Day 7

We thought that this was the day that Chad would really make good progress, but.....not so much. He started off the day with a bowl of cereal and also took a few walks, but as the day went on the nausea got worse.  He was vomiting by late afternoon. So, he is back on a liquid diet. Tomorrow will mark 7 days after surgery and that is when the doctors seriously consider putting in a TPN IV for nutritional supplementation.  Chad has lost a considerable amount of weight since he has not eaten much for 7 days. 

Day 6

Chad has been told by the doctors that he can now eat soft foods.  He is starting his 6th day without solid food, so unfortunately he is not hungry.  We know that his digestive system works with liquids, but need to get regular food into him.  Minnesota has  been a cool change for us, but after being here for a week and with light snow today, we need Chad to step up to the plate and do some serious eating so that we can get back to Texas.  We thought some tutoring in eating would help, but showing him how well his parents can eat, hasn't seriously impressed him. 

Day 5

Good News! Chad had the NG tube removed this morning.  He was up every hour last night using the restroom, so his bowels are now fully awake.  He has started a liquid diet and is tolerating it very well.   

Day 3-4

It was not a very good Thanksgiving yesterday.  Chad became nauseated around 3:30 am Thanksgiving morning.  The anti-nausea medicines weren't working and after Chad was vomiting for 12 hours, the Dr.'s decided to put in an NG tube (a tube that went in Chad's nose, down his throat and into his stomach).  The reason Chad was vomiting was because his bowels were not ready to start working yet and were not allowing anything to pass through them.  So, anything that could not go down came up. The Dr. said that this happens in about 20% of patients. The tube gave him some relief through the night last night, but he was uncomfortable with the tube down his throat and still vomiting, although not as frequently.  A little before noon today, Chad finally had the urge to use the restroom, a good sign that his bowels were waking up. The Dr. has said that this little setback will put Chad behind 1-2 days in his hospital stay. Hopefully Chad will begin a liquid diet soon.

Surgery Day 2

Wednesday morning Chad is on a full liquid diet.  He is getting various tubes removed today and hopes to be more mobile by this afternoon.  This surgery was a breeze compared to the first according to Chad. We  just saw Dr. Cima  and he says Chad is doing great. So far so good.

Surgery Day

Chad finally went into surgery at 1:15 pm. and his estimated time to get to recovery is 1-2 hours.  We should see him maybe around 4-5 pm.  He was very calm and confident going into todays surgery.  We had to wait this morning because several of Dr. Cima's surgeries scheduled before Chad's procedure  took longer that expected.
Loving Father, I entrust myself to your care this day; guide with wisdom and skill the minds and hands of Dr. Cima and the medical professionals who minister in your Name, and grant that every cause of illness be removed, I may be restored to soundness of health and learn to live in more perfect harmony with you and with those around me. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Mayo Clinic Second Surgery

We arrived yesterday at Rochester without a hitch.  Chad has an appointment this morning  at Radiology to have a Hypaque Enema  X-Ray.  This test will insure the lower portion of the small intestine is all healed up and ready for digestive function.  Chad met with Dr. Cima this afternoon to go over the X-Ray results and it appears Chad's small intestine is healed up and looks good.  For those of you reading this that are in the Oil Field, the Dr. pressured up on the casing and the production liner tested good. We do not have to squeeze the liner.  The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at 10.00 am.  So far so good.  Please keep Chad in your thoughts and payers tonight and tomorrow.

Week 10

Less than two weeks to go until the take down surgery.  Chad knows that the adjustment period after his next surgery will take time.  However he has done so well after the first surgery I think he is very optimistic on his recovery time after the final take down surgery. Chad and I were out yesterday and he seems to be more energetic and I can tell his overall health is much improved.  The next blog post will be from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Mn. November 24th.

Week 6

Chad has been eating and exercising more this last week. He has more overall energy and wants to

 go out more with friends and family. At this point I believe Chad is now completely healed from the first surgery. At least outwardly he appears healed but I know he is still healing internally. Last week Chad bought a new guitar and is determined to really become proficient at playing. I hear him practicing every day. Chad knows he is over the half way point for his next surgery in November and he can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Please keep Chad in your thoughts and prayers.

