Friday, December 31, 2010
Out of surgery
He's out of surgery now and back in his room. The left the incision open to enable the doctor to go back in after a day or 2 and do any 'mop up' - apparently this is standard procedure.
One day at a time
My father is such a good person to bounce ideas around with - he's calm, rational and has had enough life experience to help you understand your options. Options are good he'd say - and don't make any irreversible mistakes. Words to live by really...
Today is difficult. I don't understand how we got here - and to quote my dad again "it don't matter." We find ourselves in a place we'd rather not be. This morning an abdomenal CT scan revealed the feeding tube is not making a good seal and the fluids from his stomach are leaking into his abdomen. These fluids are toxic to his system and have caused an infection. I'm not sure what the signs were that prompted the doctors and nurses to realize something was wrong, but about an hour ago, he was wheeled into the operating room.
The surgery will take about 3 hours and should be completed around 1 pm central time. His surgeon will be first 'fixing' the 'seal' to prevent additional leakage and then irrigating his abdomenal cavity to 'wash way' the bad stuff. They will follow up with antibiotics. If you're brave google it (sepsis), but if your not - pray, cross your fingers, slaughter a goat or do whatever it is that's meaningful to you when asking for help. It's a managable condition, but serious none-the-less.
Some say the lord doesn't give us more than we can handle - no more please, I've had enough.
Today is difficult. I don't understand how we got here - and to quote my dad again "it don't matter." We find ourselves in a place we'd rather not be. This morning an abdomenal CT scan revealed the feeding tube is not making a good seal and the fluids from his stomach are leaking into his abdomen. These fluids are toxic to his system and have caused an infection. I'm not sure what the signs were that prompted the doctors and nurses to realize something was wrong, but about an hour ago, he was wheeled into the operating room.
The surgery will take about 3 hours and should be completed around 1 pm central time. His surgeon will be first 'fixing' the 'seal' to prevent additional leakage and then irrigating his abdomenal cavity to 'wash way' the bad stuff. They will follow up with antibiotics. If you're brave google it (sepsis), but if your not - pray, cross your fingers, slaughter a goat or do whatever it is that's meaningful to you when asking for help. It's a managable condition, but serious none-the-less.
Some say the lord doesn't give us more than we can handle - no more please, I've had enough.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Dec 30
Thank goodness I have a day off tomorrow! Sooo tired.
Well, we learned what the 'episode' last night was all about. He threw a blood clot. Thankfully, it did not make it's way to his head or heart but did land in his lungs making it ever so hard to breathe. The doctors have put him on blood thinners and we hope it's the end of that - forever. The doctors ordered cultures, did a chest x-ray and another CT scan to figure it out.
This morning they decided to move him back to the ICU, I don't believe because his condition deteriorated, but rather because he requires so much attention it's better for a nurse to care for 1 or 2 difficult patients rather than for a nurse to try to care for my dad and 4 other patients.
The CT scan showed little change to the bruising in his brain, it hasn't gotten too much better, but hasn't gotten worse either.
He spent most of the day sedated and is resting comfortably. It's a nice break for my mom who was able to get some bills paid and process some paperwork.
There is a storm raging in Fargo today and the highways have been shut down. My mom said the wind is blowing so much it's a complete white out and caused a 100 car pile-up because drivers couldn't see 2 car lengths in front of them. A good night to hunker down and get some much needed rest.
Well, we learned what the 'episode' last night was all about. He threw a blood clot. Thankfully, it did not make it's way to his head or heart but did land in his lungs making it ever so hard to breathe. The doctors have put him on blood thinners and we hope it's the end of that - forever. The doctors ordered cultures, did a chest x-ray and another CT scan to figure it out.
This morning they decided to move him back to the ICU, I don't believe because his condition deteriorated, but rather because he requires so much attention it's better for a nurse to care for 1 or 2 difficult patients rather than for a nurse to try to care for my dad and 4 other patients.
The CT scan showed little change to the bruising in his brain, it hasn't gotten too much better, but hasn't gotten worse either.
He spent most of the day sedated and is resting comfortably. It's a nice break for my mom who was able to get some bills paid and process some paperwork.
There is a storm raging in Fargo today and the highways have been shut down. My mom said the wind is blowing so much it's a complete white out and caused a 100 car pile-up because drivers couldn't see 2 car lengths in front of them. A good night to hunker down and get some much needed rest.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Distraction Anyone?
Well, I feel a little silly recording our daily goings-on, when the other posts are a little more serious and relevant. But I hope that this brings a small distraction to mainly JoAnne, but anyone else who scrolls through our little blog.
