Monday, July 1, 2013 Day 66
Today was my day to spend the day at the hospital while Deborah stayed home to care for Noah. I arrived at the hospital around 8:30 and did not leave until around 3:00. I had my notebook in hand ready for a day of Doctors, nurses, lab techs and who ever else wanted to be a part of Scotty's team. And that is really what it is. No wonder they say you get no rest in hospitals! His door was like a revolving center and you never knew who was walking in next. The "Notebook" has been our saving grace. I had to refer back to it for one of the doctors today as well as the Case Manager. Which I left her off the list of attendees ! Poor Scotty he said to me today I need a chart with all these peoples names and faces on it so I can remember who is doing what to me ! I agreed ! The line for today was "The Big Picture" is ....We heard that 2 or three times today in about an hour apart. So I figured they were drilling that in our heads. So what we learned today is the culture they got from the broncoscopy showed 2 types of staff in his lungs and the antibiotics he was taking was not the kind he needed to fight them off ! So he is now on Vancomycim which will attack both types and he should start feeling better real soon. He must take this through an IV at this time so his stay in the hospital will be for several days. We actually were told it would be a day by day decision once they were able to remove the IV drugs and go to a tablet. They will start treating the liver in small doses. Nothing large. He is not ready for that. The medical oncologist said it is very important to get the lungs cleared first. She has also ordered a bone scan of his lower legs to see why they continue to hurt so bad. She is waiting on the new results of the CT scan they did of the liver on Sunday. This time they used dye for the scan. The Palliative Care physician stopped by to discuss Scotty's pain management. He was very simple and easy to understand but talked real slow !! I caught myself trying to finish his sentences for him a couple of times. He told us his team will study his pain and develop a management plan to lesson the amount of break through pain he continues to have. They will concentrate on that so the other doctors can focus on making him well in their area of expertise.
Scotty is on oxygen full time at this point but they hope as the antibiotic does its thing the use of the oxygen will not be needed. He was able to get to the bathroom with some assistance from his nurse and me. That was a big chore and it wore him out. He is on a monitor to watch his oxygen levels and when it drops they come running in. His dropped while going to the bathroom and several nurses came down to check on us to see if he was ok. His nurse told them we were not in trouble yet ! He also takes breathing treatments though out the day and I told him to pretend it is his peace pipe like they smoked on all the western movies. He just laughs ! Got to find some humor somewhere.
We watched the tennis match today in between visits and he enjoyed that. Scotty used to be an avid tennis player many years ago and still enjoys watching the game. He also served as a Ginny Pig today to some lab tech in training. I really did not enjoy watching her look so insecure and neither did Scotty. And the worst part of it all she was smacking on a piece of gum that was so very annoying ! Scotty and I both decided if she came back we were going to request a different time or say we already gave !
Noah has not been handling the changes in his life very well these past few days. His anxiety levels have increased tremendously and he is struggling. Deborah is trying to get him back on a routine and hopefully this will help. She is also looking for help with him while she goes to the hospital or just to run errands when all of us are working and cannot help. If anyone knows of individuals who care for those with special needs please let her know.
Please continue to pray for Scotty's healing of the lungs so they can start treating the liver. Pray for Deborah to have the strength and understanding to move through this difficult time. And please pray for Noah. He needs rest and he needs the ability to understand what is happening in his house.
Proverbs 3; 5 - 6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
