Monday morning Jack's creatinin levels were at 2.76; if you will recall, the goal is to get them down to 1.3, so we are getting ever closer.
His legs are getting stronger every day; he is now using the restroom regularly on his own, and this not only indicates healthy kidneys, but also assists in his muscles regaining their strength.
Doctors are hoping to be able to discharge Jack from the hospital tomorrow (Wednesday), though only time will tell if his body will be ready for that. Once he is released he will need to return to the hospital for a checkup in a week, and hopefully at that point the surgeons will be able to discuss skin grafts and surgery with him.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Up and About
As you can tell, Jack loves having his picture taken. :) Here he is enjoying some time OUT of bed, visiting with family from the chair in his room.
Right now I'd like to give a huge thank you to everyone who has shown support and love for Jack and his family during this crazy situation. The shelf next to his window has a number of cards from various people who care about him, and currently there is a beautiful bouquet of orange and yellow fall-looking flowers brightening up the room. (There's also a box of chocolates which I'm sure won't last long.) All of your thoughts, prayers, and gestures of solidarity mean a lot to all of us, and we are so thankful for such wonderful friends and family members.
The Weekend
Sorry for the delay in updates since Friday; I wasn't around a computer very much over the weekend, as we went to visit Jack in Portland again.
While his creatinin (apologies for any misspellings, I am NOT a doctor) levels started at 9 (people with absolute kidney failure often have levels this high), they have dropped significantly over the last couple of days, ending up at 3.87 on Saturday. Once they get to 1.3 he will be allowed to go home. If things continue as they have been that could be as early as Tuesday.
On Sunday morning Jack was released from his renal diet to a regular, "eat almost anything you want" diet, which was a joy for everyone because now he could eat some of his favourites from the menu. He is now trying to decide between everything that sounds delicious on the hospital vegetarian menu. His favourite item: Raspberry or mango sorbet.
Ever since he was moved from ICU he has been much more alert and awake; the IV pain medications were keeping him knocked out most of the time. Now that he is on simple oral pain meds ("simple" meaning as little as Tylenol), he only naps once or twice during the day and the rest of the time he spends chatting with family, watching football and baseball, and reading.
The room he is in now is a private room on a floor that was recently remodeled, so everything is bright, cheerful, and modern. He has his own bathroom with a large shower including a fold-down seat, and can see a little bit of Portland from his room window. There are several outdoor areas where you can go walking and sit and watch the tram (which goes from OHSU to the South Waterfront), and on a clear day even see Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Adams. Jack has been taking "walks" in his wheelchair to get some fresh air, and it seems to be doing him good.
While his creatinin (apologies for any misspellings, I am NOT a doctor) levels started at 9 (people with absolute kidney failure often have levels this high), they have dropped significantly over the last couple of days, ending up at 3.87 on Saturday. Once they get to 1.3 he will be allowed to go home. If things continue as they have been that could be as early as Tuesday.
On Sunday morning Jack was released from his renal diet to a regular, "eat almost anything you want" diet, which was a joy for everyone because now he could eat some of his favourites from the menu. He is now trying to decide between everything that sounds delicious on the hospital vegetarian menu. His favourite item: Raspberry or mango sorbet.
Ever since he was moved from ICU he has been much more alert and awake; the IV pain medications were keeping him knocked out most of the time. Now that he is on simple oral pain meds ("simple" meaning as little as Tylenol), he only naps once or twice during the day and the rest of the time he spends chatting with family, watching football and baseball, and reading.
The room he is in now is a private room on a floor that was recently remodeled, so everything is bright, cheerful, and modern. He has his own bathroom with a large shower including a fold-down seat, and can see a little bit of Portland from his room window. There are several outdoor areas where you can go walking and sit and watch the tram (which goes from OHSU to the South Waterfront), and on a clear day even see Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Adams. Jack has been taking "walks" in his wheelchair to get some fresh air, and it seems to be doing him good.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday Morning: Waiting Game
Still no surgery on the docket...though creatin (sp?) (the bad protein) levels in his system are going down, his kidneys are still not quite at the point doctors want them to be before he undergoes surgery. So we will wait and continue to pray that he is able to have surgery soon.
Today while trying to work with his injured arm Jack felt burning pain in his wrist nerves, which is both good and bad; bad because it's pain but good because he's able to feel sensation in the wrist, which has not often been the case since the accident.
Today while trying to work with his injured arm Jack felt burning pain in his wrist nerves, which is both good and bad; bad because it's pain but good because he's able to feel sensation in the wrist, which has not often been the case since the accident.
