Davison online

They were finally able yesterday to get Dad off of the respirator and the dialysis machine. By late yesterday/early this morning they felt comfortable enough to do a CT scan (which is hard on the kidneys) to see what was going on inside. The results were not favorable. There is a wide area of infection, and Dad will require surgery sooner rather than...

Though still very ill, Dad continues his slow improvement. Over the weekend, they were able to reduce or eliminate the medications he received, his fever lessened, his heart rate stayed regular, and his kidney function started to return to normal. Today they were able to take an X-ray or two, though I've not heard yet about the results. This is a marathon,...

I'm not sure I've made the timeline of events with my Dad clear, so let me present it here. In terms of symptoms and presentation, I'll be quoting heavily from the Merck Manual (http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section3/chapter26/26b.jsp) since Dad's case is for the most part textbook. On Tuesday morning, Dad went for his regular daily 5-mile walk at...

Overnight news was somewhat mixed, but trending well by late morning. Dad is still very sick, of course, but at least some of the symptoms are being more successfully treated. His heart rate this morning came down a bit into the 75-90 range, which is a nice contrast to the 110-120 it was doing yesterday. It's an even better contrast to the 160ish that...

Things remain serious. My dad has a high fever (102 degrees) which is resisting attempts to lower it. His heart function is not good, and he has been defillibrated three times, twice this evening. He was stable again when I left at 9:15 PM. The CCU nurse would not offer guarantees, of course, but expected him to make it through the night. The good news,...

I spent two hours this morning in Dad's room. Some of this time I spoke with his nurse; for 5 to 10 minutes I was able to speak with one of his doctors. The situation remains serious. He has a fever, is on dialysis, and has had some heart issues, among other things. Although he will have his gall bladder removed eventually, he is "not a surgical candidate...

I have just returned this evening from the hospital. Dad is now in the Critical Care Unit, or CCU. They were inserting a breathing tube and taking chest X-rays when I arrived, so I didn't actually see him today, but my mom was with him all day. Things have taken a decidedly more serious turn. Here's the Merck Manual on Acute Pancreatitis. Read it and...

I saw Dad this afternoon up on the fourth floor of Salem Hospital. He was sleeping relatively comfortably while I was there, though the nurse said that he'd had some discomfort throughout the day. Despite this, I suspect that today's discomfort wasn't as bad as last night's, which was described as "9" on 10 scale when we went into ER and "8" on 10 scale...

It's apparently my dad's turn on the "your health sucks" merry-go-round. I took him into ER this evening, after he began complaining of severe abdominal pain. They took some care to make sure it wasn't a heart attack—it wasn't—and initially, the attending thought it was a ulcer. X-rays and ultrasound changed the diagnosis to gallstone...

• AWESOME NEWS: Joe and Carol had a daughter, Hannah Clare, this morning at 6:24. Weighed in at 7 lbs. and 20 inches long. Joe's message on my machine said that it was a relatively short delivery and that Carol did great. We are all smiles around here. Our warmest congratulations to the Kann family! • ONESUITE TURNING SOUR?: I don't know what...