Haven, my 16 year old brother has been helping us babysit a little, while he is on Christmas break and while our nanny is at home for the holidays. Anyway, today I came home from work after a quick 4 hour shift to my boys. Carver, obviously starving after not eating for about an hour, starts to whine a little as I walk through the door. Axel gives me his normal gaurd dog bark, but doesn't bother to get off the couch to see if I really am dangerous because he is just too comfortable. Ollie comes running around the corner, telling me all about his nap and the past hour of fun he has had with uncle Haven (at least that is what I am assuming he babbled off to me). I head to the living room to deal with Carver's growing hunger and Haven hands him over...happily, I am sure. As I take him, I realize that his baby onsie has been fastened over top of his baby pants. I give a little laugh and ask Haven "what's up with the new look?" His answer..."Well, I put his pants on after changing his diaper and when I realized he had a onsie on, I didn't feel like taking his pants off again so I just buttoned it over them". I don't know if this little story transfers through the blog, but my goodness, I had a laugh. I can't imagine the burden facing Haven when he realized he might have to take off Carvers pants again!
Besides that, Andy has worked two very long days at the brewery since we returned from our ND adventure, but he still manages to get home around dinner time, give the boys and myself a little love before he disappears to bed and the snores fill the house. I, thankfully, have a work laptop and am able to work from home during this slow time and not create too much stress for the new babysitter!
Haven, my 16 year old brother has been helping us babysit a little, while he is on Christmas break and while our nanny is at home for the holidays. Anyway, today I came home from work after a quick 4 hour shift to my boys. Carver, obviously starving after not eating for about an hour, starts to whine a little as I walk through the door. Axel gives me his normal gaurd dog bark, but doesn't bother to get off the couch to see if I really am dangerous because he is just too comfortable. Ollie comes running around the corner, telling me all about his nap and the past hour of fun he has had with uncle Haven (at least that is what I am assuming he babbled off to me). I head to the living room to deal with Carver's growing hunger and Haven hands him over...happily, I am sure. As I take him, I realize that his baby onsie has been fastened over top of his baby pants. I give a little laugh and ask Haven "what's up with the new look?" His answer..."Well, I put his pants on after changing his diaper and when I realized he had a onsie on, I didn't feel like taking his pants off again so I just buttoned it over them". I don't know if this little story transfers through the blog, but my goodness, I had a laugh. I can't imagine the burden facing Haven when he realized he might have to take off Carvers pants again!
Besides that, Andy has worked two very long days at the brewery since we returned from our ND adventure, but he still manages to get home around dinner time, give the boys and myself a little love before he disappears to bed and the snores fill the house. I, thankfully, have a work laptop and am able to work from home during this slow time and not create too much stress for the new babysitter!
Traumatic Brain Injury does not cure smoking
Yes, wishful thinking - some good has to come from all of this. 3 weeks in ICU on a ventilator and after 24 hours on a 'regular' floor he's begun motioning to go outside for a smoke. Perhaps its muscle memory telling him to bring his fingers to his lips or nicotine addiction is really that strong - but for those of us who thought three weeks without a smoke would be a good start toward quitting - we're probably wrong.
Dec 29
Today was a mixed bag. Around 4 am my dad pulled out his feeding tube - some more of that uninhibited misbehaving I mentioned yesterday. He did go back to the OR for a quick procedure around 4 pm this afternoon to have it reinserted and that seemed to go well.
The good news is the Respiratory Therapist was able to turn off his ventilator for about 8 hours today! He needs to be off the ventilator for 3 full days before they will release him to the rehab facility - so today felt very promising in that regard!
His hands are not restrained, but they did put on some 'mittens' to try and keep him from pulling at his tubes (did I mention he pulled out the catheter before leaving ICU and also has been pulling at the trach). The 'mittens' are almost like boxing gloves on on his fingers and palms with netting on the back of his hands. They are held on with velcro around the wrist and he's been using his teeth to try and pry the 'mittens' off. My mother-in-law mentioned a service whereby a doctor can order a 'sitter' someone to sit with him and try and prevent him from causing himself more surgeries to replace the things he's taken out - perhaps that is in our future. I think it would give my mom some peace of mind as she's been a soldier for 3 weeks now and this phase of recovery comes with exhausting new challenges.
