April 30, 2009

We had a really good day today. Dad was talking up a storm. It is so great to here his voice and actually be able to understand him! He does still have a little trouble dealing with the new vent but he is getting good practice. This vent gives him full control of his breaths and it just gives him oxygen and a little pressure. He is only on the new vent for about six hours but everyday they will go longer and longer. He is also getting lots of exercise from the therapists. Some of the exercise are washing his own face and brushing his own teeth. It is very exciting. He is getting stronger and can sit up really good in the chair. He keeps trying to stand but does not realize he is not that strong. Unfortunately I am leaving for about a week so I will be missing so much progress. Luckily Aunt Laurie will be here to take care of him so I feel better. Thank you all for your support and prayers we are doing great!

April 29, 2009

The past couple of days have been great. First, dad is doing great with physical therapy. His legs are getting so strong and he can sit up at the side of the bed with help from the therapist. She says his core is strong and the next step is standing. They want to try in the next few days. His swallowing is also improving. They have done many tests and lots of practice. He cant quiet do it without some liquid going into his lungs but they are hopeful it will be soon. The biggest news is that they put a special tube in his trech that allows him to talk!! Unfortunately, I was not there when he did it today but Denis and Walt were and they said it was amazing. So far he has only said hello, but will need pratice getting used to moving air in the right place. At least he is making huge progress. His mind also seems to be working a little bit better. He is starting to remember a few things you tell him and has been writing a little. This new hospital is amazing and the next few weeks should be really great. Thank you all for your support and prayers, I am so happy there are so many people that care about him.

April 27, 2009

The doctors say dad is doing pretty good. He sat in the chair for a while today, but almost slid out so they had to put him back to bed. He is doing good on the vent and they say they will be getting more aggressive soon. They may even take him off for a little while to see how he does. He was also given the clear to start eating ice chips. They want to start off slow before giving him food. Tomorrow they are going to try sitting him on the side of the bed and see how well he can keep himself up. I am so happy that this new hospital is making so much progress so fast. I just hope we keep this up. He still has a long road but this is a start. Thank you all for your prayers and support its really helpful for us.

April 26, 2009

We had a pretty good weekend. Dad sat in the chair a couple of time and really seems to like it. He has not had any fevers in a while so that is a good sign the antibiotics are working. His heart rate and blood pressure stay at a normal level. The doctor said he still has an infection in his lungs but it is being controlled. Dad watched Nascar today and it looked like he was really enjoying. The physical therapist worked on him yesterday and said he is pretty strong. Each day they will test him more and push him as much as he will take. The speech therapist should be in tomorrow so hopefully they will do more swallow tests. It would be great if he could drink and eat. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Dad is working hard and its because he has so much to work for. Thanks

April 24, 2009

I apologize for this being a little late. Dad did great yesterday. The physical therapist had him sitting on the side of the bed. I was not there but she said it was really good. The speech therapist did the blue die test again to see if he could swallow. So far it was looking very successful so they are going to keep trying and hopefully he will be able to eat and drink soon. He also weind off the ventilator for a few hours. The respiratory therapist said he did really well and they will try a little harder each day. So far everything in the new hospital is really great and I look forward to all the progress he will be making. Thank you all for you extra prayers!

April 23, 2009

Dad has a new home!! We moved over to Kindred Hospital today. It is right down the street from the previous hospital. He is now in room 507. So far things look good. The doctor was in to help get him settled and the nurses were busy running around. Dad looked pretty confused the whole time. I am very anxious to see how the weekend goes. I am hoping that there are dramatic differences. They will be busy running test and analyzing everything about dad all weekend. I am hoping for a meeting soon so I can really understand the condition he is in. So far dad seems pretty content with his new room so lets hope he will be in a better mood. I am still very worried about him and I thank everyone for their prayers and support!!!

April 22, 2009

Today was pretty tough. There have been a few things that I have not been comfortable with at the hospital we are currently in. I don't want to get into details but we have decided to move dad to a different long term care facility. I am hoping that the care and treatment of my dad will improve. As far as his condition he seems to be doing well. All his stats are staying normal. He was also responding a little bit better. He was not as aggravated and seems to be calmer. There is still some big worries about his short term memory. The doctors think it may have been permanently damaged but only time will tell. There is also worry about his lungs. I have been told that they are still very damaged but have not been given any details. Hopefully the new hospital will be able to help me better understand what is really going on. Pray that this move will be the change that we need. Its been a tough time and I feel that it will continue to be tough. Dad has pulled off a few miracles and lets pray that he has a few more left. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

April 21, 2009

Today started out great. His heart rate and blood pressure are great and that is without any drugs! He was a little low on blood so they had to fill him up. When I got there he was acting so great. He was asking good questions and responding great. However, as the afternoon progressed he got very aggravated. He really wants to go home and was trying to do so all day. He does not give much warning just starts trowing legs over the bedside. It is going to be challenging to keep him relaxed, I have to just remind myself how hard this is for him. Thank you all for your prayers, we need a lot of strength and patience in the next few weeks.

