Thursday, July 31st

Dave's white blood count is at 6,200! His temperature is 99.7. Dave went down to interventional radiology this morning so they could take a look at the left side of his liver. Apparently they weren't able to see the left side last week in IR for some reason. They said the left side of his liver is looking okay. Dave had PT this morning and they had him stand twice. He also had wheelchair 101 during PT. Dave wheeled himself down the hallway and then had assistance in getting back to his room. He is definitely gaining strength daily! PTL. Dave asked for cottage cheese on Tuesday, which isn't part of the fluid diet. After Dr Stothert asked, "who even likes cottage cheese?" he wrote an order for a soft diet and specified on the order that that would include cottage cheese as well. Yesterday Dave had his cottage cheese! Since Tuesday they have upped Dave's liquid food intake to 20 cc/hr through the gastric tube. Dave has tolerated this well. Dave is pretty comfortable again today with continued bouts of random hiccup episodes. Dave continues to make progress, small steps at a time! We appreciate all the prayers.

Wednesday, July 30th

Dave's white blood count is up to 3,600!!!! His temperature is 99.7. Dr Smith, ID team, said Dave didn't have to worry about the bone marrow biopsy! PTL. He also said Dave has bile leaking in his abdomen. The bile is coming out both drain tubes, the t-tube designed to drain the bile and also the tube that drains from his abdomen. He said the trauma team is taking a "wait and see" approach, hoping the leak will heal itself. Dave was not in as much pain today and had fewer hiccup episodes! Dave had dialysis this morning for 4 hours. He can only have HD now that he is no longer in ICU. Dave had PT this afternoon and stood 3 times! The therapist said she can tell Dave is getting stronger and she is having to help support him less and less! Thank you for your continued prayers.

Tuesday, July 29th

Dave's white blood count is 3.2 today. His temperature is 101.5. Dr Smith, with the ID team, came in today and stated Dave may need to have a bone marrow biopsy because of his low white blood count, high temperatures, and history of cancer. Dave didn't like the idea of a bone marrow biopsy so Dr Smith said he would talk with the hemo team. The hemo team came in and said they will have to do a biopsy if the white blood count goes down or if there is a fever that they can't explain. The biopsy will be able to tell if there is actually an infection. It would also be able to tell if there was a tumor. The blood tests they ran a couple of weeks ago for cancer were negative, however, the white blood count pattern and high temperatures are still concerning and they must get to the bottom of the problem. Dave is still in a lot of pain from the injection site where the fluid was aspirated from his lung yesterday. Please continue to pray for Dave's comfort. Dave was able to have oatmeal (pureed) this morning, better than broth for breakfast!

Monday, July 28th

Dave had dialysis this morning for 4 hours. During dialysis they gave him 3 units of blood! This is the most blood he has received at one time since his huge surgery about 5 weeks ago. From dialysis they took him to Interventional Radiology to aspirate the fluid from his right lung. He finally got back to his room a little before 5:00. When he got back from IR he was in a tremendous amount of pain from the injection site. Dave rated his pain at a 10. They were able to give him a pain medication that made him more comfortable within 10 minutes. They aspirated .5 liters of fluid from his right lung. Radiology came in and x-rayed his lungs to see if they had removed all of the fluid, we don't know the results of the x-ray yet. Please pray that Dave's lungs will be fluid free.

Sunday, July 27th

Dave's white blood count is down to 3.1 (normal is 4-11). His highest temperature of the day was 101.4. Dr Stothert said the temperature may be due to the fluid in his right lung. He stated the fluid must be aspirated on Monday. Because of the fluid the right lung is considered collapsed. Dave had hiccups this morning for 3.5 hours until they gave him thorsene, which stopped the hiccups.

Saturday, July 26

Dave started dialysis this morning at 7:45am. Since Dave is not in ICU anymore, they can not do bedside dialysis. Dave returned to the room around 1:00pm. The results for the CT scan yesterday show that bile is now moving into the intestine, this is good news! The Orthopedic team said that the x-ray of Dave's ankle showed that there is still a fracture, but Dave can begin to put some weight on his ankle. This will make physical therapy much easier for Dave. Dave is adjusting well to his new room, it is much quieter and much smaller! Dave and Diane have not made a decision yet about aspirating the lung. Please pray for Dave as he is not sleeping well, the nights are lonely for him as he just 'watches the clock and prays'. Praise God, He will never leave us nor forsake us. What a wonderful promise!

