Prayers for Dad
Monday 5:15am (ET) May 19th.
Hi Friends,
Dad was rushed to the hospital yesterday (Sunday) morning. He was passing out and very nauseated. We
are still not real sure what's going on but more tests will be run today. He is in Jackson Madison Co. Hospital (yep,
same hospital his sister Ann is in following her heart attack 2 weeks ago).
*
His potassium is extremely high (giving him sodium for that). They say this could be the reason he's passing out
and has nausea.
* His white blood count is high (possible infection).
* His red blood count is low. Usually this means "loss of blood",
only Dad is not passing or throwing up any blood. They are checking for some kind of internal bleeding or the possiblity that
he's just not making enough blood. They gave him 2 units of blood yesterday evening after moving him to a regular room
(7127).
* He's having severe neck pain for some reason.
* His EKG is the same as his last one so we're hoping this is a good sign his heart is not in
the spotlight at this point.
* Dad slipped Saturday
attempting to get up in the back of his pickup to unload his 4-wheeler and pulled something in his leg. not sure if this has
anything to do with his health issues that arrived a few hours later or not. they are looking into it.
Hopefully we will get some answers today.
As is the usual in situations like this, Mark, Becky and I become a little tag team (with others in the family assisting also).
I'm still hovering here in East TN at the moment but will be heading West as soon as I'm needed for the "second
shift" or the Drs make some kind of decision
Dad is in Jackson-Madison County
Hospital, Jackson, TN, room 7127.
Monday 12:30pm (ET)
Dad began having chest and arm pains. Sunday they took him off of his blood thinners upon arriving at the hospital. Just now
They had to give him 2 nitro tablets and that eased the pain.
Monday 4:15pm (ET) Dad's
heart Dr. came by and put him back on his blood thinners and seemed very confident that the problems are not stemming
from the Heart. This was good news since his heart is such a sensitive part of his health.
They are now
waiting for the GI Dr. to visit. we still must find out why he's losing so much blood.
I was
all prepared to head west first thing Tues morning but Mom and Dad both told me to sit tight just a while longer,
that I may be needed more later on in the week. so.... that's where we are right now....
Monday 6:00pm (ET) Still waiting for GI Dr to visit. Since Dad is now on the blood
thinners he's resting better.
Monday 7:30pm (ET) GI Dr just came
by. He wants to give Dad 2 more units of blood to build him up as much as he can. He wants to do a Scope Wednesday to check
for an ulcer. Upon extensive questioning he realized that all Dad's pain and problems began after his slip Saturday.
He thinks when Dad pulled something in his leg and suffered that extreme pain, that he may have pulled a hole in one
of his blood vessels, thus the blood may be seeping out there. He wants to do a CAT scan Tues (Tomorrow)
and this will show if Dad is losing blood out of a torn blood vessel due to his slipping Saturday.
***** Tuesday ***** May 20th
Tuesday 7:30AM (ET) Just spoke to Mom. Dad rested
well last night. They gave him 2 units of blood last night (total 4 now). The nurses are already preparing Dad for
his CAT scan this morning. They brought that stuff he has to drink. He's finished it and is waiting to be taken down.
not sure when that will be but it should to be soon.
Tuesday 11:30am
(ET) They finally came and got Dad for his CAT scan. Bless his heart, it's been a long morning
of waiting for him.
Tuesday 12:30 pm (ET) Dad is
back in his room from his CAT scan. No test results yet.
Tuesday 1:30 pm
(ET) Dr. called. Where Dad slipped, he has a bruise. They are going to watch that
closely. Decided not to to Scope Wed. Will do more blood work Wednesday to check his blood count.
Tuesday 4:00 pm (ET) email from Mom:
Good report on Robert...had
cat scan this morning to see if the dr could fine where the blood was going....this is what he found...when he slipped sat
afternoon getting in the back of his truck he pulled his leg and brused a spot in his groin and the blood was pooling there...now
he will not have the scope wed...but will have more lab work to see if his blood count has come back up to a normal level....if
so and is stable he might get to go home late tomorrow afternoon, if not he may have to stay a few days and let them watch
him....he is still very weak...and not out of the woods yet, but it was good news...so he is not looking at surgery or anything
right now. They are to stop his asprine and stay on plavix because of his heart problems and have medicated stints
...continue to keep him in your prayers....our son Mark brought his laptop for me to use at the hospital...love jessie
Tuesday 8:00 pm (ET)
Spoke to Mom.
