Dear Friends and Prayer Partners,
Just a short one tonight, I hope. I am so tired it is difficult to type straight.First, Lauren, the nurse today, is an nice and patient as Phong said she is. She took time to feed Louis, and since he is taking so long to chew and swallow, they have him on pureed foods now, which I am sure are nutritious, but look to me like they have already been through the intestinal tract. He would not eat lunch, just slept, because I discovered that all the bedding was wet from a leaky IV.
So, I was there while the nurse and care tech rolled and changed and bathed him all over. The way they do this is amazing! Even though he has lost lots of weight, they work as a team, using gravity to move him. They got him all cleaned up, and I shaved him with a new Norelco electric razor I bought, which works really well and then all he wanted to do was sleep.
Since they could not find a new vein to put the IV in, they asked permission to do a PIC in the upper arm. I don't remember what that stands for, anyway, they have a special team which does this. His arm will be deadened, and they will insert the needle. Dr. Cabella, (sp) the kidney specialist wants him to still receive the antibiotics via the IV. Lauren gave him the meds crushed up in pudding tonight, and it took about half an hour to get him to open his eyes and eat. He finally drank a little milk and a couple bites of mashed pots. Lauren said she would try to get him to eat some more later.
He is still very sick and Lauren explained to Brian and me how many muscles are involved in the simple act of swallowing, which neither one of us realized. They leave him in a raised position for forty five minutes after eating to avoid aspiration, but he is very glad to lie back down..
Brian left work early tonight so we could go eat together, so we went to Atlanta Bread and were the only ones there for most of the time we ate. It was very enjoyable. Then he drove me back to the parking garage to get my van which was good because I was so tired to trek up the slope again.
One other thing...I got turned around again coming out of the elevator and God had another kind man to lead me out! I am so directionally disfunctional, it is pathetic! But God is good in so many ways to me. I thank Him for kind and loving prayers which are sustaining me! The 23rd Psalm has been running through my mind today and I was reciting it all the way to the hospital this afternoon.
Love and hugs, (did I say this would be short???)
Amaryllis