April 20, 2009

Hello all! I apologize for not writing in a while but things have been a little hectic. I was going to wright last night when the hospital called and said he was not doing well. They told me his blood pressure was down, he was not breathing very good and they could not wake him up. So Ron and I ran down there and sat with him for a while. It turned out that they had given him too much morphine and it was affecting all his stats. It is also why they were having a really hard time getting him to wake up. I am really upset that they are making mistakes like this and I will be having a meeting with the medical team tomorrow.

Today he was really good. He was not on any pain killers just a few Tylenol, and he was actually doing better than when they drugged him up. He is talking like crazy and is putting all his effort into getting out of the bed. It does get very frustrating when I cant understand what he is saying, but we are both trying to be more patient. (Mostly me). He is still fighting these strands of pneumonia and they say that it will be two weeks on antibiotics.

I had a wonderful vacation but it is good to be back. Thank you all for continuing to support and pray for us. Dad has a long way to go but I have so much hope that he will be fine.

Saturday Snow Day April 18th

Steve was not doing real great today if you follow the stats. His heart rate climbed despite a test of an inhaler drug. He was breathing a lot faster than the machine also. A low grade temp was also evident. He was not awake much today but was stretching and, of course, pulling on his IV tubes.

Andi flew in tonite and we stopped in to see Steve. He beamed! There is something about that girl. Welcome Back Andi!

They gave Steve a shot to slow things down and it was kicking in quickly and he nodded off. Thanks for your prayers and caring about him.

Another Big Snow Day-April 17, 2009

Steve got medicine to slow down his heart rate which made him very tired so he slept away the morning . His heart is beating too fast and the meds for that make his blood pressure drop. It is a bit of a vicious circle.
He started waking up around 1:30 and wanted to talk. He was wide awake for about 15 minutes and then just like someone shut off a switch he was asleep. That was how we spent the afternoon.
Except for his heart beating too fast, the staff reports were all good. The infection specialist believes they have found an 'antibiotic cocktail' that will kill the pneumonia germs. The respiratory therapist was keeping him coughing and the mucus seemed to be loosening up. His temperature was normal to low grade fever which he said is a good indication the pneumonia is presently under control. The dietician is pleased that he is gaining protein and one physician said that Steve may continue to have ups and downs but right now things are starting to look up again.
We praise God for that! Please continue to pray for all of us and especially Steve and Andi as we continue to go through this time of Steve's illness.
Laurie Bartenhagen (sister-in-law)

A Day of Rest-April 16th

Today Steve slept mostly. They gave him a pain med in the morning and it pretty much kept him sleeping all day. Vitals were good most of the day. In the evening the meds were wearing thin and he awoke for a few minutes while Laurie was there. He asked for a toothbrush and he gave the mouth and teeth a good cleaning. Shortly thereafter, he dropped off to sleep.

It was great he had visitors yesterday while he was awake. Today would have been a non-event for visitors. Weather is turning to rain and snow here, once again. Ah, spring in Denver, CO. If you wish to send cards, send them to his house as his care givers are living there and will deliver fresh notes quickly and efficiently. 2789 S. Adams Denver, CO 80210 (thanks Brock for reminding me to post this)

Keep praying that the antibiotics will knock out the pneumonia. Thanks for all your prayers and for caring. God is in control. Eph 2:8-9

Standing if for Andi who is enjoying much warmer weather (go girl!!) Uncle Dave.

Tax DAY 2009

Greetings. Steve continues his battle to heal and to fight off the two new strains of pneumonia. One is a super-strain so they are very concerned that the antibiotic tools they have available are powerful enough to knock it out. His temperature is near normal but that does not mean all is well. He pulled his chest drain out last nite and they decided to watch is ventilator stats and leave it out. He still shows a leak from the surgery so that is a problem.
He had four visitors today! He smiles at every familiar face that comes in the door. He is a bit self conscious what with all the tubes and that he cannot talk. As an added bonus today, his teeth were still blue from the dye tests yesterday. Thanks for coming!
He wants to get up and go. He is quite a hand full as he is always trying to get his legs over the side of the bed rail. Physical therapy gave him a workout today but he did not slow down his effort to "make a break for it".
Tonite the plan is to install a simpler more streamlined trach tube. Hopefully it will be more comfortable and therefore less of one more thing that needs to be pulled on. They have increased his calorie intake in order to give his body the best chance to fight and heal.
Thanks again for prayers. He has not received many cards but the ones he has are displayed prominently. Hint, Hint.