Week 4

Chad is now off his pain medication. I think this is a minor miracle considering he has been on these medications for over two years with only little if any withdrawal symptoms. Today is Chad's 4 week anniversary for his surgery. We made an appointment at Mayo Clinic to have his take down surgery on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

Week 2

Chad's pain from his surgery is now going away. Chad is starting to cut down on his pain medication and hopes to be off the pain medications in a week. He is more confident with his pouching system and is going out more. Last Saturday Chad went to a movie and out to eat with his girl friend. Today Chad had a Cat Scan appointment to make sure everything is healing up OK. Day by day improvement is his goal.

Day 8

This morning Chad's fever was gone. We suspect that Chad has had a flu bug since Sunday that started with a sore throat. He is up and moving this morning and looking and acting more like his old self. Chad had more blood tests done this morning, but as far as we know they have not diagnosed this five day illness.

Hooray! Chad was discharged out of the Mayo Clinic Hospital at 5:30 p.m. this afternoon. We are flying back to San Antonio tomorrow afternoon. We all are looking forward to getting back to South Texas.

Day 7

Chad isn't doing too well since early this morning with a fever of 103 and vomiting.  He is back on IV's for hydration and a stronger IV antibiotic.   He's not talking to us much this morning because of a sore throat, fever, nausea and pain.  The blood work done the day before yesterday showed that his white blood cell count is good , so it doesn't look like an infection.  The doctors have more tests ordered for today.  Maybe his fever will break today, God willing. Please keep Chad in your thoughts and prayers today.

Day 6

Chad's fever was gone this morning and he looks much better than yesterday. Chad is off the IV that he was put on for hydration due to the fever last night, and is being given antibiotics for his sore throat and fever. He is still having trouble eating today because of his sore throat, but has managed to take a few walks. We do not know when he will be released from the hospital. Hopefully tomorrow will be the day we can make arrangements to go home. We're waiting to see if the fever returns tonight.

Day 5

Two steps forward one step back. Yesterday afternoon Chad was having abdominal cramping possibly caused by dehydration or maybe food blockage which is not uncommon after his type of surgery. He had his IV in only for pain medications and not for hydration. He needs to drink 8-10 glasses of liquid each day and learn to eat his food slowly and chew it thoroughly which will aid in digestion. This a learning process for him and he will get it eventually. Chad did get up and moving this morning. He took a shower and went for a walk. He did not eat breakfast, but he did have a hot dog for lunch, yummy.

Unfortunately Chad will not be released from the hospital tomorrow. At 7:30 p.m., Chad said he was hot. His temperature was running 102.8 degrees. The doctor has ordered blood cultures and other tests to see what is causing the fever. Please keep Chad in your thoughts and prayers tonight and tomorrow.

Day 4

Chad is eating well today and getting used to changing his temporary pouching system. He got to go outside this afternoon to the sun deck at Rochester Methodist and enjoyed the 79 degree sunny Minnesota summer. He is on oral medications starting today in hope of getting his IV out tomorrow.

Day 3

Chad called us in the hotel this morning saying, "Bring me some food", but of course we couldn't. It's a good sign that he is hungry. He had the catheter and abdominal drainage tubes removed this morning and took a shower on his own. He is on a soft food diet, but needs to eat small amounts slowly so that his digestive system starts functioning again. He ate a small amount for breakfast but was not feeling great in the middle of the day. By dinner however, he ate an entire cheeseburger, some banana cream pie, and was then messing around on his laptop. It's great to see him acting like a teenager.

Chad's Day 2

Chad did not sleep much last night because of the pain, but he is having a good day. He has sat up in a chair and has taken three walks so far. The Dr. wants him to walk 6 times today, so he is trying to meet his goal. When he walks he has to drag lots of plastic tubes and machines behind him, IVs , drug pump, abdominal drains, etc., but some of that stuff should be removed over the next few days. He has eaten jello, sherbet and drank some Gatorade and water. He can drink 800 cc of liquids today or about 27 ounces.

Chad is out of Surgery and doing well

Praise God! Chad is out of surgery and Dr. Cima said that everything went as planned. It must have been because of all the prayers from family and friends. We are so blessed to have so many people praying for Chad.
Chad is in his room now and is still a little groggy from his long surgery. He has been sleeping a little then the nurse will come in and wake him to check his vitals then he will fall back to sleep. The doctor came earlier and told Chad he needs to get out of bed and walk a little tonight. I don't think its going to happen until tomorrow.

Surgery Day

Chad was admitted at 5:45 am this morning. Surgery will start at 9:00 and will last 3 1/2 hours. Recovery time will be 1-3 hours. So, we won't be seeing him again until between 2:00 and 3:00. The nurses said that they will be giving us updates from time to time.