Yes! He did come home today. We got home at about 5:00. Brent said that this morning when Dr. Price came in, Brent asked him the "Lisa" question, which is, "what are we doing here that we can't do at home?" And Dr. Price agreed. He knows that we are capable and knowledgeable enough to take care of him at home. We also know when he gets to the point that we can't. I'm glad that he has faith in us to send him home. Hopefully all goes well and he stays home.

He has a pretty large fistula opening in the incision, and a drain in the right side of his belly. It's pretty gross and I won't get into the gory details. I've explained fistulas before. Basically he has a tunnel coming from a hole in his intestine, leading out through the skin. It's painful.

He is on IV antibiotics four times a day. Still NPO (no food or drink).

We are just happy he is out of ICU and home. Thank you for your prayers. We love you.

Lisa

Not a lot going on. Just monitoring the blood levels and the output from the fistula and drain. Everything is fine so far. There is a hint of a chance that he could go home today, but haven't heard the final decision yet. The only reason he can go home is because we are capable of doing so much at home. We have everything we need at home. we can continue the IV antibiotics and measure output from the drain and fistula. It just means I have to put my nurses hat back on. Nurse Michelle is home for a bit longer also before she heads back for her last semester. I guess we will just wait and see what happens. My only concern, well, ok not my only concern, but if he doesn't get out today it could be until Tuesday because of the holiday. Nothing seems to happen around here if there is a holiday. His spirits are good.

Brent was moved to a normal rm at about 3:00 this morning. When I left last night his nurse told me that he would most likely get moved before morning because they needed his room. There was a tragic accident with multiple patients coming in. I am glad he is out but pray for those that just went in. The three days he spent in there were sad. All of the other patients I saw were very critical with family members by their side looking devastated. It's a very somber place. I can't comPlain about his care this time. His nurses were great and treated both of us really well. Dr. Price is back in town today so it will be interesting to see what he has to say.
Lisa

Well we are still in the ICU for some dumb unknown reason. Supposedly we were on the list for a bed on the normal floor but the nurse just said that the surgical team wants him in ICU another night. She and all the ICU docs say he is more than ready to be out of here. Grrrrrr. I think the surgical resident is just scared to send him up to the floor because he got chewed out for sending him up there on Monday when he was septic. Such a waste of insurance money. If I am here when the resident comes in he better be prepared to answer questions as to why they are keeping him in ICU. His blood pressure is fine now and the white count keeps coming back down which means they found the right antibiotics. The nurses we have had this time in ICU have been great. Once again, I am so thankful that my kids are home. We have the greatest kids who just keep things going while I spend all my time at the hospital. Kinda sucks that I don't get to enjoy them while they are home but the girls don't start school again until the 9th. Well, here's hoping we leave ICU in the morning.......

Lisa

Today Brent looked a lot better, and he was awake during the afternoon. His blood pressure is in the ok range, still a little lower than his normal. This afternoon they did another CT scan and inserted another drain into an abscess. The white count is still high, but coming down a little bit. Obviously the IV antibiotic he was on at home was not covering what it needed to. He is still in the ICU, but we are hoping he has a good night and they will move him back to a normal room tomorrow. I came home tonight to get some sleep. ICU doesn't make things very comfy for the family members. The normal rooms have a couch bed. Here's hoping for a good night. He does have his ipad, so if you want to email him or facebook him, you can. Thanks for your concern, love and support. Oh, I learned something . . . when you don't know what a diagnosis is, don't google it. I was fine not knowing how serious this could have been had we not chosen to go to the E.R.
lisa

Not really much to report. His blood pressure is coming back up which is good. They are going to do another CT sometime today and possibly place a drain if they can. They are pumping him full of all sorts of Antibiotics and fluids. He's pretty much just sleeping. Soooo jealous. They are hopefully moving him back to a normal room tonight. At least the normal rooms have beds for me. So basically they are just monitoring him today. Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers. If I don't answer your texts it is because they don't allow cell phones in ICU. Dumb. I still do when nobody is in the room. Whatever.