Dad is resting well and she's going through the mail that Mark brought today. She said she had rested off and on
today and was doing fine.
**** Wednesday***** May
21st.
Wednesday Noon (ET) Email from Mom
(This is why I titled this page "Prayers & Praise"!!!!)
Got good news
this morning from GI Dr Hollis...Roberts blood count is up from 23 on mon, 29 on tue and 32 this morning...so he has stablized...GI
Dr said if he feels like it he might get to go home this afternoon...the heart dr needs to see him first..he is still on plavix
since he has stableized...and not losing blood...all of his problem came on from the fall he took sat....thanks for all your
prayers and you passing the word on to others for their prayers...God is so good...we are so blessed ...i am still in
hospital on marks laptop.
Ok, so, I'm slow sometimes
to really comprehend exactly what is going on.... Here is what happened to Dad:
He had been out spraying round up at the King Place (my
grandparents farm) with his spray rig that is attached on his 4 wheeler. He returned home and was wore out completely.
after resting he decided to unload the 4 wheeler that was in the back of his pick up truck. As he started to get up in
the bed of the truck his foot slipped and he felt something pull. Since his main leg artery is so senitive
due to all the caths that must go through it, He said it felt like he'd pulled that main leader. He was able to go
on and get up in the truck and with Mom's help, got the 4 wheeler unloaded. Mom put up the ramps and Dad went to
pull the truck under the carport. When he went to get in the truck he couldn't. He couldn't pull up his
leg. Mom helped him over to a chair to rest and went to get him a pain pill and muscle relaxer. After he rested a bit
he went on in the house and later was able to lie down for a bit. when he woke up a couple of hours later the pain
was gone and he felt better. unbeknownst to him he had created a hugh bruise in his groin area and since he HAS
to be on strong blood thinners his blood rushed to the bruised area leaving the rest of his body WITHOUT blood.
By
4:30 the next morning he was weak, nauseated, passing out and with all of his heart issues we jump to being concerned
about that.
Once the hospital found his low blood levels and began giving him units to replenish
he began to improve. Thankfully he did not rip or tear a blood vessel as we feared. He bruises so easily anyway and when
he slipped, giving his body the opportunity for a big one, it took full advantage of it!
So.....
more of the story: God has blessed us ever so much here and we thank him for his kindness and tender care, AND.... DAD is
going to have to take advantage of the two full grown, eager to help grandsons that live less than a mile from him (and the
rest of the family who are just as eager to assist) and allow THEM to help and assist him with such tasks as unloading
a 4wheeler from the truck. This is a win win situation because this gives him a reason to order them around. (tee hee!!)
We love you Dad.
Wednesday 4:34pm (ET) text
from Mom
WE're going home!
*** Thursday **** May 22nd
Thursday
7:30am (ET)
Spoke to Mom. Dad was extremely tired last night but
finally was able to settle down and rest the latter part of the night. While we were talking Dad got up and said he felt lots better.
They are both very glad to be home. Mom said Kris was mowing their yard when they arrived home yesterday afternoon. I said
they needed to take advantage of those 3 strong grandsons of theirs!!!
We have been so blessed throught
this entire past week.
Saturday, May 24th 1:30pm (ET)
Dad had a rather bad night last night and this morning he has been extremely weak and pale. He appears to have
all the symptoms of the low blood count again. He's not built back like expected to. They decided he needed to go back
to the hospital in Jackson. Mark took them and have just arrived at the ER.
Will post again as soon as
we have any news.
4:00pm (ET)
Dad's blood count is the same as it was Wednesday when
they let him go home (32). We feared it had dropped again but it hadn't. The Dr. said with all Dad had been
through, the meds that he is on, and being given blood that it is just going to be a slow recovery, that he's
going to be weak for a while. That being said, they also said this didn't mean he could just be inactive.
He would need thearpy to regain his strength (Just as his sister, Ann is having to do to recover from her
heart attack). Slowly he must mend.
Sunday 5:03 (ET)
I'm packing my duds and heading west today. I can stand it no longer, time to go see my Daddy.
Monday 01:00 (CT)
Yesterday Dad barely made it to the end of the
carport to get the paper. Today Dad is better. His color and strength are better. They say laughter is the best
medicine and I think I gave him and Mom plenty to laugh about with some of our stories. He said he was now
grounded and we agreed we have officially put him in "Time Out". so, he's spending a lot of time in his
"Time out chair". I don't think he will be finding his ramps (to load his 4-wheeler again) anytime soon either.
lol.
Updates and more details will be posted
here as is possible.
