Sunday, July 20

11:00 a.m.
We are having quite an active morning with Karl. We arrived around 8:30 to find him as alert as he can be considering the fentanyl and propofol they are giving him. Karl is probably a bit more swollen than yesterday. Last night his breathing tube came out after he coughed. His nurse was at lunch. They had to intubate him again, which requires a team of people and I guess it hurts your throat a lot. Karl, I’m told, was pretty frightened. From the stress, his blood pressure dropped so they gave him more fluid, which of course, made him more swollen. It looks like they’ll give him some lasix later to get rid of some of the fluid. All and all, he’s responding well and trying to communicate as best he can by making hand motions, pointing, nodding and shaking his head.

We asked if he knew why he was here and he said no. So we filled him in. Shortly after that, Dr. Hannah, one of his plastic surgeons and Dr. Yaszemski both popped in to see how Karl was doing. Dr. Y told Karl he had negative margins and the tumor was gone. Karl responded with a thumb’s up. He has been able to move his hands, fingers, legs, feet and toes.

I asked Karl if he’d like to listen to music and he nodded. So I hooked up my iPod, put the buds in his ears, and amazingly enough, his head started bobbing up and down ever-so-slightly to the beat of Jackson Browne’s “Doctor My Eyes.”

Amy, his nurse for the day, has been good about monitoring his pain. She asked one of the doctors on the floor about perhaps giving Karl dilauded instead of fentanyl. I’ve been advocating a change since the first day because when he had his biopsy at U-M, the fentanyl had no effect. Of course the doses he’s receiving here are 200 times that, but at least the question has been posed. He’s sleeping well right now, but I think that’s mainly because of the propofol.

The next goal for Karl is to remove the breathing tube/ventilator. His swelling will have to be reduced dramatically for that to occur. And we’d also like his kidneys to pick up on their function. It’s not that they aren’t functioning…it’s just that many of his organs have been a bit shocked by all that he’s been through so we’d like them to come back to normal.

We will probably hang with Karl for the rest of the morning, but will take an afternoon break and come back for some evening time with him. I’ll fill you in more at that time.

11:00 p.m.
Mom and I came home about noon, had lunch, took a nap and then headed back to the hospital. Karl seemed to be a bit more agitated, but some of the swelling had gone done. Amy felt as if he was doing a bit better. His vital signs were good and they had taken the ventilator down to the C-Pap mode, which means he's basically breathing on his own. She and the doctors were still a bit concerned about his creatinine levels so an ultrasound was ordered on his kidneys; it's a proactive approach and nothing to worry about. After an hour or so of walking around, we came back in the room and found Karl to be a bit agitated because he had moved around so much. I asked Karl if he'd like to pray and he nodded. After I prayed, I told him about all of the prayers he'd been receiving. I told him about all the people who loved him and named many of you (all that I could remember) who had left messages on the blog or had called or emailed. He was pretty teary simply because he doesn't think he's worthy of this much love. But we all know he is.

On Friday, my good friends Marcy and John Vanderpool celebrated their 50th birthdays (yes, they were born on the same day). Karl helped to pick out an especially fun card for Marcy. I told him that she called and wanted me to give him a kiss. I asked if he wanted it and he nodded, so I gave him a kiss on the top of his head. Then I said, oh, and Marcy said she was going to get you for the card you picked out. Do you remember it? It took him a second, but he gave me a big wink. Karl is definitely still in there!

Mom and I came home for dinner and when we went back to the hospital we found Karl to be agitated and anxious about his vent tube. Sarah, his nurse again this evening, explained that they had done labs to find out about his oxygen levels and they are all good, in fact, the best they had been, so while his breathing seemed more labored, his deeper breaths were actually getting more oxygen into his lungs. She thought perhaps the event from the evening before was causing him some anxiety and that he seemed much calmer when we were around. At that point, Mom and I decided we wouldn't leave him alone until his vent was out (which is scheduled for Tuesday!!!).

I whispered in his ear that everything was fine. We weren't going to leave him again. Everything was just as it was supposed to be and the tube in his throat, although uncomfortable, was helping him. He seemed to calm and drift back to sleep. At one point he opened his eyes, saw Mom, and gave her a wink. We're trying to make the atmosphere as close to home as possible. Therefore Ice Road Trucker is on the History Channel and the remote is next to his hand. Mom is spending the night. I'll go in the morning and relieve her. I think we'll all rest better (including poor Sarah who told us she cried when she went home). Even when Karl can't speak and is mostly out-of-it he has a charming effect on people!

As I write this, Joel Osteen is on the tube. I don't know if you've ever watched him, but his message is always uplifting and simple. He has this nice, twangy accent that somehow makes you feel like he's very sincere and truly God-loving. Tonight he said, "There's nothing that brings God more honor than you goin' around braggin' on his existence."

Well, I hate to brag, but God's right here in Rochester and he's brought us so many blessings thanks to y'all. I pray he's doing the same for you!

Hugs, Kerry