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04/19/04 Good morning to everyone. Terry called me late last night with disturbing news. David has developed gangrene and the prognosis is not good. Should he survive through this time, the doctors have told her that it will, indeed, be a miracle. I'm posting a short note here because I know Terry would want all of David's friends to be thinking of him right now. Pamela |
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04/19/04 It is now a little after 10:00PM here in MD and I am finally home from the hospital after spending the last 24 hours there! As you know David developed gangrene last night. His team of doctors are baffled at what exactly caused this to happen to him. Their theory is this...that from all the swelling in his abdomen it caused the veins to clot up going to his small intestine and some other vital internal organs. The tissue became necrotic and died so to speak. Gangrene can be very deadly and can spread quickly throughout the entire body. Last night they removed his small intestine, a portion of his pancreas and more of his bowels. He now has only about 60 cm of bowels left in his body. What does this mean for David? They are giving him a 30% chance of surviving this right now. If he does make it through this he will never be able to eat like a normal human being again. David will be on TPN or IV nutrition for the rest of his life, which will involve being hooked up to a TPN feeding machine for 12 hours of his day. He has survived two surgeries in the last 20 hours and they will operate again on Thursday. His repair to the vena cava is not holding and his duodenum is also still leaking, two very BIG short term problems for him right now. The doctor said we are looking at 5-6 months in the ICU if he survives all of the internal injuries and then months in a Rehab center for physical therapy and learning how to care for himself and how to do his TPN feedings. He will require surgery once a year, to replace a central line for his feedings. The doctor said long term, once he is fully recovered that they are experimenting with small intestine transplants...however, there are only three hospitals in this country that do this type of procedure at a cost of about $400,000 with limited success. Obviously, there are alot of decisions that need to be made about his short-term and long-term medical care. I have to apply for Social Security disability for him as well as medical assistance from the state of Maryland. Home care and TPN feedings as well as the medical equipment that goes with it, will be quite expensive. I am so overwhelmed right now, that I don't know which end is up so to speak. I want to be sure that I make the right medical decisions where David is concerned. His doctor said all we can do right now, is just to get through one day at a time literally! I've got to get some much needed sleep. I am emotionally and physically drained right now. Please keep my beloved David in your thoughts and prays and help me to understand why all of this has happened to him! Terry who is searching for answers. |
