Um, no thank you....
Mom and I are sitting here at UMMC Baltimore, watching Dad sleep more peacefully than he was able to last night. It seems the pain is managed much better now. Thanks so much for all your prayers.
So now to explain how we got to where we are right now....
After the ERCP last Monday, Dad's health was not improving. He lost his appetite. He was extraordinarily weak and tired. He pretty much stopped eating or drinking anything. He was beginnning to need my mother to help him get around, which....yeah, well....not a good time in the Snead house. On Monday, I made contact with Dr. Darwin and Dr. Jiang. They both responded and contacted Dad at home. The plan was put into motion to get Dad to UMMC asap. The issue, though, was that the hospital was full. There was no room at the inn, and there was another winter storm on the way. It was pretty paramount that we get into Baltimore Monday night, or he wasn't going to get there. I was fairly sure that even though Dad is a Christmas Eve baby, we weren't going to be able to secure ourselves a manger on the way either. His Drs were in close communication with us and worked whatever magic they did to get dad a bed, bypass the ER, and have him admitted directly Monday evening.
A CT scan done 2am Tuesday showed that his liver is still infected with a monster, 5cm by 3cm abscess. A pyogenic liver abscess. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? No wonder he wasn't feeling better. The antibiotics that he'd been taking hadn't been able to take care of that part of his infection.
Yesterday his team of docs eventually determined the plan of action to physically drain the abscess. Because of it's location, though, this consensus was not a decision at which all could easily arrive. There was a lot of back and forth discussion as to whether or not this procedure could be done. It was a real possibility that the lung could have been punctured in the process, which, well...we won't go there. Yup, to stick a needle in his side to drain the pus out had to be timed precisely with his breathing. Dad's surgeon, Dr. Alexander, was confident it could be done. Others, however, were skeptical. (It appears, surgeons are a bit more aggressive in nature.) Sounds even lovelier, doesn't it? Evidently, these abscesses do not go away on antibiotics alone. So, if this abscess could not be drained, the septic infections would continue.
Thankfully, the abscess was able to be reached without lung involvement, and boy did it drain! The infectious disease doc we met last night so proudly announced how much he loves pus, and based upon the volume of dijon mustard looking stuff coming out of Dad's side, there might be a prize involved. I mean, seriously. N-A-S-T-Y. No WONDER he felt so icky!
So right now, Dad is resting fairly comfortably, and has slept most of the day. Percocet is doing her job beautifully, keeping his pain level reasonable. He's been able to eat a few meals and has his appetite back. Infectious disease docs are growing a garden with the pus to determine the bugs and the precise antibiotics to take care of the infection. The drain will stay in for quite a few days to make sure all of the infection is drained. Not sure of a discharge date and couldn't even begin to venture a guess.
Again, I greatly appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers. God is good. We have made it this far in this cancer b/c of the loving support of our friends and family. Thanks everyone and much love to all.....Jen
