New Tube

Just as Dad was starting to get tubes removed, they have decided to add one more.  His stomach has been swollen for the last the last two days, so today they did an xray to see if there was a blockage.  They determined that there was a blockage and that they needed to relieve the pressure in his stomach by placing a nasogastric tube.  The tube will be used to remove the stomach's contents and pressure.  This tube is inserted in the nose and then goes down the back of the throat into the stomach, and it is all done by the nurse in the room.  It is about the size of straw but more flexible and as a result is very uncomfortable and painful to have inserted.  After it was decided that he needed the tube Mike and the Johnson kids happened to be at the hospital, so Mike, Matt and Mike were able to give him a blessing.  Liesl and I showed up about an hour later and got the full story from Mom.  I used to sell these types of tubes so I knew how painful and traumatic it is for the patient. We tried to find out why they were doing it, what it would do, and how long we had until they put it in.   The nurse didn't want to do it and said that if it didn't go down on the first try she would stop and not put it in, but that one attempt would have been rough on Dad.  We called the doctor and while we were waiting to call him back the Colon doctor just stopped by to check on Dad.  He said often with the colitis (colon infection and inflammation) that the small intestine gets sticky and can stick to the bowel, which then causes a kink, and pressure then builds behind it.  Once some of the pressure that is built up behind the kink is released it often straightens itself out.  This tube will do that, they do not know how long it will be in though.  The other option would be surgery to find the blockage, but Dad is not strong enough so it is not an option.  We discussed the other placement option of doing it in radiology with mild sedation and he said that could be done if Dr. G was ok with it.  After that conversation I talked with Dad about the need for the tube and for the placement options and asked him if he was OK with them trying it in his room first or if he would like to have it done in radiology.  Dad said he would like to have it done in radiology.  Dr. Colon was out side updating his chart and heard the conversation and stepped back in and said, "I heard your conversation and I will set it up with radiology." Dr. G then approved and they took Dad down at 7:30 tonight to have it put in, we will see how it goes.  Keep him in your prayers that he will be blessed that the obstruction will un-obstruct and that he will be comfortable with the tube till it can be removed.  On the happy front Dads white cell count has gone from 81,000 last week to 1,100 this week, this means that the chemo is working exactly as Dr. G hoped it would.  This is a great sign because there is a high percentage of people who have been treated for pre-leukemia like Dad do not respond to the Chemo.
Posted by Dave