A Better Day

Dad had a good day on Monday (and he probably had a good day on Sunday - we just had a bad day with the nurse).

Mom and Patti (my sister) arrived earlier on Monday and were there during the doctor's rounds. The doctor then came back and spent time with them, answering their questions. We had provided them a list of questions to ask each time they saw the doctor.

Dad was awake and alert when they arrived, but became agitated/frustrated that he was not able to communicate. Since Dad is still on the ventilator, he's not able to talk and this is frustrating to him. And with the neck brace on, he can't turn his neck. The plan was to keep him mildly sedated most of the day so that he would rest and be pain-free.

From discussions withe the doctor, his blood levels were improving and looking good. Parkland has given him the correct blood type/RH each time - the mistake happened in McKinney where they gave him two units. His kidneys are showing signs of improvement. They do not feel there is any more internal bleeding going on. They were unable to install the filters in his arteries for blood clots yesterday, but will do so today (Tuesday). They plan to keep him on the ventilator for a few more days. There main concerns right now are still his lungs and kidneys.

Mom had her chair all day and this helped her tremendously. Plus, they had a good discussion with the charge nurse about the events on Sunday. Pastor Jeff and others were down today and that lifted their spirits tremendously.

This has brought back a flood of memories and events from when Titus was in the hospital a year ago. Honestly, most of us probably aren't comfortable in a hospital setting - especially ICU. And, honestly, most of us don't ask enough questions in that type of environment. But, my precioius wife has taught me one thing - silence teaches you nothing in these situations. And, as I have learned to tell the doctors "my wife is not questioning you or your abilities; she just has lots of questions".

As a helpful hint, here are few basic questions anyone should ask in these types of situations.

"Please provide me a head-to-toe analysis of what's going on." Have the doctor review the list of injuries and concerns.

"What are the two things you are concerned about today? What are we doing about those today?" Don't worry about next week or when you get well, but ask about what they will be doing today to tackle the most important things.

"What should I be looking for as signs of improvement or decline?"

And, if you really want to get to know your medical background, ask them about lab results, what are the normal ranges they are expecting to see, what are the ranges/numbers that came back on the tests, what do they expect to see, what happens if the numbers continue to fall out of the range, etc. It just never hurts to ask what or why. Becky can talk blood lab work numbers with the best of the medical professionals. In fact, I asked our attending the other day if Becky asked more questions than a first-year doctor. She smiled quietly, and politically stated "She asks informed questions".

Thank you for your prayers and support