Friday, July 25th

Dave has officially moved to the telemetry floor, room 5477! Dave slept good last night with fewer interruptions than when he was in ICU! Last night he was running a temperature so they ran all labs again to see if they could culture out something. Today he is not running a temperature. Right now Dave is at interventional radiology to take a look at his bile ducts and t-tube. From IR he will go to dialysis for 4 hours. Dialysis no longer comes to his room since he moved from ICU. This morning's lung x-ray still showed fluid in the lower right lung. If the fluid has infection it could be a reason for the occasional high temperatures. Dr Young said sometimes time will take care of the problem. He would prefer but not insist on aspirating the fluid. Dr Young has given the decision of aspirating the fluid over to Dave and Diane. Please pray for wisdom in their decision. Kidney output increased again today!!!!!!

Thursday, July 24th

PRAISE! PRAISE! PRAISE! PRAISE! PRAISE! PRAISE! PRAISE! PRAISE! Dave is no longer in ICU!!!!!!!!! He is in a modified intensive care bed. Actually he is still in his same room because they don't have a room available, but the care he is receiving is equivalent to the step down. Dave's white blood count is at 8,400 today, within normal range!!!!!!!!!! Dave was actually given real food to be taken orally! He got broth, jello, a popsicle, tea, and juice. He can only have 2 tablespoons per hour but this is definitely a step in the right direction!! Yesterday he was on SLED for 6 hours before he clotted off a little after 7:00pm. They decided not to restart dialysis even though the goal was 24 hours. They will do HD tomorrow. The orthopedic team had a second x-ray done of Dave's ankle. (The first was done the day after the accident.) We don't have the results back yet but please be praying that the ankle is healing as Dave really doesn't want to have surgery. They x-rayed his lungs twice today because they saw some fluid on the lower lungs. They may need to aspirate the fluid with a needle through his back. Please pray the aspiration won't be necessary. They put one new stitch around each of the 3 tubes still remaining in his abdomen to make sure the tubes were staying secure. Dave's kidneys have started to produce small amounts of urine! Each day he seems to be producing more than the day before. The renal doctors were pleased with this, however, they are still not promising full kidney function. Please continue to pray for Dave's kidneys to regain full function.

Wednesday, July 23rd

Dave's white blood count is down again, 12,300 (yesterday was 15,400)!!!! He does have a little bit of a temperature, 99.7. Dave was just put on SLED. They are wanting to leave him on dialysis for 24 hours as they didn't pull off enough fluid yesterday during HD. Dave already had PT and ST this morning. He stood up (with assistance) twice during PT! The infectious disease team decided to take Dave off Cipro, antibiotic for the mutant bacteria in his urine. The ID team said the Cipro killed all the bacteria (including the good) in Dave's stomach which allowed the C. difficile to become a problem. They haven't cultured anything out of his urine but he is still in "isolation" because of the C. difficile. Thanks for your continued prayers!!!!!

Tuesday, July 22nd

Dave had HD (fast dialysis) today and his blood pressure remained stable!! Doctors have told us as soon as he can tolerate HD they will be able to move him from ICU to a regular bed. Dave had 2 units of blood and was also given iron during dialysis. We have not yet received the results of the CT scan from Monday. They did culture out the bacteria Clostridium difficile from Dave's stool. They are treating this with Flagyl, a very strong antibiotic. Dave is getting 6 cc of "food" through his feeding tube, however, the "food" is no longer being diluted! Dave has been really tired today, dialysis always wears him out. PT and ST are to come in later this afternoon. Dave's temperature is looking good at 97.7!

Monday, July 21st

We hope you all had a great weekend. Dave had a couple days off of dialysis, which I think he enjoyed. Dave is uncomfortable right now, he just had a CT scan this morning and taking in all the contrast always makes him feel 'full'. Dave is about to get another unit of blood as well. The CT scan was done because the doctors can't determine why Dave is requiring blood transfusions on almost a daily basis. Previous scans haven't shown internal bleeding. Please pray that the doctors again 'have the eyes of God'. At 12:30 he will go down to intervention radiology and have a tunnel catheter put in. Dave had a kind of 'temporary' catheter for dialysis before, but they are prone to be an entry point for bacteria, so his was removed and he will get his new one today. The tunnel catheter is a more permanent type and should be more comfortable as well as safer. After the procedure to place the catheter, they will try to put Dave on dialysis, but his blood pressure and clotting off has prevented any long run of dialysis lately. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Sunday, July 20th

Morning update: This morning, Dave's WBC is 20,000. Getting closer to normal range, PTL! Dave's hemoglobin is down this morning. It is 7.6, the lowest it has been. The doctors are a little baffled as to why Dave's hemoglobin is low. Dave will receive more blood today. Dave will have PT today. Please continue to pray for Dave's physical strength. He often gets discouraged during PT due to his lack of strength. Dave was nauseous this morning and threw up. Please continue to pray for his upset stomach. On a side note, since I went back to work, Jiree has been updating the blog during the week. Thanks sis!