Around 7 pm this evening his heartbeat shot up to about 140 bpm, his respiration doubled (about 50 breathes per minute) and he was running a temperature of 101.9. The nurses were able to give him some medication and bring his vitals down to more comfortable levels, but they didn't have an explanation as to why the incident happened in the first place. They did take a culture of the 'phlem' in his trach - there is a medical term for that - but don't have the results yet. He is on antibotics, so it seems unlikely he would have an infection, but with open wounds it's also not completely unreasonable. I haven't been able to find anything on the web linking this reaction to traumatic brain injury, but I'm not (yet) a neurologist. Hopefully tomorrow the doctors will be able to shed some light on the incident, or better yet, it was a fluke thing and doesn't happen again.
The good news is the Respiratory Therapist was able to turn off his ventilator for about 8 hours today! He needs to be off the ventilator for 3 full days before they will release him to the rehab facility - so today felt very promising in that regard!
His hands are not restrained, but they did put on some 'mittens' to try and keep him from pulling at his tubes (did I mention he pulled out the catheter before leaving ICU and also has been pulling at the trach). The 'mittens' are almost like boxing gloves on on his fingers and palms with netting on the back of his hands. They are held on with velcro around the wrist and he's been using his teeth to try and pry the 'mittens' off. My mother-in-law mentioned a service whereby a doctor can order a 'sitter' someone to sit with him and try and prevent him from causing himself more surgeries to replace the things he's taken out - perhaps that is in our future. I think it would give my mom some peace of mind as she's been a soldier for 3 weeks now and this phase of recovery comes with exhausting new challenges.
Around 7 pm this evening his heartbeat shot up to about 140 bpm, his respiration doubled (about 50 breathes per minute) and he was running a temperature of 101.9. The nurses were able to give him some medication and bring his vitals down to more comfortable levels, but they didn't have an explanation as to why the incident happened in the first place. They did take a culture of the 'phlem' in his trach - there is a medical term for that - but don't have the results yet. He is on antibotics, so it seems unlikely he would have an infection, but with open wounds it's also not completely unreasonable. I haven't been able to find anything on the web linking this reaction to traumatic brain injury, but I'm not (yet) a neurologist. Hopefully tomorrow the doctors will be able to shed some light on the incident, or better yet, it was a fluke thing and doesn't happen again.
Coming...
"Coming, coming, coming, coming" Ah the joys of a talking two year old. You find out the words you have said to them thousands of times, like its a recording. Apparently, Ollie is always waiting for something that is "coming". Ollie is repeating about every word that comes out of our mouth, so we have quickly deleted any swear words out of our vocabulary...to the best of our ability.
For Grammy Jo: "Grambo, bye-bye?" This is what Ollie discussed with me on his changing table this morning, while we did morning duty. I can almost understand Ollies little tantrums these days because he has been keeping all of this stuff in his brain until he could finally figure out how to get it out. As we all wait patiently for Don's brain to heal, I am constantly amazed by what it is really capable of. Especially when I have these chats with Ollie or when I hear about the strides Don is making toward recovery. Seeing Kier's post today, made me think of how Don's behavior is normal because I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to be a healing patient or a growing toddler. Ollie got a family book for Christmas so I am going to print some pictures from Thanksgiving and get them in there so his memory stays fresh for "Grambo" and pop-pop.
We had reheated waffles for breakfast, which makes me positive that Ollie has a serious sweet tooth...much like his mama and I'm not much help with all the baking that goes on around here either. He of course, ate the whole quarter section, got down, and proceeded to smear his syrup hands all over Carver before I could get a cloth! I learn something new everyday.
For Grammy Jo: "Grambo, bye-bye?" This is what Ollie discussed with me on his changing table this morning, while we did morning duty. I can almost understand Ollies little tantrums these days because he has been keeping all of this stuff in his brain until he could finally figure out how to get it out. As we all wait patiently for Don's brain to heal, I am constantly amazed by what it is really capable of. Especially when I have these chats with Ollie or when I hear about the strides Don is making toward recovery. Seeing Kier's post today, made me think of how Don's behavior is normal because I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to be a healing patient or a growing toddler. Ollie got a family book for Christmas so I am going to print some pictures from Thanksgiving and get them in there so his memory stays fresh for "Grambo" and pop-pop.
We had reheated waffles for breakfast, which makes me positive that Ollie has a serious sweet tooth...much like his mama and I'm not much help with all the baking that goes on around here either. He of course, ate the whole quarter section, got down, and proceeded to smear his syrup hands all over Carver before I could get a cloth! I learn something new everyday.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Dec 28
Today my dad had another surgery to replace the tracheotomy (3rd times a charm!) and was then moved to a 'regular' floor - room 339. He has a private room which is nice, and my mom can now bring her cellphone and computer in and set up her own portable office.
