Update from ICU - written Wednesday, June 11th

Hello everyone!  Last night after dad moved back and got situated in the ICU, he began to "perk up" a bit and was able to get out of bed with Nicole and Dylan (physical therapists in training).  :) His speech was clearer and his tongue didn't seem to be as swollen.  He was very much alert and aware, holding normal conversations.  Moving rooms is certainly a huge production.  We have been on the third floor for weeks and had basically moved in - mini refrigerator and all! (thanks Dylan).  Just for a little comic relief, I posted a picture below that illustrates how Nicole and I schlepped all of the accumulated junk from the room over every bump and crevice from the third floor of the hospital down to the parking lot, and thirty steps from the car we then managed to dump everything from balloons and birthday bags, to cups, flatware, runaway soda cans and leaking water bottles....lol. It was one of those laugh or cry moments, and we definitely busted a gut.
(I'm sure security got a good laugh too!)

Dr. Nguyen came in last night around 10 pm, and gave us an update on all the tests my dad went through earlier that day.  He said his echo cardiogram looked great. (Thank you Lord! They were checking for fluid around his heart).  His chest x-rays looked a tiny bit better.  His blood gas tests maintained.  You may remember from previous blog entries that the doctors were not able to positively identify what was in his lungs - and were thinking about doing a surgical procedure to find out.  It was either a fungal infection or fluid causing some other type of infection.  Dr. Nguyen indicated last night that at this point he suspects it is viral pneumonia, which he says is "very treatable".  When he was moved up to ICU one of the docs ordered a CT scan of the brain but Dr. Nguyen canceled it, as he was much more stable in ICU in the evening and did not present any symptoms.  He reiterated that this is all part of the process.  Chemo is a nasty, nasty drug that causes mayhem on your body.  He said we only have 7 more days until his bone marrow kicks in and begins producing the healthy blood cells he needs for his body to be able to function properly again - Lord we are counting the seconds until those healthy cells come back!

This morning dad had a follow up CT to see what the abdomen and lungs looked like.  They are diagnosing and treating the fluid/mass they see as viral pneumonia, and will do a repeat scan on Friday to monitor the change (just as Dr. Nguyen suspected).  Dr. Raman and Dr. Garcia Pacheco both said dad looks much better today and are wondering why he was moved to the ICU.  They will be transferring him out of ICU as soon as another room on third floor becomes available :) YAY!

More good news, he is off of the thick, high pressure oxygen tube that they moved him to when he was short of breath and now he is back on the normal oxygen nose tube, which is a big step!  They are slowly weaning him and before we know it he should be on room air again.

The prayers are working guys.  I know we ask every time, but we believe there is power in numbers.  There are so many of you out there reading this and praying, and it's working.  Over 5,000 views on this blog. Absolutely incredible.  We are so blessed and thankful that you continue to care and check in on dad, and continue to pray for him.  Thank you!!! Jen & Nicole