Thursday Evening
Jack was more tired today, but he was very awake yesterday so he is most likely recuperating from being more active yesterday. He was able to take two good naps and got some good rest, which is good for his body.
Also exciting was his first shower of his hospital stay. They had hoped to allow him to shower earlier this week but for various reasons it didn't happen; Carol Ann says they were finally able to clean out his ears, which still had hay in them from the field! Jack is a much happier man now with clean hair and clean ears. Though they had to be very careful not to get his major wound wet, it was still nice to be able to shower.
He was also able to stand over the sink and brush his teeth today, so things are looking up.
Jack's cousin Fairy came for a visit today and sat and chatted for a couple of hours, which was good for everyone; those who know Jack well know he loves family and enjoys chatting, so to see a family member he doesn't often see and be able to relax and have a visit was quite the treat.
The doctors are still keeping their eyes on his kidneys; they don't seem to be catching up as quickly as the doctors thought they would, so the expectation of dialysis is still 50/50. Since they can't do anything else until Jack's counts (UC?) go down, they will continue to monitor his kidneys and wait for them to function better before scheduling surgery.
Also exciting was his first shower of his hospital stay. They had hoped to allow him to shower earlier this week but for various reasons it didn't happen; Carol Ann says they were finally able to clean out his ears, which still had hay in them from the field! Jack is a much happier man now with clean hair and clean ears. Though they had to be very careful not to get his major wound wet, it was still nice to be able to shower.
He was also able to stand over the sink and brush his teeth today, so things are looking up.
Jack's cousin Fairy came for a visit today and sat and chatted for a couple of hours, which was good for everyone; those who know Jack well know he loves family and enjoys chatting, so to see a family member he doesn't often see and be able to relax and have a visit was quite the treat.
The doctors are still keeping their eyes on his kidneys; they don't seem to be catching up as quickly as the doctors thought they would, so the expectation of dialysis is still 50/50. Since they can't do anything else until Jack's counts (UC?) go down, they will continue to monitor his kidneys and wait for them to function better before scheduling surgery.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Photos
WARNING: Some of the images below may be disturbing to persons who do not deal well with graphic photos. If you are at all squeamish about blood and injuries, you may want to reconsider scrolling through these pictures. I will put the worst ones at the end so you can at least see a few, even if you do have a disinterest in the gory shots.
Up for a walk! (And annoyed that his sister is taking his picture...again.)
Learning how the remote works in his new private room so he can watch a western on TV.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE QUITE GRAPHIC...THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!
The injuries...
Wednesday Morning
All good news today! Jack ate a good supper last night and a great breakfast this morning and he is able to get up and use the restroom on his own now.
His kidneys are stabilizing, and while they are not completely functioning normally, they are vastly improved, meaning dialysis is on the back burner, rather than the forefront of everyone's minds as it had been for the past week. The doctors are still waiting for the kidneys to kick in completely and do their job at 100% before they decide what to do about surgery to repair Jack's wounds.
They have inserted what is called a "wound rack" in the larger wound near Jack's armpit; essentially it sucks up any drainage from the wound and stimulates growth and healing in that area.
He is no longer on very many pain medications, as he feels he can handle the pain he's feeling, though the doctors are still encouraging him to take some medications as his blood pressure goes up when he is not on them.
Due to being off the IVs and not on very many medications, Jack is awake a lot more and is able to get up and walk around a bit from time to time. His number one hope for today is a shower, the first he's been able to have since the accident a week ago. I'm told he is very excited about this - and so is Carol Ann...I'm sure the nurses are, too, since the nurses and Carol Ann are the ones having to smell him. (Just kidding, Jack!) :)
His kidneys are stabilizing, and while they are not completely functioning normally, they are vastly improved, meaning dialysis is on the back burner, rather than the forefront of everyone's minds as it had been for the past week. The doctors are still waiting for the kidneys to kick in completely and do their job at 100% before they decide what to do about surgery to repair Jack's wounds.
They have inserted what is called a "wound rack" in the larger wound near Jack's armpit; essentially it sucks up any drainage from the wound and stimulates growth and healing in that area.
He is no longer on very many pain medications, as he feels he can handle the pain he's feeling, though the doctors are still encouraging him to take some medications as his blood pressure goes up when he is not on them.
Due to being off the IVs and not on very many medications, Jack is awake a lot more and is able to get up and walk around a bit from time to time. His number one hope for today is a shower, the first he's been able to have since the accident a week ago. I'm told he is very excited about this - and so is Carol Ann...I'm sure the nurses are, too, since the nurses and Carol Ann are the ones having to smell him. (Just kidding, Jack!) :)
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