Saturday, July 19th

Yesterday, Dave was on dialysis for a full 12 hours. That was great, thank you for you prayers. Dave's WBC is 23,700. Today was a pretty good day. Dave was fairly comfortable throughout the day. The blood clot in Dave's arm has improved and is not as hard and red as it was before. Dr Stothert put in a new PICC line and removed Dave's dialysis catheter. On Monday, they plan to put in a tunnel catheter, which has a lesser chance of becoming infected. This is a more permanent solution for dialysis. The doctors are still confident that Dave's kidneys will begin normal function.

Friday, July 18th

Morning update: Dave's white blood count went up a little to 28,100. His temperature is 99.0. Dave clotted off during the night so SLED was stopped. They are going to start SLED again today and are wanting to get 12 hours so they can remove the dialysis port and give him a break over the weekend. Dave is pretty miserable right now. His stomach is feeling very full. Yesterday his digestive tract wasn't moving very much. They have decided to do a CT scan to check his stomach and digestive tract around 11:30ish. In order to do the CT scan they have to give Dave contrast which always makes him feel uncomfortably full. Please pray Dave will be able to tolerate the contrast and that his digestive system would start working.

Evening update: The results from Dave's CT scan showed that the contrast had made it's way through the digestive tract! Which was great news, but Dave wasn't feeling any better. He had a coughing spell which initiated the gag reflex and he ended up throwing up. So they decided they would drain what was left in Dave's stomach through the gastric tube. Needless to say Dave started feeling better. The ultrasound Dave had on Wednesday showed that his portal vein (going into the liver) was functioning at what the doctors would consider a normal level!!! PTL! The right side of his liver is doing better than the left side and there is still a portion of the liver the doctors say is dying and will have to be removed in a future surgery. Overall, great news on the liver! The pancreatitis is getting better but still existing. Please continue to pray the pancreatitis will calm down. We haven't updated you on the number of tubes Dave has coming out of his abdomen lately...he is down to 3! They consist of one of the original JP tubes (from North Platte), the gastric tube, and the T tube (draining the bile from his liver). Dave was on SLED for the afternoon and then clotted off. Because he wasn't on for 12 hours they started SLED again tonight. Please pray Dave will be able to tolerate SLED in order to reach the desired 12 hours on dialysis.

Thursday, July 17th

Sorry for the late entry, thank you for your faithfulness in checking the blog and keeping Dave in your prayers. We believe prayer changes things! :)

Dave's white blood count is down to 27,800! His temperature is 98.8!!! Dave was able to take a wheelchair ride outside today and enjoy God's creation for 15 minutes! He was refreshed and definitely worn out after the trip. No ST or OT today as Dave was tuckered out. Dave went down to Interventional Radiology (IR) to make sure his tubes are draining properly. They decided one more tube could come out! Dave started SLED again today, they are hoping they will be able to leave him on dialysis for 24 hours, taking him off sometime on Friday. They still have not put in a new catheter to replace the infected PICC line. They new plan is after dialysis on Friday they will take out the dialysis port, and thus the piggyback line Dave was getting his IV nutrition through. Dave will not have dialysis on Saturday or Sunday giving his body a chance to heal and get rid of any infections, especially the urine infection. On Monday they will place a new dialysis port and a separate new catheter for IV use. Dave didn't get any "food" all day until 8:30pm because he was feeling very full. He started getting 10 cc/hr and was able to tolerate this as of 1:00am. Please pray Dave will be able to digest the food put in his gastric tube.

Wednesday, July 16th

Morning update: Dave's white blood count is down again, 38,800! His temperature is 99.9!

Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT), and Speech Therapy (ST) were all in to see Dave yesterday afternoon and again this morning.
- PT - They assisted Dave to a standing position and moved him to a chair. He sat for 1 1/2 hours yesterday and 2 hours today.
- OT - They did exercises to strengthen his arms and legs.
- ST - They did an evaluation yesterday and now know what to focus on for the days ahead. Dave was discouraged but is willing to work hard. All 3 forms of therapy back to back completely tucker Dave out! It is good to see him working so hard!

Dave was put in "isolation" yesterday as the culture from his urine sample is a mutant form of bacteria. Dave is already on Cipro (antibiotic) and they think this will take care of the problem. "Isolation" just means the hospital staff have to wear gloves and long sleeved gowns over their clothes whenever they are in his room for the safety of the other patients they treat.

