Kinda crazy morning

Hey everyone,

Well, it was a bit of a crazy morning today. Taryn left John's side to go to church and I hadn't gotten ready to go to the hospital when John called and wanted to know about a drug they were giving him subcutaneously. He thought they were maybe giving him too much of something and he couldn't find the journal to check what had already been given. They also told him they were going to do some kind of test at nuclear radiology to see if they could pin down where there might be a leak or a bleed in his stomach.

What we suspect happened, is that the NG tube wasn't draining well, either due to cloggage or placement, but that stuff built up in his stomach to a point where it might have distended and torn the staples or something. Be mindful that this is just what we are piecing together and Dr Chang really can't be alot more sure about it without going in for another surgery, which is something we would like to try to avoid.

John has recieved 5 units of blood in the last 3 days. He's recieved a wide array of antibiotics to head off any infection. He recieves drugs to keep his digestive system working correctly, without any acid and he is starting a therapy to raise hemoglobin levels. I'm sure they would like to not have to give him any more blood, but if the red cells don't get up to a more comfortable level, they'll do it.

My brother Tod and his family have come by to visit and now we are all sitting in a coffee house across the street from the hospital while John gets all cleaned up. Everyone seems fairly relaxed and we have come up with a plan for keeping John company for the next 24 hours at least. Pat takes off for home in Virginia tomorrow so he is staying the night with his brother. It's a good thing that he'll have that time.

Special thanks today to Jay & Sarah Knudsen for providing Casa de la Knudsen for John's brothers and for feeding all of us such great dinners. Their home is so comfortable and it's great to have a roomy, hospitible home base to work from. Thanks also to Jay for walking Mati with his dogs and to Sarah for watching over both my "pups" (Mati & Elliot)

Special thanks also to Teri Cruz for bringing good food and keeping us nourished. We sometimes have a hard time tearing ourselves away to feed ourselves and it's so great of her to be so thoughtful in making sure we have real meals, even tho we eat them in the visiting/waiting room. That's becoming our new living room while we're here. It was nice of her to bring Taryn's High School group today too. They brought all of us a little bit of cheer and we liked it alot.