NG 2

Two updates in one day? That hasn't happened in a while. Today it is necessary.

Last night was awful. Thanks to exhaustion and 4mg of morphine, Dan slept until almost 1pm this afternoon. He obviously needed the rest. When he finally got up and moving, his pain kept him from walking around much. The belly pain got better as the day went on, but never really went away. The two meds he got put on ended up making him sick...so, we got the doctor to ditch those. We also convinced the doctor to order an x-ray for tonight instead of waiting for the morning. As we explained to McGreeky how Dan's symptoms had progressed throughout the day, he agreed with our thought that this was his obstruction returning. Accordingly, he wanted to get a jump-start on taking care of the problem.

While we waited, Jamie made a surprise visit since she was taking the exchange students to San Francisco. She brought us fruit and gifts from Israel. Very fun!

Unfortunately, the x-ray did warrant some concern. As the on-call resident is quite busy tonight, the only detail we got on the results was that his abdomen looks a little distended and the team wants to decompress the bowels before any obstruction gets worse. So, Dan got his 2nd NG tube inserted about an hour ago. The nurse was awesome and made the experience much less traumatic than the previous NG placement by the resident. We're awaiting x-ray confirmation of proper placement before Dan gets hooked up to suction again. Hopefully, this NG won't need to be in place as long as the last.

Luckily, Dan isn't feeling too bad tonight. Before the NG got placed, his nausea and pain were very minimal and sometimes, not even there. Perhaps, this will mean a quicker resolution of the obstruction, as the doctors caught it early. On the other hand, McGreeky is going to be even more cautious regarding advancing Dan's diet. Surgery is what we want to avoid.

Tomorrow, the plan is for a gastroenterologist to take a look at Dan's case (at McGreeky's request) to make sure nothing is being missed in his care. Also, Dan will have a CT to see the extent of this obstruction. Hopefully, by tomorrow evening we will have a more solid plan for Dan.

Let it be known, I have never seen a patient endure so much, have so many setbacks and still find the resolve to laugh and smile. Dan is honestly the most amazing man I have ever met, and no, I am not biased.

Prayer Requests:
* Complete resolution of obstruction without need for surgery
* Wisdom for the doctors
* Encouraging news from the CT
* Passing of gas very soon
* Short period of NG necessity
* Comfort and rest for Dan (despite NG)
* Wisdom for me to know when to go to school
* Ability for Dan and I to celebrate Easter at HOME