They did find a blood clot in Dave's left arm where the PICC line had been. They are treating this by putting a heating pad around his arm. Because of this blood clot Dave needs a new IV line or port. The different teams of doctors put their heads together yesterday to come up with an acceptable place to put the line/port. We were told it was a "balancing act where all the choices are NOT optimal". After much discussion they decided yesterday to put in a femoral line (in his groin), this was not ideal because there is a high chance for infection and this would only be a temporary solution. Today they came in and said they are going to use the dialysis piggyback line that is already in as Dave has developed a rash. This piggyback line is also only a temporary solution. Please pray this dialysis port will be able to endure everything and the doctors will be able to come up with a line/port solution they are confident about.

Yesterday they gave Dave 5 cc per hour of food (fiber & nutrients in a semi-thick consistency) through his gastric tube. He was able to tolerate this so today they are giving him 10 cc per hour, again through the gastric tube. The only things Dave has taken orally are water, ice, and Diet Dr Pepper. Please pray Dave will be able to tolerate the "food" because the TPN, IV nutrition, is hard on the liver and also makes the new IV line/port dilemma more of an issue.

The hemo (blood) team was in yesterday and explained Dave's white blood count roller coaster ride. The initial skyrocket increase was due to Dave's horrific trauma. The decrease was because Dave was on 3 different antibiotics. A side effect of all 3 antibiotics is a decrease in white blood cells. The next increase was due to taking Dave off of the antibiotics because they thought he was allergic to one or more of the medications. The hemo team assured us all the increases and decreases in his white blood count are to be expected with trauma of this magnitude but it was abnormal that the count went as high as it did (86,000). All of that said, these increases and decreases look like a pattern in a cancer patient so they are running tests to rule out cancer. They assured us they are very confident Dave does NOT have cancer but they must rule that out in order to continue with his care.

Dave started SLED dialysis again today. Please pray that Dave's blood pressure will not drop.

The infectious disease (ID) docs were in today and stated the rash on Dave's abdomen has returned. It may be due to an allergic reaction. They had changed their minds on the initial thought of an allergic reaction but because the rash is back they will look into it further. Dave also has a red area on his left (broken) ankle that ID said they would keep an eye on.

Tuesday, July 15th

Morning update: Dave's white blood count went down to 41,000!!! His temperature is at 99.3! Because Dave's hiccups lasted sooooo long they have not put in a central line yet. However, Dave doesn't have hiccups today! They put a temporary line in his right wrist, which they have already taken out and put back again. They are still wanting to do the central line. We don't have any word on the results from the possible blood clot in his left arm. We've asked, more than once :), and we still don't know. Dave is very tired this morning because of dialysis. They would like to be able to keep him on dialysis for 24 hours. Please pray the dialysis is effective.

Monday, July 14th

Morning update: Dave's white blood count is at 50,000. His temperature is 99.1!!!! Dave sat up for the first time in a chair! He was able to sit for 2 1/2 hours. This made him very tired but he said it was encouraging to him to be able to sit up. They are going to start SLED (slow dialysis) late this afternoon. Dr Jawa was in and said they need to remove the PICC line (for IV fluids) from Dave's left arm as it has been in too long. Dave has quit using his left arm because of the line, but hasn't complained of any pain in the arm. Dave has had the hiccups for over 2 hours now. Dr Jawa wants to put a central line in to replace the PICC line but due to Dave's hiccups putting a central line in is too dangerous. (Dave had a central line prior to the PICC line.) They discussed moving the PICC line from his left arm over to his right arm but they would like to save his veins for future dialysis needs. Please pray Dave's hiccups would stop so they can put in a central line. Thank you for your prayers!

Evening update: Over the course of the afternoon, the doctors determined that the PICC line was infected. They also think that Dave's left arm (the one with the PICC line) may have a blood clot. Dave had an ultrasound of his arm to determine if indeed he has a blood clot and the size and location of the clot. We have not received any results yet. The doctors said that regardless if he has a clot or not, the PICC line must come out. They removed the PICC line. They are temporarily using the same catheter that they use for dialysis to give Dave his IV. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors as they make decisions about the possible blood clot and also as they decide where to relocate the PICC line. Please continue to pray for Dave, it is 10:15pm and he still has the hiccups.

Sunday, July 13th

Morning update: Praise that Dave is more awake and less confused this morning. Dr Young said that the sleepiness could have been caused by the benadryl Dave had been taking for the rash (which is completely gone now!). Dave is now off benadryl and also off Fentanoyl, pain medication because it could make his mind a little 'foggy'. Dave's white blood count is up again, 39,000. Dr Young said that this is probably due to the liver and pancreas being inflamed. A doctor from the hemo (blood) team is going to come up and check on Dave today, just as a precaution due to the high WBC. Dr Young said that there is no change in Dave's liver, there is still a small part that will probably die. Dave will not be on dialysis today! Yesterday he was on for a little over eleven hours. The doctors were satisfied with the results and are giving Dave a much needed break from dialysis. He had been on for 14 days straight. We found out this morning that Dave has bacteria in his urine. The doctors started Dave on an antibiotic. Please pray that the antibiotic clears the infection with no side effects. Dave is on the BiPAP machine right now. He is tolerating it fairly well. Last night, they started to put the mask on and due to the nausea from the food and difficulty breathing, Dave threw up and was pretty uncomfortable for a while. Please continue to pray for peace for Dave.

