Sunday, May 23, 2010

My Godly Man and His Battle Part II

So for the next eleven days, fluids were pumped into Ken's body while all medications he was previously on for high blood pressure, diabetes, and knee pain were stopped.  The goal was to get his kidneys working again and thank God, they did.  The side effect was shortness of breath, gaining thirty pounds in 10 days and tremendous pain in his body.  He blew up like a balloon, lost the use of his right arm and both legs.  Physical Therpay taught him to walk with a walker.
Sunday was Mother's Day and I considered my very best gift was a husband who was getting better.  On Monday evening, May 10th, they sent him home with a list of eight brand new medications, all swollen up and told him to pee it out.  His Creatinine level which had been 13 when entering the hospital was now down to 1.6 and the doctor said that was good enough...normal is 1. 
At home he did pretty good for a couple of days considering he had no energy and had a hard time keeping his eyes open.  He was starting to eat again but still had diarrhea.    But the swelling did not go down and on Thursday, he started down hill again.  He was so lethargic that he could not hold his head up or keep his eyes open.  By evening, he could barely move, could not move his head and his arm was swollen and in much pain. I thought he was either reacting to the new medicine or had had a stroke.  Got him in the car with much difficulty and took him back to the emergency room.   The CT scan did not show a stroke but transient ischemic attack (TIA).  After five more hours in emergency, he was admitted....  Next day moved to room 4331 where he spent five more days running tests which revealed no answers.  This time pouring lasix, potassium, magnesium, etc into his body, the swelling began to go down.  And with morphine, finally got some relief from the pain.    He had an inferior hospital doctor who was no help with information,  I think he just did not know what was going on.   The diabetic nurse came and was far more helpful.  I did not want to go home again with no information and no home help.   So Tuesday evening, May 18, I brought him back home with diabetes training, Novolog Insulin pins, and the promise of a home health  nurse, physical therapy and occupational therapy in the home.  This time my Man is doing much better.    While in the hospital,   blood sugars ran in the high two and three hundreds.  At home, it is much more under control and today, Ken for the first time had cabin fever.  We went for lettuce wraps and a trip to WalMart.  Riding in his little cart at WalMart, I asked him if he was having fun and he said it was equivalent to a day at Disney Land.
I have so much to be thankful for: a loving Heavenly Father who gives joy, grace and strength, a Holy Bible which promises hope, fulfilment and life until we are satisfied with it, and the Holy Spirit with power and comfort. 

2 comments:

  1. I am SO happy to see Uncle Ken's smiling face at the end of this long journey. I pray that the recovery is continuous.

    Big Hugs Aunt Jean!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Colliers are VERY thankful too! We need pops to stick around quite a bit longer. Thank you Jesus for his healing!

    ReplyDelete