[NEohioPAL]Tuesday, February 10

Tue Feb 10 12:54:37 PST 2004

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_0098_01C3EFD5.0A626940
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Hi everyone.

We have felt like a ping pong ball over the past several days.  Brian's =
vascular surgeon was telling us he needed bypass surgery (superior =
mesentery artery occlusion -- graft taken from the leg), then that he =
would be getting a stent -- a far less invasive procedure.  Last Monday, =
Tuesday and Wednesday we were waiting for a surgical date for the =
bypass.  Saturday it was the stent.  Sunday it was the bypass.  When we =
got there yesterday morning, it was the stent.

He was scheduled at noon -- they took him at 3:15.  At 5:00 the surgeon =
told us that the week of heparin (blood thinner) appears to have =
dissolved the clot.  He took us into the angiography room -- showed us =
the pictures of the artery, with nice healthy blood flow.  One last =
slight constriction.

So the surgeon feels he should be having less pain, less nausea and =
vomiting, and return of his ability to eat.  And, without getting overly =
optimistic, we are beginning to see some reduction in the nausea and =
pain.  His eating last night and early today was better.

What we saw, however, was a very high fever and very high blood pressure =
-- both possibly as a result of the re-insertion (after several tries in =
different places) of his nutrition intravenous lines.  His arm is a mess =
after 6 weeks of lines running in it -- very swollen, veins shot.  He =
also was wiped out from it having been a dialysis day, and of course =
from the stent procedure -- which, even though they didn't place a =
stent, still involved an incision, insertion of the wire and the dye, =
time on the table, etc.  By evening he was pretty well wiped out.  He =
made a valiant attempt to drink some fluids, and ate a couple of =
mouthfuls of Jell-O.=20

He had dialysis again today and we're hoping to see some increased signs =
of improvement.

His kidneys are starting to show some positive signs -- frequent =
urination, and improved quality -- starting to see some toxins appearing =
in the urine.  The Urinetown t-shirt that hangs in his room is =
appreciated by everyone -- especially the adoring group of nurses who =
have all come to think of him as their very special patient.  Doesn't =
matter who is assigned to him, they all take care of him. =20

I am grateful to Brian's brothers Howard, who came last week, and Monte, =
who is here this week, without whose help I would be useless.

And all of you -- for your support, your concern, your love for Brian =
and your many good wishes, cards and gifts.

With any luck, Brian may be able to leave the hospital soon.  I am =
reluctant to predict anything more, since disappointment has been the =
benchmark of the past many weeks. =20

More news when it becomes available.

Vicki
------=_NextPart_000_0098_01C3EFD5.0A626940
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Hi everyone.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>We have felt like a ping pong ball over the past =
several=20
days.  Brian's vascular surgeon was telling us he needed bypass =
surgery=20
(superior mesentery artery occlusion -- graft taken from the leg), then =
that he=20
would be getting a stent -- a far less invasive procedure.  Last =
Monday,=20
Tuesday and Wednesday we were waiting for a surgical date for the=20
bypass.  Saturday it was the stent.  Sunday it was the=20
bypass.  When we got there yesterday morning, it was the=20
stent.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>He was scheduled at noon -- they took him at =
3:15.  At=20
5:00 the surgeon told us that the week of heparin (blood thinner) =
appears to=20
have dissolved the clot.  He took us into the angiography room -- =
showed us=20
the pictures of the artery, with nice healthy blood flow.  One=20
last slight constriction.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>So the surgeon feels he should be having less pain, =
less=20
nausea and vomiting, and return of his ability to eat.  And, =
without=20
getting overly optimistic, we are beginning to see some reduction in the =
nausea=20
and pain.  His eating last night and early today was =
better.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>What we saw, however, was a very high fever =
and very high=20
blood pressure -- both possibly as a result of the re-insertion (after =
several=20
tries in different places) of his nutrition intravenous lines.  His =
arm is=20
a mess after 6 weeks of lines running in it -- very swollen, veins =
shot. =20
He also was wiped out from it having been a dialysis day, and of course =
from the=20
stent procedure -- which, even though they didn't place a stent, still =
involved=20
an incision, insertion of the wire and the dye, time on the table, =
etc.  By=20
evening he was pretty well wiped out.  He made a valiant attempt to =
drink=20
some fluids, and ate a couple of mouthfuls of Jell-O. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>He had dialysis again today and we're hoping to see =
some=20
increased signs of improvement.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>His kidneys are starting to show some positive signs =
--=20
frequent urination, and improved quality -- starting to see some toxins=20
appearing in the urine.  The Urinetown t-shirt that hangs in his =
room is=20
appreciated by everyone -- especially the adoring group of nurses who =
have all=20
come to think of him as their very special patient.  Doesn't matter =
who is=20
assigned to him, they all take care of him.  </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>I am grateful to Brian's brothers Howard, who =
came last=20
week, and Monte, who is here this week, without whose help I would be=20
useless.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>And all of you -- for your support, your concern, =
your love=20
for Brian and your many good wishes, cards and gifts.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>With any luck, Brian may be able to leave the hospital soon.  =
I am=20
reluctant to predict anything more, since disappointment has been the =
benchmark=20
of the past many weeks.  </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>More news when it becomes available.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT =
size=3D2>Vicki</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

------=_NextPart_000_0098_01C3EFD5.0A626940--