Evening update: No changes to report tonight, except Dave's temperature is 101.7. Dave has a cooling blanket on right now. Please pray that his temp will go down.

Saturday, July 12th

Morning update: Dave's white blood count is 39,000. The ID doctors said high (within reason) is better than extremely low. His temperature is 100.8. Dave didn't have any heart issues last night, praise God! He is going to have SLED dialysis again today. Dave's kidney readings did not improve from the last dialysis. Please pray Dave will be able to tolerate dialysis and that his kidney readings would improve. Dave's hemoglobin is still too low so they will be giving him a unit of blood today. In order to get better sleep last night they didn't put Dave on the by-pap machine, he was glad to be rid of that even for a little while. Dave stood 3 times (assisted) today in PT! Thank you for your prayers and support, you are such an encouragement to us!

Evening update: We are mixing it up tonight and using a different format. We will give an update starting from Dave's head, all the way to his toes...

'Head': Dave was very, very sleepy today, and has been the last few days. The doctors have took him off many medications, hoping to wake him up a little bit. Dave still responds to questions and occasionally asks a question, but he is more confused now then in the past. Please continue to pray for this.

Heart: Dave has not had any more irregular heart beats today. His heart rate and blood pressure have tolerated dialysis today. Thank you Lord!

Lungs: Dave's upper lungs are functioning very well! However, his lower lobes are not. Dave has been using a BIPAP machine 2 hours on, 2 hours off to strengthen his lungs. BIPAP (Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure) machine is a breathing assistance device which is worn over the mouth or nose, in Dave's case the nose. We have included a picture we found on google, it is basically exactly like Dave's.Abdomen: Dave has 5 tubes in his abdomen. The doctors are slowly taking the tubes out one inch at a time. Eventually, as drainage continues to decrease, the doctors will completely pull the tubes out.

Liver: We don't have any updates at this time, but please continue to pray for the function of Dave's liver.

Pancreas: Dave still has pancreatitis, but it is slowly improving.

Stomach/Digestive tract: Dave received more 'food', through his gastric tube. He wasn't able to digest quickly enough, so they stopped for today and will continue again tomorrow.

Kidneys: PTL Dave has been on dialysis for 9 hours so far, without clotting off. The doctors would like him to stay on for three more hours tonight. Please pray that Dave's numbers would improve and that dialysis would be effective.

Left ankle: Dave still has a walking cast. The doctors will x-ray in a couple of weeks to see if the broken bones have healed or if it will require surgery.

Right leg: We mentioned it this morning, but Dave stood 3 times today. What we didn't mention is that because Dave's left ankle is broken and in a cast, Dave can not put any weight on his left foot. So when he stands, he is actually balancing on one leg, (I can't even do that!)

Friday, July 11th

Morning update: Dave's white blood count is at 28,000, again with the help of medicine. They won't be giving him that medicine for a while to see if the white blood count will level itself out. His temperature is hanging in at 100.2. The kidney doctors were in today and said they were pleased Dave was still hooked up to dialysis (almost 24 hrs). They are happy they were able to remove fluid, but Dave's blood pressure continues to remain low while on dialysis. They look to do dialysis again tomorrow. The infectious disease (ID) doctors came in and said things are looking good. The ID doctors said they cultured an organism from one of Dave's tubes but they aren't too concerned. The organism is very resistant and they stated they are "not going to chase it", some organisms in the body are normal. The little bit of "food" given to Dave yesterday through his gastric tube upset his stomach causing distention and a couple hours of severe pain. Dr Stothert came in last night and said he was hoping Dave's liver would be functioning better by now. He was expecting some of the yellow in Dave's skin to be diminished by this time. The liver numbers are basically remaining the same and haven't improved for a couple of days. Please continue to pray for Dave's liver. I don't think we mentioned, Dave got his staples out a couple of days ago! Dave is still doing on 2 hours, off 2 hours with the by-pap machine. As much as he loathes this treatment he did admit yesterday (after being asked) that he can tell a difference, it makes his breathing off the machine easier. Thank you for your diligent prayers!

