Halloween Treat

Daryl had a very rough weekend, with  the placing of a nasogastric (ng) tube early Sunday morning to relieve over a liter of the fluid from his stomach.  Due to this recent development, Dr Barone was strongly contemplating surgery.  He  decided to watch him closely for the next 24-48 hours and do a series of  timed contrast x-rays to monitor the movement in his abdomen.  If Daryl did have to go to surgery, this would delay the ‘big’ surgery, which no one wants.  Additionally, due to his diabetes and deteriorated nutritional state, his body began to breakdown, resulting in diabetic ketoacidosis.       Plan: several IV’s to replace fluid, electrolytes and insulin,  and consult with the critical care pharmacist for pain management. All of this allowed Daryl to finally get some much-needed rest.   They also inserted a special IV called a PICC line, which is a more direct route to deliver all the fluids. Also it has a port  that  allows the nurses to draw blood from it, so he does not need to be stuck by the vampires!

Monday: A few early morning surprise “movements”!  We were all doing the happy poop dance!  (insert your own music and moves here).   Plan:  another x-ray, change his g-tube (to relieve some of the fluid, so we can remove the ng tube)  and consult  an endocrinologist to start him on TPN (IV nutrition).  While on his road trip to IR for the g-tube replacement, they determined the tube was not in the correct place, a small pocket of inflammation has developed, so a drain was inserted and the new tube is on hold.

Tuesday: What a difference a day makes! Daryl’s abdomen is still being monitored, he started  TPN (which includes his insulin) and his pain is under control.  This qualifies him for a room upgrade to a regular room!   We are waiting for someone to be ‘booted” to  free up a room. He is  smiling and ready to root the Dodgers on for a win, which would be a treat!

Thank you to everyone for the prayers, positive thoughts and well wishes! They mean everything to us and give us great strength on our daily changing voyage! I think we are ready  for more treats than tricks this Halloween!