Dad is still in ICU and still on the Ventilator. His nurse today is Lori. Lori fills us in on the current condition with Dad. She showed us his drains and where they exit his body and the fluid that has accumulated since his surgery yesterday afternoon. She advises us that they have started to reduce the amount of support the Ventilator provides Dad. She then asks us if we would like his doctor for the day to come in and talk with us about his current condition. We are shocked that after nearly 10 weeks of visiting, we never knew that we could ask to speak with a doctor when visiting the ICU. His doctor comes in and explains that they did what they needed to do during the surgery yesterday. The drain positions were checked and the third drain for the upper right quadrant was inserted and secured. 
He says that Dad has a yeast infection in the upper right quadrant and that this is a difficult place to treat. Not sure really what he means, but didn't sound great to us. The good news is that the infection hasn't spread. When they took a sample Tuesday during the first surgery, they grew it and it did multiply which means it can spread. The key now is to make sure it doesn't and treat with tons of antibiotics. The is exactly what they are doing right now. He says that last night Dad had issues with breathing and that he needed to have the Ventilator on full support. He says that his weak condition continues to be a problem for him and that he has so many problems with breathing due to Dad's inability to work his lungs on his own. It is a minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day process of waiting, watching and praying for his strength to improve. The doctor concludes that he will probably remain in ICU through the weekend. Dad has great difficulty with coughing today. His entire body and especially his head seems ready to burst with the pressure of trying to cough. We continue to tell him not to try and speak as this causes more trouble for him. I took some pictures and told him that I had started a website for everyone to keep track of him. His mood isn't great today as he is in pain and we say our good byes for the day. It is always so very hard to leave Dad and we especially had a hard time today as he was struggling with coughing when we left him.
He says that Dad has a yeast infection in the upper right quadrant and that this is a difficult place to treat. Not sure really what he means, but didn't sound great to us. The good news is that the infection hasn't spread. When they took a sample Tuesday during the first surgery, they grew it and it did multiply which means it can spread. The key now is to make sure it doesn't and treat with tons of antibiotics. The is exactly what they are doing right now. He says that last night Dad had issues with breathing and that he needed to have the Ventilator on full support. He says that his weak condition continues to be a problem for him and that he has so many problems with breathing due to Dad's inability to work his lungs on his own. It is a minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day process of waiting, watching and praying for his strength to improve. The doctor concludes that he will probably remain in ICU through the weekend. Dad has great difficulty with coughing today. His entire body and especially his head seems ready to burst with the pressure of trying to cough. We continue to tell him not to try and speak as this causes more trouble for him. I took some pictures and told him that I had started a website for everyone to keep track of him. His mood isn't great today as he is in pain and we say our good byes for the day. It is always so very hard to leave Dad and we especially had a hard time today as he was struggling with coughing when we left him.
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