Thursday, October 23

Dave's appointments today went well. His first appointment was with Dr Mormino the orthopedic surgeon. They took 3 x-rays of Dave's ankle. He said he couldn't tell where the break had been on the fibula (outside bone). The break in the tibia is healed. In the next 4-6 months the soft tissue in the ankle will be healed also and give Dave more range of motion. Dr Mormino has released Dave!!!

His second appointment was with Dr Stothert from trauma. Dave had labs run yesterday and Dr Stothert was pleased with the results. Dave's liver and kidney numbers have returned to the normal range! PTL!!! (They didn't do his WBC.) They are going to continue watching the 2 hernias and will repair them when he has his next surgery. Again, the trauma team was very pleased with Dave's progress!

His last appointment was with Dr Grant, liver specialist. She wants to continue monitoring Dave's bile output from his T-tube for 2 more weeks. Dave was really hoping to be able to go back to just one bag. There has been a lot of inconsistency in the output from both drains which is confusing to them. In 2 weeks Dave will go to interventional radiology for a cholangiogram rather than an x-ray cholangiogram. IR is able to do a more accurate placement of the dye, therefore, better able to view the bile duct's functioning at the injury site. The results of this cholangiogram will help determine what the next step will be for Dave. They are still talking possible surgery, but they have also said there is a chance Dave may not need surgery if the bile duct heals on its own and is not too constricted. Please continue to pray for healing of the bile duct.

Dave continues to do great at home! He is still doing PT 3 times a week. He continues to get stronger. Dave has gained 8 pounds since he has been home! Thank you for your prayers and support! The next update will be in about 2 weeks, we don't have the appointment set yet.

Wednesday, October 8

Dave's appointments went well today. He had the cholangiogram first and didn't get the results until late afternoon. The results showed a slight bile leak. However, the bile is not being picked up by Dave's blake drain, which poses the question where is the bile going. As yet one more diagnostic tool, Dr Grant decided to put a bag on the t-tube to measure any bile that may drain and to see if this makes a difference in the output of the blake drain. (Dave's blake drain is draining some fluid but it is not bile.) Dave's t-tube immediately started draining a significant amount of bile. They told Dave to start drinking more fluids so his body can replenish what it is losing. Dr Grant is going to discuss the results of the cholangiogram with her colleagues at a monthly meeting. By presenting Dave's case to the group she is hoping to get some feedback for what the next step should be. They are still talking surgery. Different time frames have been thrown out, some doctors have said 2 months down the road and some have said 6 months down the road. I think it is sufficient to say they want to give Dave's body time to heal before he has another surgery. At this point we still do not know what the extent of the surgery will be.

Dave now has a button G-tube. This replaced the 6 inches of tube that was sticking out from his stomach, taped to his body, and visible through his shirt. The button is flush with his skin and can't be seen through his clothes! They don't want to get rid of the G-tube because it would take another surgery to insert one in the event that he would need it. Since the tube is already there and isn't a cause for infection (the stomach/intestines have so much bacteria anyway the tube doesn't get infected) they have decided Dave will keep the G-tube until after his liver surgery. He isn't using the G-tube and hasn't since he has been home.

Dave has 2 hernias in his abdomen along his incision. Dr Young gave Dave an elastic belt to prevent the hernias from getting any worse. They will coordinate surgery to fix the hernias when Dave has his liver surgery. Dave's white blood count was 15,000. It has been holding pretty steady at 15,000 for about the last month. The doctors seem to have quit putting as much emphasis on the high WBC. Dave's physical therapy is going great. He is going to PT 3 times a week at Madonna ProActive. In the last week his PT, Darrin, has put Dave on the stationary bike and also on the elliptical machine. Dave was on the elliptical for 10 minutes and worked up a sweat! He thought it was great!!!! He is looking stronger and feeling stronger daily. On 3 of the days Dave doesn't have PT he works out on the Bowflex at home. Although he tires sooner than he once did, Dave is very determined to have a complete and quick recovery. Dave is enjoying being home and getting life back to normal. He is going to church, spending time with his family, going to Norris softball games, and getting together with friends. Dave had a birthday last week (56 years young!!!!) and is thankful the Lord has blessed him with another year! Dave's next appointment in Omaha is October 22. We will give you an update after the appointment! Thank you for your continued prayers, the body of Christ is amazing!