There is great news to report today. Dad had 2 bowl movements, one lasts night and another this morning.
Side Note: From time to time when I have been retelling this story I have been amazed at how comfortable terms like gut, bowl movement, vomit etc... Have become. So here is another "funny" one for the books. Last night my dad called me to tell me he pooped, and we all celebrated. Who knew you could get so excited about that.
Dad's doctors are on vacation since it is labor day weekend, of course he is being monitored but they don't know about these latest movements, so we haven't gotten word from the Dr to what this means. I don't know if this means the inflammation is gone or if his gut is awake or what, but for today we are just celebrating the miracle of bowl movements!
Dad's spirits are much higher today. Mom got a good night sleep and everyone is feeling really great today. We don't know what tomorrow will bring, but today we will celebrate the small things.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Bionic Bob
I thought I would use my blog to keep everyone updated on what is going on with dad. I will give some sort of a background to catch everyone up to speed and from this blog forward I will just give updates as we have them.
So... For those that don't know anything, my dad, Bob Bittner, went into ER August 17th with chest pain and violently vomiting. After ruling out anything heart related issues, they determined that he had an intestinal blockage due to a congenital birth defect called a mal-rotation of the intestine. He went into the ER around 2:00 am and by 11:00 Monday morning he was in surgery to correct the issue. He came out of surgery well and had a great week of recovery. Everything seemed to be going well. He came home for the hospital that Friday, Aug 22nd. He didn't feel real good on Saturday but we all thought that was related to recovering from surgery, however by Sunday afterrnoon he was sick again. We all went back to the ER that Sunday evening around 6:00 pm. Needless to say, it was a LONG day, and at 3:00 am, the said we really don't konw what is wrong, but we are admitting him and you should go home. So mom stayed there with dad and Erin and I (plus Craig and Pat) all headed home.
I won't go into all the highs and lows of the week, but dad has had SEVERAL diagnosis over the last week and none which provided him relief. He continued to vomit from Sunday evening until Thursday. Thursday the doctors did a couple procedures that will hopefully help. First they put in what is called a "g" tube which suctions out everything out of his stomach so he will not continue to be sick. So far, that has helped eliviate the vomiting, which is a very good thing.
The other thing they tried to do is put in a feeding tube, and through this process they discovered a partial blockage in his intestine due to swelling at the spot they had manipulated during the suregery. So, they now believe that the intestine is inflamed and causing a parital blockage which is causing his bowls not to work. They were not able to get through the inflamation so they had to run a pic-line for his nutrition. If there are any medical people reading this please forgive me if I'm not spelling these terms correctly.
He finally had a good night sleep last night and did get up and sit in the chair and walked the hall today. We had an acupuncturist come in today as well, to help stimulate his body to heal itself.
Through the course of the week we have had a number of highs and lows, and dad has been scared and really sick, but I think we all are feeling a little break in the clouds today. My uncle was here Mon-Wed and stayed at the hospital so mom could go home and get some sleep.
Mom is doing well. She has been amazingly strong and holding us all together.
At this point we are waiting to see if his intestines will stop being inflammed and will go back to working properly. I am not sure how long this will take or what plan B is if they don't right themselves. We are not really thinking about that right now, we are just focused on thinking strongly that they will correct themselves.
As most of you know Pat and I were supposed to be getting married Sept. 13th. We have decided to post-pone our celebration until Dad can be there to great you all and I'm sure say some embarrasing things during his toast. This was a hard decision for the family, but we all think right now we all need to be completely focused on dads healing.
I will write more soon, but for now, I'm really tired and going to lay down myself. Thank you to everyone who has called, written cards, sent flowers, brought food, mowed yards the list goes on... You love, concern and prayers are keeping us all afloat and united.
We have all felt God even in the midst of such a crisis and know he is ultimately in control. Please continue to pray for my dads healing.
So... For those that don't know anything, my dad, Bob Bittner, went into ER August 17th with chest pain and violently vomiting. After ruling out anything heart related issues, they determined that he had an intestinal blockage due to a congenital birth defect called a mal-rotation of the intestine. He went into the ER around 2:00 am and by 11:00 Monday morning he was in surgery to correct the issue. He came out of surgery well and had a great week of recovery. Everything seemed to be going well. He came home for the hospital that Friday, Aug 22nd. He didn't feel real good on Saturday but we all thought that was related to recovering from surgery, however by Sunday afterrnoon he was sick again. We all went back to the ER that Sunday evening around 6:00 pm. Needless to say, it was a LONG day, and at 3:00 am, the said we really don't konw what is wrong, but we are admitting him and you should go home. So mom stayed there with dad and Erin and I (plus Craig and Pat) all headed home.
I won't go into all the highs and lows of the week, but dad has had SEVERAL diagnosis over the last week and none which provided him relief. He continued to vomit from Sunday evening until Thursday. Thursday the doctors did a couple procedures that will hopefully help. First they put in what is called a "g" tube which suctions out everything out of his stomach so he will not continue to be sick. So far, that has helped eliviate the vomiting, which is a very good thing.
The other thing they tried to do is put in a feeding tube, and through this process they discovered a partial blockage in his intestine due to swelling at the spot they had manipulated during the suregery. So, they now believe that the intestine is inflamed and causing a parital blockage which is causing his bowls not to work. They were not able to get through the inflamation so they had to run a pic-line for his nutrition. If there are any medical people reading this please forgive me if I'm not spelling these terms correctly.
He finally had a good night sleep last night and did get up and sit in the chair and walked the hall today. We had an acupuncturist come in today as well, to help stimulate his body to heal itself.
Through the course of the week we have had a number of highs and lows, and dad has been scared and really sick, but I think we all are feeling a little break in the clouds today. My uncle was here Mon-Wed and stayed at the hospital so mom could go home and get some sleep.
Mom is doing well. She has been amazingly strong and holding us all together.
At this point we are waiting to see if his intestines will stop being inflammed and will go back to working properly. I am not sure how long this will take or what plan B is if they don't right themselves. We are not really thinking about that right now, we are just focused on thinking strongly that they will correct themselves.
As most of you know Pat and I were supposed to be getting married Sept. 13th. We have decided to post-pone our celebration until Dad can be there to great you all and I'm sure say some embarrasing things during his toast. This was a hard decision for the family, but we all think right now we all need to be completely focused on dads healing.
I will write more soon, but for now, I'm really tired and going to lay down myself. Thank you to everyone who has called, written cards, sent flowers, brought food, mowed yards the list goes on... You love, concern and prayers are keeping us all afloat and united.
We have all felt God even in the midst of such a crisis and know he is ultimately in control. Please continue to pray for my dads healing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
