Today has been interesting to say the least. We thought it was going to be a super, upbeat day in terms of Karl’s progress. Karl said he felt good and had a great night. There was talk that they'd take out his feeding tube, that he'd move to a regular ortho room out of ICU, that he'd start getting physical therapy, etc. We happily learned the infection is in check and he wouldn’t need extra surgery for debridement and irrigation. We gave him Jello and he took all his meds by mouth. The morning was going very well.
It was shortly after he had his morning meds and Jello that he started having chills and felt nauseated. After the whole team of ICU physicians thought about it, they decided that some of his plumbing wasn’t working due to the amount of narcotics he's taking. To address the situation, they came up with several alternative plans should one or the other not work. Plan A was to decrease the intake of narcotics until the plumbing started working. What they didn’t count on was that all of the plans would be messed up a bit by a simple set of X-rays.
In comes the X-ray guy who tells Karl's nurse, Jodi, he needs two films which requires them to put two hard plates under Karl’s back. Since he didn't tell us he was coming, Jodi didn't have a chance to give Karl a bolus of extra drugs for the extreme pain he's in when they roll him to one side or the other because of the long incision on his back. To top it off, as they are rolling Karl, the sheet the X-ray guy is holding tears and he accidentally drops Karl onto the hard X-ray cartridge. Needless to say, Karl was hurting. In fact, I’ve never seen him in so much pain. So, we went back to square one and gave him more narcotics. In other words, Plan A was delayed.
Just to throw a little extra excitement, Karl's blood is getting a bit thinner than desired so they decided to give him Vitamin K and keep him in ICU for the rest of the night just to monitor him. As Karl said, "But other than that, I'm doing just fine."
Actually, it's been several hours since that happened and he's resting more comfortably so we're back on track for Plan A. I'm sure he'll be okay, especially after his prayer warriors go on the attack. God must be sick of hearing Karl’s name! But once again I’m calling on you to do your thing. It works every time.
Love and blessings to all,
Kerry
4 comments:
Kerry, Susie, & Karl,
Sorry yesterday wasn't easier for Karl. Thank God for the team of people looking out for him - maybe excluding the x-ray guy. We hope that tomorrow will be better for you all. Love, Mary and John
Kerry, and Suzie, Well another tough day. It sounds like you are back on track though...Im taking my lunch break at this time. Writing to you from the sicu unit at the U of M... This is usually the slow time and I thought I would check on Karl. Kerry you should write a book, your journal will help with that. Karl is lucky to have his big sis and mom there. Not everyone is that lucky..:) You hang in there and Im praying for his recovery..Love to all, Becky
Karl, Kerry and Susie, I'm glad to hear he's resting more comfortably for now. I have to say, this blog is so awesome. Kerry, you've always had a way with words girl. Ok on my way to see my grandbabies. I'm praying for all of you. Love you bunches, Teri Ries
Love to you all! Six of the Steuwe girls spent the day at
Bad Hair Day?, everything from hair cuts to manicures to eyebrows.
They don't do knees though. Karl had to feel the love vibes from there. Hope today was a better day for him and you as well. Off to do my exercises. I will close my eyes and think of him as I wince with discomfort, knowing that mine is nothing! Love from the Steuwe family.
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