Monday, July 27, 2009

Banana man

ALRIGHT - so I've got a lot to catch you all up on.

Last post was 'The Puss'.... The civic thought dad had an infection. WELL - Turns out, they had it completely wrong.

Remember that day operation where they tried to put a stint into his bile duct? But they couldn't find any blockages? Toronto wanted a summary of the doctors report from that operation. But Ottawa wouldn't send it (or was taking too long). So, they demanded that my dad come down to Toronto - especially with this potential 'Puss' issue.


That pick to the right is how yellow my dad was before he left for Toronto.  BTW - Look how insane my dad's scar looks!!!!  You can bare see it.  My scar is still in full force.

Anyhow, dad got to Toronto and Toronto decided to do all the tests and operations over again because they don't trust the Civic.

It took some digging, but they found a serious blockage in my dad's bile ducts. They installed a stint and dad feels AMAAAAZING!

Moral of the story - The Ottawa Civic Hospital needs a serious punch in the face and balls. Seriously - the Civic has ONLY BEEN A THORN IN OUR SIDE. The Civic's saving grace are their incredible nurses (1 in 3). They are the diamond in the rough.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

The Puss

Dad had really high blood pressure yesterday morning. He called Tele-Health and told a nurse about it. Their response was, 'If your temperature spikes, go to the ER immediately.'

A few hours later my dad's temperature spiked, so they headed off to the ER. He was there all evening, all morning and he's been there all day today. They've now moved him to the third floor temporarily.

After a bunch of tests, they found what they think has been causing my dad's issues... a abscess on my dad's liver. Its like a giant sack of puss... like a big pimple.

They immediately put him on IV anti-biotic. They've informed Toronto. He will have to go to Toronto for further care. Not sure when... we're waiting to hear back from Toronto.

Despite this - my dad is in GREAT spirits. He physically feels fine and his mind/spirit are in a great place. It sucks that there's another complication... but its so good to hear my dad being positive about it.

I'll keep you posted.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Good & Bad News!

Dad had is day operation yesterday and he's well.

They got the wire in... got to the bile ducts and... no problems. So dad didn't have to have any stints installed. They bailed on the operation and told him they'd report back to Toronto.

So, obviously its both good and bad news that dad's bile ducts are ok. It just means that the liver enzyme issues are coming from somewhere else. The elephant in the room is his Hep-C. If it his Hep-C... his options are limited. Chemo - or new transplant. Actually, I'm not sure they'd even do another transplant if his Hep-C is this aggressive.

Anyhow - I'll keep you all posted.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Day Surgery

Hey all - Dad's doing fantastic.

He picked me up on Saturday for breakfast - just the boys. It was good. Actually - its the first time my dad and I have hung out since the surgery - just him and I. He was totally blues'd out - Harley Davidson hat, crazy sun glasses, jacket... and Stevie Ray Vaughan cranked. And I mean CRANKED. I think its hilarious. I'm so happy for him.

While dad is doing a ton better, he's still got two minor issues looming. His potassium levels are REALLY high. That's dangerous because your heart could stop beating. Not much my dad can do about that other than not eating bananas and drinking lots of water.

Also - some liver enzyme is totally out of whack. TOTALLY. Apparently there's a problem with his bile ducts. They are shrinking.

Your bile ducts are these big veiny things that leave flow bile to and from your liver. When a living donor is used, because of the anatomy of the liver (they're only using 70% of a liver), the procedure isn't as flawless as a cadaver liver (whole liver from a diseased patient). And this is one of the common issues... some of the bile ducts can shrink.

Easy fix though. Similar to an angioplasty, my dad will have a long wire shoved down his throat (I believe) all the way to his liver. Its actually twice as long as the angioplasty wire. Once the wire reaches the bile ducts, they'll install stints that will expand the ducts. Its day surgery. Pray that the procedure goes without a hitch.

The doctors seem to think that this procedure will help my dad recover even quicker.

Also - my dad's Hep C is still lurking. Its already started to act quickly on his new liver. He's not in any danger yet... but its possible that in the next few months, he may have to go on a heavy CHEMO treatment. My dad really really doesn't want to. Its pretty hardcore - he'll be very sick for many months again... and that's the last thing he wants right now. Pray that the Hep-C will disappear and be a non-issue.

Anyhow - there's an update. I should post pictures so y'all can see how he's doing. He's getting fat again!!! So awesome! He doesn't use his cane as much anymore. All very positive.