left</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">they were stunned to learn he was as sick as he is</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">his catheter had been changed at the end of May</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">they had a urinalysis done a little over a week ago and no abnormalities were found</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I got a copy of his meds to take to the hospital--they asked about it last night but had not called to have it sent over yet</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">the bedsore on his leg is tunneling quite a bit and some go to the bone...so while the perimeter is getting smaller the depth is not improving.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">While talking with nurses at St. V.’s:</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Jon’s vital signs are normal and stable</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">when not sedated Jon is very unhappy with all the tubing and paraphernalia that goes with it--when he realized I was there he mouthed “take it out, now!”--we heard that lots right after the accident</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">when mildly sedated he can move on command and answer yes/no questions</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">at this time when asked about pain he said yes so they gave him a mild pain killer--had just administered that before I got there so he didn’t realized I was there</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I observed that he can thrash his body quite well-especially when thoroughly frustrated!</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">his color is returning and he looks so much better</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">they cut his hair! I have been meaning to do that for two months but couldn’t figure out how to do that while he was flat on his back. They did it just before changing his sheets--it looks pretty nice</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">they aren’t using a wound vac...their wound nurse changed the type of dressing being used which is okay. if I remember correctly sometimes what is needed is a chang-up in the treatment to spur the healing process</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">he did have a CAT scan but there was only a preliminary report so I couldn’t get any details</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">his potasium level has returned to normal so there is no more need for extra calcium</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">did not have a chance to talk with any doctor</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">That just about does it--if I forgot anything I’ll report it tomorrow.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-61202347641019378972011-06-03T03:11:00.009-04:002011-06-04T08:56:25.825-04:00A Big Bump in the Road!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Grande', Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></span></b></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It’s been a hectic day. Carol and I headed for Toledo to see Jon about 2:30 this afternoon. We were by-passing Napoleon when we received a phone call from Liberty West saying they were concerned about Jon’s distended stomach and were sending him to St Vincent’s for a CAT scan....he also seemed to be disoriented. As soon as they were done talking with me they were going to call and make arrangements for transport. Knowing how long that takes sometimes, and Carol had planned on using my computer to finish some things that needed taking care of, we decided to go back to my house--about a 15 minute drive.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Around 5 we got back on the road...we had checked with Liberty and he hadn’t left yet so we decided to stop and eat supper. When we were back on the road we called the hospital and he had just arrived. When we were at the exit and nearing the hospital he had just been sent upstairs for the scan. Remembering that Liberty had said he seemed “disoriented” we were amazed to see him completely out of it and on oxygen. His breathing reminded us of the early days in Ft. Wayne and Green Springs when his breathing looked like someone was kicking him in the chest. In talking with the nurse she said he was going to be sent upstairs to the ICU unit and would probably be in the hospital for 3-4 days. It seems he has a severe urinary tract infection which has gone into the kidney...which is also looking damaged. Not necessarily from this episode but possibly from previous episodes--possibly the accident? His condition was labeled septis (a severe illness in which the bloodstream is overwhelmed by bacteria.) When they drained the bladder it was loaded with pus. Then they checked his food tube which evidently didn’t look great either. They removed the tube connection and suctioned 500mL of thick yellow “gunk”-- a new medical term!</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">While we were there they inserted the dreaded breathing tube down his throat which had an immediate effect on his breathing, blood pressure and heart rate--bp had been low and heart rate high. While he is on the ventilator he will be sedated and pretty much unaware of what is going on. (We couldn’t rouse him at all.) They will however, take him off the sedation medication for a short time each day... to see how well he is doing(?) </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">He also has a special central line IV placed in the neck for medication and drawing blood. They were adding calcium to his medications because his potassium was high and calcium helps protect the heart. His meds include vancomycin, medazalom HCL/sodium chloride. We asked about a white blood cell count and the nurse gave the number 18 which she said was on the high side but not seriously so. Carol and I are confused because we thought normal ranges were much higher than that but she didn’t say which unit of measurement they were using. In looking up normal counts I found the normal range of </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">4,500-10,000 white blood cells per microliter (mcL) which sounds more like what we were thinking. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0pxcolor:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-family:Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; display: inline !important; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Visiting hours are from 10 to 12 in the morning 2-4 and 5-6 in the afternoon and 9-10 in the evening, 2 visitors at a time. He will however, be completely out of it and totally unaware of your presence. I will be using the blog much more to keep everyone posted. The blog address is </span><a href="http://www.jonpc.blogspot.com/"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">www.jonpc.blogspot.com</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. His room is 115. Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, 2213 Cherry Street,Toledo, Oh 43608-2691 </span></span></p></span></b></span><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2463625312410200405.post-46180547441795853072011-06-01T07:46:00.002-04:002011-06-01T08:03:40.005-04:00Progress continuesAgain, my apologies for not keeping posts up to date. Jon's bedsores continue to improve. The biggest sore on his bottom is completely healed and the other is improving. It had a lot more tunneling and so it is taking <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">long</span> to heal. Still has the wound vac on it. Some days when I'm there it seems like hardly anything is moving through the tube. Yesterday, it was more visible. The dressing on his leg keeps getting smaller which means it is healing also. He goes to the wound doctor tomorrow so I should have a more complete report the next time I post.<div><br /></div><div>He continues to be in bed all the time but yesterday was sitting up higher than before. The Center had said they would come after his chair but so far we seem to have missed connections. Talked with the nurse last night and she said she would see what the hold-up has been. Jon has permission to be in his chair for a couple of hours a day.</div><div><br /></div><div>He had been getting some occupational therapy and they were working on being able to do more of the work in getting his shirt on. Had also been sitting on the side of the bed for ten minutes at a time balancing by himself. However, Jon had been switched from Medicaid to Medicare A and used all the sessions that were allowed so therapy was discontinued. The staff should be working to see if he can be switched to a different level of Medicare so they can resume.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jon continues to be in fairly good spirits and there are no complaints from the staff which is good news. He is relying on the tube feeding and being picky about what he eats -- not good news! He can take phone calls and would really like to hear from people.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for checking in....</div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0