April 14th -

Greetings and thanks for checking in. Your guest blogger for today is Dave as Andi has taken a much needed (and deserved!) break. She has returned home for a few days of R & R.

Steve is settling into his new digs and today was filled with lots of activity. Speech therapy was in several times (Steve was not the most cooperative-she would ask the same basic questions and he would look at her with contempt!) and testing and evaluating.
Respiratory tech was in a LOT as he is breathing too fast for the machine and it has alarms sounding at frequent intervals. We met with staff this AM before Andi left and they are treating him for a tough strain of pneumonia. Yes, a different one that is hard to treat. If you pray for nothing else during the next few days, be sure to cover this one. They are testing to find the best drug to combat it.
He was awake and busy this afternoon. With the fever from the infection, he is hot but active. He is frustrated with being there and all the restrictions. Impatient with the long time (he only knows the last few weeks at best) it has taken to recuperate, he wants to go home. The lipreading is not easy for either side of that game, either.

Thanks for all your kind words, comments, and prayers. It sure helps to encourage all of us in the family and will be cherished forever.

April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!!!

Love to All!

April 11, 2009

I know I said I would not update I just wanted to give a little more info about where we are. It is a pretty confusing hospital but the best thing to do is go to the "B" elevators and take that to the 5th floor. Then turn right and right again and he is 5201. We are still getting used to the new staff and how they operate. It is very different from the ICU and will take time. I am hoping that with a few more days things will calm down and be easier. Dad is doing good, just very aggravated with everything around him. Once we start physical therapy he should start to relax.

April 10, 2009

We are in our new home! He made the big move at about 1:00 pm. So far he does not seem to realize what is going on. He is talking a little but mostly sleeping. As the weekend goes on he will be evaluated by different doctors and departments. On Monday he will see the physical therapists and occupational therapist. I don't expect that much else will happen this weekend so I may not update the blog for a day or two. But if there are any questions I will update sooner. They tell me that they will try to put him in a chair everyday and do as much as he can handle. They will also start trying to wean him off the ventilator as much as he can handle. I am very optimistic about the new facility, and will continue to hope that this will work better than expected. His room number is 5201 and we are now at St. Luke's hospital. It is right across the street from where he was before. They are doing construction so it is a little difficult to get to, but you can park in the downstairs lot and ask the front desk for directions. Thank you for your prayers, its still hard to believe that we have got this far. He has made such great progress and we need the prayers to continue to make more.

April 9, 2009

Today we made some big plans. They think that he will be moving at 10:00AM tomorrow. I hope they stay with that time. In my experience with the hospital time does not mean much!! It will be really exciting if we do get to move. Dad got his feeding tube put in his stomach today so he wont have to worry about it being in his nose anymore. They gave us pictures of the inside of his stomach but I did not think any one would like to see that! He continues to talk up a storm, but at least he is making more sense today. He was really worried that we sold his motorcycle but very relieved when we told him it was still in the garage. I will let you know what his new room is and how he likes his new room. Again, hoping that we get there. Thank you all for your support and prayers and hopefully I can start reporting some big accomplishments.

April 8, 2009

Hello, today was pretty good. Dad was talking up a storm. I am getting much better at reading lips but we still have a little trouble sometimes. The nakedness continues so tomorrow I am going to bring him some underwear to help with that! The kidney doctors have cleared him and he is free to go. So tomorrow they should be moving the feeding tube from in his nose and put it right in his stomach. Then they will let that sit for a day to make sure it works, and if all goes right he should move on Friday. Luckily I will have uncle Rolland here this weekend to help with the chaos. I am really looking forward to this move, I have a feeling it will be really good for my dad. I think he is looking forward to it but I don't think he understands entirely. I think he just wants to go home. He thinks he feels good and should be able to leave, but the doctors are trying to explain why he is still there. Thank you all for your support and prayers it is really helping dad.