My dad is awake, which is good news, but the nurse described his behavior as uninhibited - which is generous. He's pulling at his trach, feeding tube, and catheter and generally misbehaving. This stage is not easy and during my short conversation with my mom she spend 85% of the time asking him 'please don't pull that...' and 'you need to leave that alone...' We were so eager for him to wake up, but are now thinking to ask for sedation medication! I understand this 'uninhibited' period is normal and for many, but not all, goes away in time or can be controlled with medication.
For me, yoga is the only thing keeping me sane. My lower back is painfully tight and causing the 'pregnant woman waddle'. Stretching for a good 30 minutes everyday is my salvation but with the holidays, I've gotten off schedule. Still happy to have the little one managably inside and waiting for those maternal instincts to kick in.
My dad is awake, which is good news, but the nurse described his behavior as uninhibited - which is generous. He's pulling at his trach, feeding tube, and catheter and generally misbehaving. This stage is not easy and during my short conversation with my mom she spend 85% of the time asking him 'please don't pull that...' and 'you need to leave that alone...' We were so eager for him to wake up, but are now thinking to ask for sedation medication! I understand this 'uninhibited' period is normal and for many, but not all, goes away in time or can be controlled with medication.
For me, yoga is the only thing keeping me sane. My lower back is painfully tight and causing the 'pregnant woman waddle'. Stretching for a good 30 minutes everyday is my salvation but with the holidays, I've gotten off schedule. Still happy to have the little one managably inside and waiting for those maternal instincts to kick in.
The Current Condition
Well, our little blog is quickly evolving into a home-base to keep up with whatever Liedberg you might be interested in...
Here is the latest email from Kiersten, which I feel gives the best overview of what has been happening in every Liedberg life since Dec 09. Again, thanks for all of the prayers, good wishes and support! Hopefully, this blog will keep Don and JoAnne company, through the upcoming months of rehab!
Here is the latest email from Kiersten, which I feel gives the best overview of what has been happening in every Liedberg life since Dec 09. Again, thanks for all of the prayers, good wishes and support! Hopefully, this blog will keep Don and JoAnne company, through the upcoming months of rehab!
Hi Fred,
Thank you for your email and our apologies for the delay in reaching out to you. I would never have wished for this tragedy to fall upon my family, but the absolute deluge of support has been inspirational. Folks from around the world, some of whom we haven’t spoken to in 20 years, are reaching out and showing their support for my dad and our family. It’s been amazing to read their messages and learn how he influenced their lives. I’m astounded my dad had as much time for me as he did, considering all that he’s done!
I do remember you and visiting your family’s home in … was it Texas ? I must have been just embarking on my teenage years and now I’m a wife, soon-to-be mother, homeowner, landlord, and working towards leadership in the philanthropic world… boy I wish I could revert back to those days when my parents paid the bills! But life has been beautiful… until December 9th (and will be again).
My dad is making a progress toward recovery, albeit at a very slow pace. When the accident occurred, he had lost consciousness for several minutes, was in and out but able to speak during the life flight from Jamestown to Fargo . The initial nurse told me he had put up quite a fight and they needed to sedate him to prevent further injury and allow his body time to heal. My husband and I flew out that Friday (the accident was on a Thursday) and he was in a medically induced coma for the first 72 hours. There are all kinds of horrible things that happen with traumatic brain injury (googling is scary) and keeping him calm is the best way to mitigate further damage. I left Fargo the following Wednesday and although the doctors had reduced his sedation medication, as much as his vital signs would allow (his heart rate and blood pressure would sky-rocket), he still wasn’t waking up.
On Saturday, Dec 18th he opened his eyes for a short time, but didn’t focus. On Sunday, he opened his eyes again and seemed to focus looking left and right from my mom to the nurse without turning his head (he still had a neck brace on at this point). The following Tuesday (Dec 20), the doctors put a tracheotomy (and feeding tube) in – a more permanent form of ventilator and pulled the tubes that went through his mouth and down his throat. This seemed to be an improvement for his comfort, but the message began to sink in on just how long the road ahead will be. The general anesthesia for the surgery did make him sleep for another 36 hours, but rest really is the best thing for his recovery – although patience isn’t my strong suit – nor my mother’s.
On Friday, December 24th my brother and his family arrived from MT and they had a very good visit with him and he was trying to speak. My brother said it sounded like he whispered “I want to leave” which is a good sign – an appropriate comment for someone in his situation - however the fact he was able to make any noise told the nurse his tracheotomy wasn’t working properly and she called the doctor in. An emergency surgery was performed about 10:30 pm on Christmas Eve, which knocked him out again until Saturday evening.