Evening update: Dave had PT this afternoon and sat up for a few minutes. Lora, the PT, let him get past his dizziness and then had him stand. Dave stood, with assistance, for 30 seconds!!! Huge accomplishment for someone who's been in bed for so long. Then Lora had him sit up for about 45 minutes. He was tuckered out, sitting and standing is hard work! Dave gave us a scare this evening. He had some irregular heart beats, everything started beeping and his room was full of ICU staff. They x-rayed his chest, which came back normal. They did an EKG, which also came back normal. They aren't sure what caused the irregular beats but his heart is beating normal now. Thank the Lord!

Thursday, July 10th

Morning update: Dave's white blood count is at 6,900 (with the help of medicine)!!!! His temperature is at 100.6, this is better than yesterday! Dave did SLED dialysis for 4 hours yesterday and then clotted so they hooked him up for another round and he clotted again after another 4 hours. So a total of 8 hours, the clotting is normal, this is how they determine when to stop the dialysis unless of course his body clots too soon then they hook him back up again. :) Dave started SLED today already. Please pray Dave will be able to tolerate the dialysis today. The doctors were concerned because his blood pressure is so low and dialysis tends to drop it further. Dave is going to be on the by-pap (breathing) machine today for 2 hours, have it off for 2 hours, and then back on for another 2 hours. They are doing this to hopefully prevent from putting him back on the ventilator. The by-pap makes Dave very anxious. Please pray he will be able to tolerate the discomfort. Last night they started Dave on a small dose of liquid food through his gastric tube. This did make him a little bit nauseous but he was able to keep it all down! They have decided to give Dave a little bit of ice and water each hour and then every couple of hours alternate with Diet Dr Pepper! He has been asking for pop, but obviously told absolutely not! They don't look for Dave to enjoy the pop, but at least he will get the small satisfaction of being able to do something he could before the accident. The nurse told us yesterday that Dave produced twice the amount of urine on Tuesday and Wednesday that he had been producing in previous days, PTL! Please keep praying his kidneys will begin to function as they should as they are still labeling the situation as acute renal failure. Dave had occupational therapy again yesterday. The OT asked Dave to do 10 of each exercise. You know Dave...he did 11 of each exercise, what a guy!!!! Thank you for your continued prayers. Dave is making baby steps with the Lord's help.

Wednesday, July 9th

Morning update: We will give you a more detailed update later, but for now... everything is about the same. Dave's white blood count is 1,800 and his temperature is 101.3. Today he had physical and occupational therapy, a ventilation treatment, and he will have dialysis later. Thanks for your continued prayers, Dave appears to be a little more comfortable today.

Evening update: Dave took a trip down to Intervention Radiology where they did a fluid draw on his abdomen. The doctors found significantly more fluid than they thought they would find, so they placed another drain tube and sent samples to the lab. We are still waiting for the results. Dave was in a lot of pain this afternoon after the procedure, but he seems more relaxed now. The doctors started Dave on medication to raise his white blood count. He has been on dialysis all afternoon and is extremely exhausted. Sorry we are slow getting this information out, but we are thankful that the Lord knows the specifics of our requests! What a mighty God we serve!

Tuesday, July 8th

Morning update: Sorry there wasn't an update posted last night. Today Dave's white blood count is 1,500 which is down from yesterday morning, but up from last night (1,100). His temperature this morning is 101.7, this is better than yesterday as well. On Monday Dave received 2 units of blood. He started dialysis in the morning but it was stopped due to his blood pressure dropping to 79/50. The doctors are wanting to due dialysis today, but haven't decided if they will do HD (fast) or SLED (slow). Dave has a CT scan this morning at 9:00. This is something that he has been worrying about since last night because of the discomfort the contrast they put in his stomach causes. Please pray the CT scan will go well and not cause Dave to be anxious. Dr Young would like to remove 2 tubes depending on the results of the CT scan. Sometimes Dave's speech is slow, as he searches for the correct words to use. We have noticed the slower speech comes when he is in pain and when he is running a high temperature. They have assured us the slow speech will improve as his body continues to heal. This morning Dave had a painful bout with the hiccups for 45 minutes. As you can imagine with all the trauma, even something as "small" as a hiccup is excruciating.

9:00 AM
One of the Infectious Disease doctors just came in and said the blood culture is growing something. They will have to wait for the culture to continue growing before they will be able to decipher what is actually growing. Dave will have to go back on antibiotics. The doctors don't know what he was allergic to (causing the rash). Please pray for wisdom for the doctors in choosing the correct antibiotic. Dave's CT scan has been pushed back to 9:30 AM.