They've just moved Brent down to ICU. Apparently he is in septic shock. That means that he has an extreme infection going on that has moved into his blood system as well. His blood pressure has been extremely low. CT scan showed another abscess and another fistula. Not the news we wanted to hear. Not sure where we go from here. Pumping him full of all kinds of antibiotics and fluids. Watching him through the night. No major decisions till morning I guess. Oh wait, it IS morning. Grrrrr. Any and all prayers, good thoughts, vibes, whatever are greatly appreciated. Thanks. Glad the kids are home so I don't have to worry about David being alone.

Well, still not sure what is going to happen. They admitted him because his white count was too high and they are worried about sepsis. CT showed another abscess and another fistula has formed. Waiting to talk to surgeon. Hopefully just a drain and not another surgery. Pretty sad that we are hoping for 'just' a drain. This is getting really old really fast.
Lisa

Well, been in the E.R. In Murray for about three hours. Brent has been super nauseous and today he spiked a fever of 102.7. Yippee. Not sure what is going on. Prepping for a CT scan. Thinking this is going to be a long night.

Well, today was another interesting day. Brent is now minus a drain, but added a large hole in his incision. Not sure if what happened today was good news or bad news.

The drain has not been draining anything for about a week, so Dr. Price decided to just pull it today. Only after examining a spot on his incision that was red and swollen. He tried to drain it with a syringe, but decided he needed to cut it open instead. It is rather large and deep, but the pressure being relieved was immediate.Hopefully it will close up.

We were hoping the spot on the incision wasn't anything serious. I was prepared with a bag of my hot-off-the-dehydrator beef jerky to bribe him if he even hinted at hospitalization. I didn't need to bribe him, but gave him the jerky anyway. :)

Here's hoping for a quiet Christmas and New Year's. Merry Christmas to you and all of your families, and best wishes for a healthy 2012. Do you remember the M.A.S.H. episode at New Year's when they make the toast to the new year and hope that it is the year to end the war? And they do that the next New Year's also? That's how I feel we are. We keep making a toast to a healthier new year. Someday our war will be over.

Well, today was an interesting day. We had to be at the hospital in Murray at 7. The plan was to either insert a drain into the 4th abscess, or do an aspiration to just drain it. This showed up on the CT from last Thursday. The other three abscesses looked like they were draining well, and almost resolved. So, braving the roads, and seeing 5 accidents along the way because people don't know how to drive slowly in inclement weather, we made it close to 7. After about 2 hrs, they finally took him to scan him again. Then about two hours later, the radiologist and Dr. Price decided not to put a drain in, and not to aspirate either. The scan today showed that the 4th abscess had diminished in size since Thursdays scan, and that the four abscesses are definitely all connected and draining. Sooooo, we waited about 5 hours for pretty much nothing. Crazy. So he still has one drain, and a possible fistula leading to the large intestine.

Brent is frustrated and discouraged to say the least. He really doesn't complain much, but he's just plain tired of it all. So, if you can, pray for him, that he can heal, that he can return to work, that he can find some sense of peace. Thanks.

Well, yesterday's CT scan showed improvement in the 4 abscesses, with one pocket remaining. On Tuesday we go back up to IMC and they will either insert a 2nd drain or just aspirate whatever they can out of the pocket remaining. There is a chance it is connecting to the intestine, but we don't know for sure. They will also do a fistulagram to determine that. Once the remaining pocket is drained, hopefully he will start to feel better. Drain + abscesses = pain, and pain + pain meds = not able to do much. It's not a lot of fun for him, as he would love to be back to work and doing something. Hopefully we can attend his office party this next week, as it is at Tucanos . . . Mmmmmm. I think I will go with or without him. :) I love that place!

The girls both come home next Thursday for a few weeks. They always add a lot of laughs to our home. Brent says they just add noise. ;)

As always, thank you for your continued good wishes. It's been a long year.

Lisa

Not much going on or to report on. It is just a waiting game to see if things drain and heal. Brent figured out that over the past year he has only gone 21 days without a drain in his gut. It's not much fun for him. He has another CT scheduled for Thursday and another appt. with Dr. Price on Friday. Pumping him full of IV antibiotics 4 times a day. He did get out of the house yesterday and went to Tithing Settlement at the church for a few minutes. Hoping for a quiet week.

Brent is headed back home again. Just waiting for his IV antibiotic to finish. Hopefully he can stay home this time.