April 7, 2009

Today was kind of split in half. The first part was really good and the second was a little weird. Dad was very interactive today and even tried to write a little. It needs practice but he is trying. The doctors say he looks better than yesterday so lets keep on that trend. He watched some CNN and did a little exercise. However, later in the day he was saying his knee hurt and it was a little swollen. We will have to talk to the doctors about that tomorrow. The nurse gave him a pain killer for it and then he got weird. It seems like he was acting like a child and always had to be touching something. He also stopped answering questions and would just stair. I know the pain meds make him feel better but they really hurt his personality. We try not to give him them very often to avoid the strange behavior. Other wise he is healing well and hopefully we can move soon and work on getting off the ventilator. Keep up the positive thoughts and prayers. Thank you all!

April 6, 2009

We had a pretty nice day. Dad slept most of the morning but was pretty awake the rest of the day. Everyday he seems to become more alert and interact more. He watched a lot of baseball today and really seemed to enjoy it. I also brought a stress ball so that he had something else to do with his hands besides try to pull tubs out. His heart rate was down which was good but he still has this low fever that has no source. It is becoming a little easier to read his lips but still a challenge. I don't think he will be moving for a while longer, doctors still want to keep a close eye on him. Not many changes but he still needs all the prayers he can get. Thank you all for being there for us.

April 5, 2009

Dad had a pretty quiet day today. They did not move him like they were planning. The kidney doctors said he was not ready to leave and they wanted to just monitor him for a little while longer. That is fine by me. I would rather wait than move too soon and have something go very wrong. He moved into the chair again for a little while. His heart started to act a little weird so he had to go back to bed pretty quick. All the heart tests look fine they just think he is getting to restless and needs more fluid. After all that he was sleeping so heavy so we left. I hope he sleeps well tonight. The nurses say he stays up most of the night and sleeps during the day. I feel horrible he is awake and alone at night, so I have been trying to keep him up during the day. He is moving his legs a lot more, showing how strong he is getting every day. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts it continues to keep us strong and hopeful.

April 4, 2009

Well today we had a big accomplishment. They were able to put dad in a chair. It really helps to build his strength and it just feels good to get in a new position. Another big change today was we found out that they want to move him to a long term facility. However, this is not really a step in the right direction. The doctors and surgeons feel that there is nothing else the ICU can do for him. His lungs are still severely damaged and they have no idea when or even if they will heal. This facility will specialize on trying to get him off the vent if possible and doing some physical therapy. He has reached a point where he has stopped making improvements so they feel this facility may be able to help him more. We are going to stay optimistic and continue to pray that this will be positive. It will still be a long and hard recovery but I have so much faith that he will get better.

April 3, 2009

There were no changes today. However, that seams to be the problem. The doctors feel that he has stopped making improvements and that is becoming a worry. They are going to do a cat scan tomorrow to see if there is anything at all. He still has a leak in his lung which is being made worse by the ventilator, but he cant breath on his own so he is kind of stuck. His kidneys working again and the fact that he is awake and alert are good signs, but the lungs are still so bad. Nick and mom are here this weekend so we can all sit down and really talk this through with the doctors. I still have so much faith that this will all turn out ok. I just hope dad keeps fighting and trying to get better. Everyday I tell him how good he is doing and how much everyone loves him and he smiles every time. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts during this long journey!

April 2, 2009

Today was uneventful and that is nice. The ICU was pretty busy so we did not see the nurse very much and only saw the doctor for five minutes. He did not have dialysis because his kidneys look like they are working great. They will continue to check his blood everyday. They are pumping him full of nutrition to get him stronger and it really seams to be working. He managed to pull his feeding tube out again. Its very uncomfortable when they put it back in so I hope he is learning. But in the mean time they have to restrain his hands. He can lift his hands pretty high and we are doing exercises every day to get more movement out of him. His breathing seams to be doing very well and he is keeping good blood pressures. He seams to be on the road to recovery. Lets just hope he stays on it and does better than expected. Thank you all for your support and prayers and lets keep hoping for the best!

April 1, 2009

Wow the time is really flying, i can't believe its already April. Today was quiet. They gave dad some pain killers so he slept for most of the day. They also gave him dialysis and that really wipes him out. Its strange because the blood tests all came back good but the doctors still did the dialysis. I don't understand but it cant hurt him. Also while I was at lunch with Walt and Steve dad managed to pull his feeding tube out. I guess he just cant sit still. They got it back in and he got food all day. He is still on the vent that allows him to breath on his own with assistance so it shows that he is getting stronger. They are going to continue to watch his lungs very closely because they are still very damaged. We are making small steps but he is working on getting better. Thank you all for your support and prayers, its helping so much.