Evening update: After a second look of the cultures, the Infectious Disease doctors determined that there is NOT anything growing out of the blood cultures. Dr Rupp still feels that the low white blood count, high temperature (it reached 103.8 today!), and rash may be a result of a bad reaction to an antibiotic. Dr Rupp will do a biopsy of the rash.
The results of the CT scan done this morning show that everything looks basically the same, except the areas of fluid may be larger. Tomorrow they plan to culture these areas, possibly drain them or place drain tubes. Dave was on dialysis today for four hours before the machine clotted off. They plan to start dialysis again tomorrow and hope to have a longer run. Tonight Dr Young removed one drain tube. I believe that brings the total down to 6 tubes in Dave's abdomen. Dave's vitals remain stable, he is no longer on oxygen, but is still requiring ventilation treatments two out of every six hours. Please pray continue to pray for wisdom for the doctors and healing for Dave.

Monday, July 7th

Morning update: Dave's white blood cell count is up to 1,800, still below normal. His temperature is at 103.2. Dave is receiving dialysis for 4 hours today. The renal doctors came in today with the results of the URR (kidney function) test. They are concerned because Dave has been on dialysis for 6 days in a row and normal protocol is 2 days on and 1 day off. Their conclusion was that Dave is still very ill and they are hopeful that dialysis will not be a permanent need. The infectious disease doctors are still working on Dave's case but they haven't been able to pinpoint anything yet. Dave continues with the ventilation support for 2 hours at a time every 6 hours. The results from the ultrasound yesterday shows that the blood flow to the liver still looks good. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Sunday, July 6th

Morning update: It has been a busy morning. Dave has already completed a two hour ventilation treatment. This is uncomfortable for Dave and very frustrating because he can't talk during this time. Dave also had physical therapy, he sat on the side of the bed. He said he didn't experience any more pain while sitting up, just a little light headed.
Dave's white blood count is now below normal, 2,900. Dave has also developed a rash on this stomach and arms. Combined with a continuous high temperature, the doctors have become concerned. Infectious disease doctors, Dr Dewitt and Dr Rupp came in separately and looked everything over. Dr Rupp double checked to make sure Dave was on the correct medication, they already took him off a couple antibiotics. Dr Rupp said that he believes that the white blood count will increase and the rash will fade in 1-2 days. Dr Rupp also confirmed that they didn't find anything too abnormal on the CT scan. Please continue to pray for wisdom for the doctors.
Dave's hemoglobin is not as high as the doctor would like it to be considering all the blood he received yesterday. Today Dave has started sled dialysis (the slow kind) and will be on for many hours. During this time, Dave will also receive several units of blood.

We have had several people ask about donating blood for Dave. We have talked to the doctors about this and they said the testing process is pretty long. So the best thing to do is to just go to your local blood bank and donate!

More updates to follow...

Evening update: Dave was on dialysis this afternoon for five hours but it was cut short due to some clots in the dialysis machine (this is very normal). Due to the internal bleeding episode yesterday, Dave is now off blood thinners. They plan to start dialysis again sometime tonight, but will give Dave a small dose of blood thinners to prevent clotting in the machine. Please pray that Dave will be able to continue on dialysis long enough to have some positive results. The doctors also took an ultrasound of the liver this afternoon to make sure it is still functioning properly. We hope to have the results later on tonight. Dave's white blood count is now 1,600. Please pray that this will increase. Dave is currently doing another ventilation treatment. The respiratory therapist gave Dave a different type of mask, it just goes over his nose so he is still
able to talk.
We are praying that we will be able to report a higher white blood count tomorrow morning...

Saturday, July 5th

Overall, Dave is doing fairly well. His vitals are good, but his temperature is 101. His pain is about the same. Dave's white blood count is 9,500! Today is Dave's 5th day of dialysis, he is also receiving one unit of blood. The doctors are puzzled as to why Dave is in need of dialysis daily. Typically, a patient is on dialysis two days and then off one. They ran some additional tests and we should have the results tomorrow. Dave's oxygen levels are indicating he is in need of a breathing machine. Dave will be on the machine two out of every six hours. Because the doctors still can't find an infection and Dave is still running a temperature, the doctors are going to move his port to another site this afternoon. Please pray that this procedure goes well.

Please pray for Dave. This afternoon the doctors were trying to eliminate possible sources of infection, so they took out a drainage tube that wasn't draining. Apparently Dave was bleeding internally prior to the removal of the tube but the tube was clogged, and therefore not draining. When they removed the tube, Dave started bleeding externally from this site. They ran tests at 7:15pm. We should have the results by 8:00pm. The doctors will then decide the best way to proceed.

Evening update: Mom and I just talked to Dr Stothert. He said that he did see one spot, possibly blood, by the left kidney on the CT scan. The doctors are going to continue to monitor Dave's blood counts, giving him more blood if necessary. Dr Stothert said that hopefully this will heal on its own and will not require surgery. He also said that everything else on the CT scan looks the same or better! Dave has started his two hour ventilatory support and will be done around 11pm.