Yesterday, Dec 27 was a very good day. The replacement trach STILL wasn’t working properly – perhaps his large Adams Apple is affecting the contour of this throat and preventing the trach from making a ‘good’ seal, so the nurses put him on oxygen, and turned off the ventilator working through the trach. This allowed him to speak and also gave him the opportunity to ‘try’ breathing on his own, which he was able to do at this point without his vitals going through the roof. The nurse asked him who my mother is and he slowly whispered “JoAnne” – he was also able to say his last name although he still doesn’t know where he is, why or what day it is. He is also receiving PT as 3 weeks in bed severely reduces one’s muscle tone. The nurse said they had him dangling off the bed and he was like a wet noodle, unable to hold himself up. Little by little, with lots of work, this will come back.
Last night, they did put him back on the ventilator to help him get a good night’s rest. He does have doctor’s orders to move out of ICU once a ventilator-ready room becomes available (they are weaning him slowly). We like the one-on-one care of the ICU so don’t feel in any hurry to move him to a ‘regular’ floor although the fact his doctor put in the order does show progress. When he is able to breathe on his own (aided by oxygen, not the ventilator) and can swallow (the feeding tube is removed) then they will be able to send him home (PA) using a life-flight helicopter, we are hoping for mid-January.
No long-term prognosis has been made, but medical science has come a long way – although the brain still seems to be the ‘last frontier’ – and with rehab we hope he will make a full recovery. I broke my knee cap in 2005 and was in PT for 1.5 years so I do understand healing is an active process and requires a good deal of hard work and support. Today, I’m 98% of where I was. I would guess he’ll be in a rehab facility for several months helping his muscles work together, relearn language (the left temporal lobe was most badly damaged in the accident) and trying to reconnect all those synapses. Good thing he had a better-than-average brain to begin with.
My mom has been reading emails to him, sharing memories, names and places that are familiar to him to help jog his memory and start the help the healing process. If there is anything you wanted to share from the good old days, I’m sure she would enjoy reading your email to him. Don’t be discouraged if she doesn’t reply right away, I actually call the nurses directly for information sometimes as she is not allowed to use her cellphone in the ICU and I’d rather know she is sitting by his side than answering my call…
I hope this answers any ‘missing’ gaps of information – feel free to share it with others who would like to know more.
Nancy, (a friend who’s been our glue) please add Fred’s email to the distribution list.
Best,
Kiersten
Day One...
Ya, so as if I am not busy enough, I have decided to start a blog. I have absolutely no idea what I am doing but I am a quick learner and will hopefully be able to find my way around this little program.
I am starting this blog because Grammy Jo has found herself in Fargo, ND, a nice little town, in a horribly large state (just finished driving across it) helping Pop-pop Don get better from a car crash outside of Jamestown. Oddly enough, she never would have guessed she would spend any long amounts of time in Fargo, but the good Lord works in mysterious ways. So here we all are, supporting Pop-pop and Grammy Jo on this long journey back to good health!
How did we get here...I was sending her an Ollie-mail this morning and thought it might be nice for her to be able to keep up with us through a blog. That way I can record all of the nonsense that Ollie does everyday and she will most likely, love to read it. At least I will have one follower!
I am going to ask a friend, but I think she will also be able to post here and others who would like to follow our story. I know the email list is oh, so long when I get Don-updates so maybe this way, Nancy can point everyone this direction. Sorry everyone, but this means when you check up on Don and JoAnne, you will also have to read about the daily activites in this busy house. With two little boys, a very sweet puppy and of course Andy and I, with the aid of my little brother and our nanny! Stay tuned...it might be a very interesting ride!!
I am starting this blog because Grammy Jo has found herself in Fargo, ND, a nice little town, in a horribly large state (just finished driving across it) helping Pop-pop Don get better from a car crash outside of Jamestown. Oddly enough, she never would have guessed she would spend any long amounts of time in Fargo, but the good Lord works in mysterious ways. So here we all are, supporting Pop-pop and Grammy Jo on this long journey back to good health!
How did we get here...I was sending her an Ollie-mail this morning and thought it might be nice for her to be able to keep up with us through a blog. That way I can record all of the nonsense that Ollie does everyday and she will most likely, love to read it. At least I will have one follower!
I am going to ask a friend, but I think she will also be able to post here and others who would like to follow our story. I know the email list is oh, so long when I get Don-updates so maybe this way, Nancy can point everyone this direction. Sorry everyone, but this means when you check up on Don and JoAnne, you will also have to read about the daily activites in this busy house. With two little boys, a very sweet puppy and of course Andy and I, with the aid of my little brother and our nanny! Stay tuned...it might be a very interesting ride!!
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