Yesterday was one of those days to begin with. Had to go back in the house twice before I ever got the car door open. It was raining so I had to get my raincoat instead of the sweater I was wearing, then again I didn't put my wallet in my pocket. At least I didn't get down the highway. Had to get gas and then started to drive off with only 1/2 of my McDonald's order!

Bill was awake and aware again when I got there. Mikala said that he had stayed awake most of the night watching TV. I noticed that Bill's food was off and the top half of him was covered with the bed pads they put under the patients, so he must have started throwing up again, and that was confirmed by Mikala. It was only a little when he was suctioned. That's what we've been noticing, when he's turned or suctioned after a breathing treatment it seems to jostle him too much. There will be more on this later.

His urine was really bloody again, and it was bright red so there's still a bleed somewhere. Mikala said that the flush had been running too fast which was why it had looked so good the last few days and they had to slow it down, so that accounted for the difference. But, if the blood was caused by the clot they removed, and that was done so many days ago, shouldn't the blood be flushed out by now? And it is bright red, not dark like old blood. So, another question on my list to ask.

The Levo to keep his blood pressure up was still off and he didn't need it all during the day. Dr. Edwards said that his acidity has returned to normal and they are stopping the frequent ABGs, but they are going to leave the ART line in a little longer just in case it is needed again. 

His kidney function continues to improve with the extra fluids and his creatinine is still going down. He's still getting the daily dose of Lasix and already, even after 1 dose, the swelling in his feet and left hand has gone down considerably. His left arm is still very sore and red, but Dr. Threlkeld is keeping an eye on it.

Therapy came in and Bill did not argue about working with them. He sat on the edge of the bed twice and then did some leg and shoulder exercises. He did pretty well with them. He did tell Travis that his back hurst and he told him it was because he was laying in bed all the time. He had been sitting in chair position in the bed all morning, so they let him go back to bed when they finished.

We thought the PICC line was leaking again, but it turned out that the stopcock on his feeding tube hadn't been turned completely off from when he got some meds, but it was enough that the dressing had to be changed. I ran into the PICC nurse who does the dressing changes in the hallway and she asked me what had been going on. She'll be in Wednesday to do the normal dressing change, but Mikala did this one.

And now, for the feeding tube. It is draining so much around the site where it comes out of his belly that he went through 2 hospital gowns in 30 minutes. Dr. Nara looked at it and said that nothing can really be done about it until his nutrition improves. I don't think she realizes that this is it, he's not ever going to be able to eat real food again. So, now we're trying to come up with some way to keep him drier so that his skin doesn't breakdown any more. It's already so think that any little touch bruises him. What we had come up with when I left was to fold the bedpads around it. Since they are plastic on one side (and it's not plastic, but you know what I mean) it will keep the moisture away from his gown which keeps it dry to keep him dry. We had tried the ABD pads for dressings but those didn't work to keep him dry. If the pads don't work, we're going to try cutting a diaper since they are very absorbant. Emily told me when he dad had a surgical site that wouldn't heal, she finally just slapped a maxi-sized sanitary napking on it. The nurse told her that was a great idea, it pulled in the mositure, yet stiill let the wound get some air around it to start healing. So, we could try that. 

I asked about switching to bolus feeds instead of the continuous feed to see if giving a break between them would actually let it start closing some. If it stops draining when the food stops, that just makes sense to me. Mikala thought that was a good idea and she paged the dietician but hadn't heard back before I left We're all kind of grasping at straws here. 

But, this could be totally unrelated to his food. The CT did show fluid in his stomach from somewhere and I had been telling them that he had never been thick through his stomach or have a belly and he's been really big. Yesterday he wasn't as big it seemed. So, maybe we just need to let this stuff drain out, whatever it is. 

I thought yesterday was going to be the day Jennifer came and told me not to leave. She did come by and stood in the hallway and talked to a nurse, and then went into the room next door. After she came out, she just walked away. So, I won't know until I get there this morning. Hopefully I'll be let in.

That's it for now. Time to round up Mouse and get dressed and things gathered up. Luckily I didn't unpack my backpack except to take out the laptop and my notebook, which is quickly running out of pages! At least I don't have to stop for gas, and if I can keep my foot off the gas (I do like to drive fast I've found) I'll be good that way until tomorrow. 

Stay safe!