Friday, July 4th

Happy 4th! Hope you are enjoying a relaxing day with family and friends.

Dave is doing well, still in a lot of pain. Praise God, Dave's white blood count is 11,000! (Normal range is between 4,000 and 11,000). His temperature is 102. The doctors think that Dave might have an infection by his port. Because they have drawn so much blood from Dave, the doctors can't move his port without the expertise of the radiology department, which is closed today due to the holiday. Hopefully tomorrow they will move the port. It is a very quick procedure, Dave does not have to be sedated. Dave is currently on dialysis and will be receiving more blood later this afternoon. Thank you again for your continued prayers.

Thursday, July 3rd

Morning update: White blood count is down again...15,000!!! Thank you Lord! Please continue to pray for Dave as today seems to be another day of extreme discomfort and pain. They have Dave on dialysis again for 3.5 hours today and he will be receiving one unit of blood also. His temperature was at 102.9 early this morning and now it has dropped to 100.4! Please pray that Dave will be able to get some rest as the ICU is not a very restful place! Physical Therapy was in early this morning to have Dave sitting up in a chair. This was not very comfortable and definitely a lot of work for him. PT will be in again this afternoon. Dave's abdominal area is very "bloated" and taught. This is something the doctors have been concerned with off and on for a number of days. It is very uncomfortable/painful for Dave. As questions arise we are very slowly bringing Dave up to speed on the events of the last few weeks. He was shocked yesterday to know that we are now in the month of July! Dave will be surprised to know everything he has endured. Thank you for your faithful prayers, you are all so encouraging to us!

Wednesday, July 2nd

Morning update: Great news this morning… Dave is awake! He can’t talk yet, but he answered several questions by nodding yes or no. His eyes are open and he was able to squeeze his hands. It doesn’t take long for him to get tired, but it is very exciting to be able to communicate with him. Please thank God for the progress Dave is making. We can’t tell you how much we appreciate all of your prayers and support; it has been a tremendous encouragement to us. Please continue to pray that the swelling in and around the pancreas will go down. Dave is still running a low grade fever, but his heart rate and blood pressure are looking better. He is on dialysis now, we hope that as his pancreas relaxes his kidneys will resume function as well, please pray for that. Finally, the resident doctors made their rotation this week, so many of the doctors on the floor are new (to the ICU). Please pray that they will be able to quickly familiarize themselves with Dave’s condition and make the best decisions for Dave’s continued recovery. Thank you again for the concern and love you have shown to our family.

Evening update: Dave's white blood count is 24,700! Praise God. Thank you for all your prayers. The doctors and nurses were very pleasantly surprised by the test results! Dave remained stable and conscious throughout the day. However, he experienced an extreme amount of pain and was very uncomfortable. Please pray that he will be able to get some rest tonight and relief from pain. The doctors were able to remove his ventalator and Dave is now breathing on his own!!!!!! Although the nurses discourage it, Dave is able to talk to us in brief sentences. The power of prayer is amazing! We serve an awesome God!

Tuesday, July 1st

Morning update: Dave's white blood cell count is 48,000 this morning!!!!!! Thank you Lord, quite a significant drop from yesterday. Last night the nurse called us after we had left the ICU to let us know Dave wiggled his toes on command! We were ecstatic. This morning his temperature is 99.9 and the other vitals look good. They are still planning to start dialysis this morning. Dave is starting to respond to us on command, even shaking his head to answer questions! He had a CT scan on his abdomen to check on that leaking bile again and to see if they can find a source of infection (48,000 is still significantly high for the white blood cells). Please pray that Dave does NOT need surgery right now for the leaking bile. They are going to start Dave on a sedative to keep him comfortable as he is not on any pain medication right now. This sedative will still allow Dave to remain conscious but will keep him from becoming agitated. Thank you all for your diligent prayers. God is so good!

Evening update: Today was a good day! Dave was stable throughout the day. He had dialysis this afternoon (the fast kind, only 3 hours) and took off 4 pounds of fluid! The doctors decided to keep Dave on sedative for the next couple of days, to keep him comfortable, get some much needed rest and to relax his abdominal muscles, which was causing stress and pressure to the bladder. Dave had a CT scan today and they did not find any pockets of infection in his abdomen. We are still awaiting the results concerning the leaking bile. I guess no news is good news. Thank you for your continued prayers and also for rejoicing with us as our Lord continues to heal Dave!

Also, Dave's niece had a baby girl today, Annika Jae! Congratulations Dusty and Jeremy!