Since Monday, things have been up and down. Yesterday morning, Dr. Ingram walked in his room and just hung his head and seemed so sad that daddy isn't getting better. He said we really need to think about putting the feeding tube in. I had just pulled in the parking lot at school, and Jay called telling me the news. We decided that we probably all needed to meet with Dr. Horlander as soon as we could, to see what the other alternatives were, and to see what the outlook is. We have been wondering about feeding him through his permanent IV, which would be less invasive than a feeding tube, however, all the drs. agree that a TBN (that's what it's called) would be very bad on the kidneys and also there is a very high risk of a blood infection, which daddy would not survive. Dr. H. also spoke with us about the plans for resuscitation if the possibility arose. He was so kind in explaining everything to us. Dr. A (Ingram's partner) came in and was very concerned about daddy's confusion and checked his meds to see if anything could be causing that. He decided to dialyze him again to see if that would help. Daddy is very congested. When he breathes it sounds like a kitten purring. I asked Dr. A to rate daddy's condition on a scale from 1-10 and he pulled us all out in the hall and was very straight forward with us and told us it wasn't good. He said that we would see if daddy got any stronger by getting the nutrition he needs with the feeding tube for a few days, and if he doesn't, then we would look at moving him to hospice. We are all at peace with that. We don't want to see him struggle anymore, if he isn't going to get any better.
When the nurse tried to put the tube in, he pulled it out. This happened three times! He begged her not to put it in and told her he would pay her not to!!! I think he is just so tired of all the poking and prodding they are doing to him and he just wants to have rest and peace. While the nurse was trying to insert the tube, he was hollering that he wanted Tommy (Whitworth)!! About 15 minutes later, who walks in? Tommy!!! No one in the family had even called him, and he shows up!!
He dialyzed yesterday for the full 2 1/2 hours without any incidences so that was a plus, however, he still is very congested. I got to spend all day with him and we "filled prescriptions"! He did eat a little solid food yesterday. About 4 bites of a grilled chicken strip from Jim Bob's and a few bites of creamed potatoes. He drank 2 nutritional shakes during the day. He's probably thinking he better at least try to eat something, or that nurse is going to start poking on him again!!
