Just a quick note to bring you all up to speed on David's progress. As with any big surgery, we make some progress & then encounter a small setback, but overall we are heading in the right direction. David is out of ICU & in a private room now. We certainly miss the constant attention that David received while in the ICU, but this is progress, & Sharree & I are trying to fill in the gaps when the floor nurses aren't available. David's vital signs & lab values are looking pretty good. His blood sugar level has been good the past 36 hours, so he hasn't required any insulin (because a good portion of his pancreas was removed, there is some uncertainty if David might need insulin long term).
He is now on a clear liquid, no carb diet, with much of it passing from his stomach into his gastrostomy bag. Once his bowel awakens, they will begin to cap his gastrostomy tube so things will pass through his gastrointestinal tract, which will hopefully go smoothly. He continues to have two draining tubes in his abdomen, but the amount of drainage is gradually decreasing. His activity level has increased, with him able to tolerate longer periods of time sitting up & he is walking around the nursing floor with a little bit of assistance for a distance of around a city block or two. His pain level has stayed about the same (he characterizes it as a 5 out of 10), but he does have fewer narcotics on board than he originally was being given.
So, we are doing quite well under the circumstances! We are so grateful that the surgical team is pleased with how David's surgery went (pathology results won't be available until the end of this week or beginning of next week, which will give us more information about surgical margins & lymph node involvement) & that David continues to make some steady progress!
Fight the fight to be a survivor!! Janet
Wow, it sounds like Dave is doing great for major surgery. That's awesome!!
ReplyDeleteRich & Gladys