Brother-in-law Update #5

I just wanted to let you all know that Dennis' surgery went well. He seems to be accepting the loss of his lower leg and is looking forward to learning to walk again with a prosthesis. So far, he's experienced minimal pain, for which we're very grateful.

 

He's going to be spending a couple of months in the hospital as he goes through rehabilitation. Hopefully, after that, he'll be able to manage the three or four steps leading up to his apartment and will be able to resume his independent living there.

 

Once Dennis is moved into the rehab section of the hospital, he'll be kept busy by the therapists; and we'll probably cut back on the number of days that we make the two-hour, one-way drive to the hospital to visit him.

 

I want to thank you again for all the kind and supportive comments over the last few weeks.

 

 

Brother-in-law Update #4

Just a very quick update on my brother-in-law, Dennis. Some new sores showed up on his foot last night, so the bypass of the diseased artery that the vascular surgeon had hoped to do would not have been enough to save the foot. They'll be amputating the foot above the ankle tomorrow morning.

Brother-in-law Update #3

When we visited Dennis yesterday, we had the opportunity to meet the lead surgeon on his vascular surgery team. It was really the first solid information we've received to date.

The surgeon would like to do a bypass surgery next week, probably Wednesday or Thursday, taking a vein from Dennis’ left leg and using it to bypass the diseased artery in the same leg. That artery is too damaged to allow proper blood flow to the lower leg and foot. The surgery will involve an incision from Dennis' groin to his ankle and a surgery of 4-5 hours in length.

The doctor believes the surgery can be done and that it's the best option for Dennis, but his whole team must agree to it before they proceed. If it can’t be done or if it doesn’t work, they will have to amputate the leg below the knee. If the bypass works, though, he believes amputating the toes will be all that’s necessary.

As I understand it, the lack of circulation in the foot is working for Dennis right now in that the blood is not feeding the infection. I gathered from what the doctor said that, as soon as that infection gets adequate blood supply, it will begin to spread rather quickly. So they will proceed to the amputation within two to four days after the bypass.

We plan to visit Dennis again on Monday. Hopefully, by then, the surgical team will have made their decision as to whether to go ahead with the bypass surgery and will be able to tell us when it will happen.

 

Today, Doug and I took a day off from all the running. We spent the morning getting some things done around the house. Then, this afternoon, we went to Ouabache State Park, about an hour from home, to enjoy a couple of hours in the sun, just relaxing and reading. It was quite windy there, but the temperature was in the mid-seventies, the warmest day thus far this year. The day out did us good. It's been a long winter and a busy couple of weeks with Dennis.

 

I took my camera with me to the park; but, to my disappointment, I found no birds to photograph. Oh well, I had a good book...and good company with my sweet husband.

 

 

Brother-in-law Update #2

The good news is that the hospital is being very thorough in their testing before taking Dennis to surgery. The bad news is that all the testing, and the resulting delays, are making Dennis a little testy.

They've done an ultrasound test to check the circulation in his feet and lower legs. They've done a CT scan. And they've done another ultrasound test to map the arteries in the left leg, which is the one that has the foot with the dead toes.

He was supposed to have had an angiogram today, inserting dye into the artery or arteries in that left leg, further checking the circulation. At the same time, they were going to check the veins in the right leg to see if any of those could be used to improve the circulation in the left leg. Unfortunately, those tests have been delayed until tomorrow.

So, at this point, it's looking like it might be next week before the actual surgery can happen.

An Update on My Brother-in-law

Good golly, Miss Molly! How can I thank you all for your supportive comments and offers of prayers for my brother-in-law, Dennis? You guys are the best!

 

Here's the latest:

 

While we expected to play the he's-going-home game again on Wednesday, it didn't happen. Instead, thankfully, they were able to get a room for him in a larger V. A. hospital which is better equipped for the surgery he'll be needing. He was transferred to the new hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

 

The new hospital is only a few miles further from our home than the first one was...still in the two-hour range. Doug and I went to see him yesterday and were able to also have a nice visit with Dennis' middle daughter and her daughter, who had driven down from northern Michigan to see him.

 

Nothing much was done with Dennis yesterday. The hospital is running tests that will determine just how extensive the surgery will need to be. One doctor told us that, most likely, they will continue to pump antibiotics into him through the weekend, with surgery probably not being scheduled before next week.

 

Thanks again for all the kind words and prayers. You can't imagine what a boost they've been to my spirit.

 

Sometimes Life Just Gets in the Way

Hello, my friends. Are you still there? I apologize for neglecting you, but things have been a little crazy around here recently.

 

Doug's brother has had some health issues. He has uncontrolled diabetes, which has resulted in some real problems, including gangrene in a couple of toes. We took him to the V. A. walk-in clinic, about two hours away from our home, on Monday. After lots of interviews, testing, insulin shots, and intravenous fluids and antibiotics, he was admitted to the V. A. hospital Monday night for observation.

 

Tuesday, they told us they were sending him home. What??? The guy has gangrene, for goodness sake!

 

Well, they insisted. We spent lots of time calling everyone we could think of who might intervene in this foolishness and agree that he needed to stay in the hospital until surgery could be arranged. Nothing helped.

 

So, off we went on the two-hour drive to the V. A. hospital to pick him up and take him back to his apartment.

 

We arrived at the hospital at 7 PM. His nurse was giving him last-minute instructions for monitoring his blood glucose levels and administering insulin shots at home. He got dressed in his street clothes and was preparing to leave with us when the nurse announced that the patient's temperature was 101, and the doctor on duty didn't want to send him home while it was that high. The decision had been made to keep him there for another night.

 

So back home we came.

 

The whole episode seemed reminiscent of the time we drove to Houghton Lake to see the northern lights.

 

I'm sorry about not getting around to your blogs. I hope to play catch-up soon, but no promises.

 

We fully expect to play this game again today.