"Intestinal Track 101"

To be very frank, we know a lot more big words to describe what could possibly be happening in his intestines, and what are the possible ways of treating it, but they still don't seem to know the location or cause of the problem - in him - this week!!! They don't have a game plan. Part of this is because with bowel blockage type problems, some of it is a wait and see game. So even if today were a day in the middle of the week, instead of a weekend, we would probably be in the same place. However, it is a weekend, and all of the faces we met on Friday have someone covering for them over the weekend, we have had a lot of faces that try to grasp the case history (can you imagine telling that story 5 times in 2 days.?...) as well as each of them try to communicate their suspicions, thoughts, theories, (blah, blah blah....)..... Dave is medically improving, emotionally slipping. This kind of blind sided him and when Doctors do this "intestines 101" type stuff it gets frustrating and depressing. He just wants to come home. His stomach no longer hurts. But the tube (NG) is still attached and is causing a lot of irritation in the sinuses. We did get him walking a bit today (no, I was NOT going to tell him - that I told the nurse - to get him to do it). They have added a new team member - a gastroenterologist - because he has some white blood cells in one of his lab workups that may indicate "Pouch-itis" - an infection in the reconstructed J-pouch. All of this may or may not be caused by an obstruction at all; it might instead be a "closed loop bowel obstruction" (take the garden hose and twist it until no water gets through) (which is apparently not the same thing as an "obstruction" which means "something blocking it"[shove something into the hose until it stops the flow]). It could also be some inflamation, maybe from an infection..????. but they are not sure. They don't know where the source of the problem is, what exactly is the source, ... nor do they know if they are going to just "let it work itself out" or if they are going to operate. Oh, and the gastro guy is going to do a "flexiblesignoidoscopy" (a mini colon-oscopy - smaller proceedure but with a longer name) on Sunday at 9 am. At least they are knocking him out for it!!! In the mean time, my phone has been acting like crud. It is causing problems being so un=reliable. I am going to try to pop out and get a new one at some point. Thanks for reading, I will sign off now before I really get rambling - like a weekend doctor......

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They dont seem so into making patients walk the halls here. Poor Dave.... He is being made to walk anyway. He wont listen to me so i made it clear to his nurse that i know walking is vital (thanks to our care at "the mecca"/MGH) and she needs to tell him. I will make him walk again - for a longer spell - before i leave in two hours. Still no sign of the surgeon. Hope she arrives before i have to go.

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My phone is acting up. This morning it was clear. Then mid morning it said i had 5 voice mails. They were all calls from yesterday. So if your trying to reach me thats yer problem. Im with Dave in his room. He is feeling good enough to be watching a john wayne movie... Which is a huge improvement! He is still in a stage of - not much news. Nothing more can be done at this time - still need to wait n see. After the movie is over he is going to walk the halls for a bit. Liam is at the neighbors until noon. Then from 12 to 6 he is going with another friend . They have a son that is playing in a basketball game so that will be fun. He knows he is being pawned off but i am making sure he gets his evenings with me.

What a day... was that just one day?!

Okay, so a bowel obstruction is like a clogged pipe. It hurts and its gross what happens as a result as your body tries to manage. They have him on a stomach suction and it is a wait and see situation. (He told the Doctor that the tube "really sucks" but the guy didn't laugh! ) He is on meds for pain, nausea, and also IV fluids. We talked to Dr. Shellito out in Boston, he said that if surgery should become necessary that any general surgeon is fine - whew - talk about taking the pressure off. We met the surgeon, we liked him, he works in a team that are colon-rectal specialists and he does do that type of work, but he is not certified as specialized. They don't want to do surgery. An obstruction is caused by scar tissue that forms (like from his major surgery in Sept 2007) - think of it like super-glue that accidentally glues your fingers together! The scar tissue gets things sticking and stuck in a way that can... obstruct flow of waste. One reason to not want to do the surgery to try to correct it - is that it also can cause more scar tissue. Vicious cycle! They were also going to do a scan this afternoon that would involve some contrast (Bar. Eni.) so they can maybe get a better look at what is going on. The other advantage is the contrast will help clean out the clog's other end... once the pressure is off from both ends it has a chance to just set itself right. I spent the day getting referrals, getting a new power of attourney in place, cancelling my participation in the life guarding class I was in (side note: this is the second time that Dave's health has caused me NOT to be come a life guard! One of these days.... ), contacting family and co-ordinating care for Liam. We have plenty of help. Lots of people can take Liam for lots of hours. I am getting him home at 6:30 and we are going to do some normal bed time routine stuff and talk. Not sure if I am going to take him to see Dave in the morning or not. Maybe wait until the afternoon. I finally have a bit of sleep and will see about eating again then go to bed at the same time as Liam. Thank you to everyone for your support and understanding. I will keep the blog posted. If you are on Facebook it also directly uplinks to the "notes" section every few hours. Feel free to pass on the word to all you know that know us, and care about us, as much as you.

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Someone out there has a voo doo doll with a whole lot of pins in it. If anyone comes across this person please firmly let them know they have the wrong guy.

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Yup. Its a bowel obstruction. They are getting him a room. A suction will take pressure off the stomach. They are also sending a surgeon in to talk about ...? Maybe removing scar tissue that is causing the problem.

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Okay... For those that check the blog still... Here is a saga for you! On friday Dave had vomiting. There has been a bug going around the office so we just let it pass. Tonight it came back in force. We decided to wait until morning and call the local general doc. . Well that plan changed! At about midnight i started to call around to see who i could wake up to care for Liam. Eventually woke up the house next door. Her husband is a fireman and is away on duty tonight. So i wrapped Liam up and took him to her house. We got lucky at the ER. Nobody was here, we got taken right in. Im glad we are here. They gave him morphine for pain, has an IV, Meds for nausea, and have drawn blood. All within 20 minutes of walking in the door! They have ordered CAT scans. Maybe this is a bowel obstruction? The scar tissue from the surgery can grow and cause that. More info later.