Alan is still in ICU at Holston Valley Hospital. He is progressing well on the head pain, which is now mostly gone. Of course, it was the reason for the surgery, so that is good. The bad news is that one of the side effects of messing with the 9th cranial nerve is that it can aggravate things that the nerve controls, such as the swallowing mechanism. As a consequence, Alan has swallowing problems, and even the tiny amount of food and drink he has had have been aspirated into his lungs. So he now has aspiration pneumonia in both lungs, and they started him with a feeding tube today. He has been on nothing but IV's since Wednesday, but he needs more nutrition than they provide, hence the feeding tube. A pulmonologist is now working with him as well as the neurosurgeon. He is getting appropriate therapy and medicines. I won't go into details on those, but I feel comfortable that he is getting good treatment. Both doctors came by to see him today (Saturday) and spent some time with him and me, reviewing his condition and treatment plans. Alan is going through a very hard time now, but he came into this a very healthy person, so there is no fear that it will be life-threatening. It will just take time. We expect him to be in ICU for a few more days, then go to a regular hospital room until he is well enough to go home. I don't know how long that will take.
Thank you to all of you who have responded with your caring thoughts. We appreciate them, and you, immensely.
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3 comments:
Oh Geez. Sorry to hear about the side effect(s). We trust and hope that the therapy will be able to alleviate the swallowing, and any other side effects the operation may have, and that the nerve will again be able to either be 'taught' to do what it should, or just begin functioning properly again without the headaches...Give Alan a gentle hug for us! Thank goodness, in any event, for the Medical Profession! Hope the headaches will now be well and gone after all this!
As Ralph said, we are really sorry to hear about the swallowing problem and consequent pneumonia. Hopefully the swallowing problem can be corrected soon. I understand feeding tubes are not a comfortable thing to deal with. Our thoughts are with both of you at this difficult time. We appreciate your keeping us updated on Alan's condition.
Rosemary
Since Art and I learned on Thursday of Alan's Wednesday surgery we have offered up prayers for healing and complete recovery.
I believer Psalm 37:5 offers great encouragement in this situation:
"Commit your way unto the Lord, trust in Him, in all your ways
acknowledge Him and He will bring it to pass."
The Lord's wisdom and healing hand are wonderful and miraculous.
We love you and care deeply about you.
Our prayers continue and God's blessings,
Dolores and Art
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