Get better soon KSman
Still praying KSman!!
It’s not every day that you’ll have people looking forward to your gas!
Get well soon!
Thats good news (that he is getting better.) Hope you are healthy and back posting here very soon KSman. Your knowledge and help has been invaluable to many…
Hate to see such a good guy going through this, our thoughts and prayers are with you and family.
glad to hear things are looking up.
K.O.K.O. =]
from matttaylor
Re: KSman in ICU
Dean is getting up out of bed but still in an aided capacity. They had to put in what is called a PIC line in his upper right arm on the side closest to his rib cage. The vancomyacin and meropenum antibiotics were ‘blowing out’ his veins. He has been assigned a physical theraist to get him up and going since his lower intestines and stomach have not woken up yet. I suggested today that they reduce his pain meds (fenatenyl) so that his guts would be less sedated too. But later I heard that he asked for an increase in them. Thank goodness the doctor declined it for now. He is still not allowed visitors at this point. He’s still doing lots of opening his eyes for a few minutes and then dozing off. His heart rate is 97, BP is 144/92, good rspiration. They still have him on oxygen and he still has nasogastric extraction tube in. His temperature is normal. He has not had any more insulin shots since last night. His glucose levels have come down from 187 to 127. Dean is showing some signs of depression but hell who wouldn’t with all that they’ve put him through. The pain med could be a lot of that too. He told me on the phone today, ‘‘I think they might have almost killed me this week.’’ I said in reply, ‘‘Yes, they did.’’
Austin will be leaving today to go to a baseball game in KC with a friend. His presence with me these last few days has been so wonderful and I’m glad he woke up & realized he was needed here by Dean and I. I will never, ever forget the loving smile that came upon Dean’s face when he saw Austin here in his hospital room. Very moving.
We bought Dean some magnetic balls to play with & he seems to be liking them a lot today. We also bought him some gel wimdow clings to brighten his room and a solar powered crystal light catcher. Maxine gave him a stress ball and he’s been squeezing that this morning. The flowers that Linda mullens brought by for his room have been beautiful. The pink lily opened up so wide today. Like its almost smiling. Kay, your truffles are about gone. Austin had 2 or 3 and Uncle Rick had 1 or 2. Herb brought by a snack plate that literally disappeared the second it came in the house.
I hope you all are finding the updates nice to read. It’s sort of been like a diary of progress. Dean doesn’t know how many folks are pulling for him, but I’ve been letting him know about the prayers, the kind gifts and the wonderful word ‘friends’.
sent from my mobile device
thanks for the updates. this nightmare started with an obstructed bowel?? what’s up with that? how does a bowel get obstructed?? He’s going to have a stack of PMs to get through when he’s home. He’s helped me a ton. I went through a pretty tough stretch about six months ago. He really did me right.
Best of wishes for you and your family KSMAN.
Get better ksman…were all pulling for you!
Get well soon! Our thoughts are with you.
KSman in ICU
Well my evening went to hell tonight. I left the hospital in tears at 9;45 because the suction tube that is supposed to be taking bile and fluids off Deans stomach had stopped working on intermittent level. I’m not sure when it stopped working. I started off telling Dean about it first and he got angry w/ me when I told him to push the nurses button because he wanted to examine the hose first and troubleshoot it between the two of us before reporting it.
He’s in no mental mind to know this stuff like the normal dean. He dropped a stupid plastic spoon on his bed tonight and couldn’t even locate it but yet he wanted to troubleshoot a medical device. He had been complaining about increased abdominal pain today and timing the PCA pain deliveries when he was wakeful, so that as soon as it was time to hit the button, he did.
Since Dean came too he’s been very aggressive and harsh to me off and on. He has no idea what I’ve been going through and the things I’ve been doing to keep him alive. I’ve caught a few things that the doctors and nurses have not. It all took its toll on me this evening. I left the hospital without saying good-bye or anything. The nurse came in for something else and I told her I didn’t think the suction was working right on intermittent for his nasogastric tube and so she came over…turned the dial to continuous and said, ‘‘suction is working just fine.’’ I told her it’s not the continuous suction that’s the problem.
It’s intermittent that is not working. I watched the thing all ****ing week and it was gong off and on (interval mode) about every 8-10 mins. I waited for 30 mins tonight and nothing. When the nurse came in and turned it to continuous it started pulling a good deal of green bile off his stomach which should have proved right then it wasn’t working on interval mode. She said she’d get a charge nurse to look at it. CN came in and turned the thing to continuous and also argued that it was working.
I started to say, ‘‘Look i’ve been in here watching my husband for 5 days and nights and I know how that device is supposed to work…’’ but Dean told me to ‘‘shut up’’. So I did. I left the Hospital.
Dean never called me back this evening nor did the nurses.
Every time I’ve been to see Dean he doesn’t say a word to me, doesn’t want to talk, stares at the walls, puts a pillow over his head, closes his eyes…but he seems to interact with the nurses and everyone else with respect and smiles and thank you’s.
I know he’s depressed but it really, really seems like he gets even more depressed when I’m around.
I am so tired of this lifestyle my friends. It hurts and I am wearing down as I’m sure Dean is. Dean told the Occupational Therapist that he was ‘scared’ of the complications of his recovery and also of the high chance of the sepsis recurring. There is a 40-70 percent chance of the sepsis recurring over the next 7-12 months and that’s the most life threatening aspect of dean’s illness. He’s on the most powerful antibiotics known to man.
Fentanyl is also several times stronger than morphine although it wears off very quickly. I haven’t found anything that states that patients using Fentanyl are more aggressive but something has him adgitated
sent from my mobile device
The GREAT news is that Dean has farted AND pooped!! This is a huge milestone to his recovery. It means his stomach and intestines have woke up. Tomorrow they will most likely move him back to a room where he can begin accepting visitors. Today I asked Kay to go up and talk to Dean since I feel she can communicate with him medically on a level that I can not.
I don’t know what Kay & Linda said to Dean today but he was a changed man by the time I got here at 6:15 pm. I debated on even coming but I was starting to feel rotten not seeing Dean so after being in bed all day myself, I decided to come up. I am glad I did. Dean reached out for my hand as soon as he saw me come in his room. It was enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Then, Scott one of the nurses came in and I got real happy because he had taken good care of Dean when they moved him to ICU the first night. I told Scott about the suction for Deans nasogastric not working and he knew exactly what I was talking about and temporarily got it working again. Dean is doing very well I would say.
He no longer is on oxygen, his catheter for urine came out today and he’s already peed at least twice today. He still has a heart monitor on but it is a recording device that leads out to a nurses station…so I can’t read it. 
Dean also got out of bed and made two walks down a short (30 foot) hallway (walker assisted)…it really made my heart and mind sing for joy.
Thank you to all who reached out to us Sunday…
Thanks for the updates and I am so glad that Dean is getting better.
It does seem like it is tougher on the loved ones when someone is in the hospital. I am glad he seems to have realized he was shutting out the most important person in his life. Still praying!
hang in there my man,sorry to hear your having probs,
Thanks for the update. I hope that he has a rapid recovery.
Thank you!!! Stay strong !!
I don’t know KSman personally though it would be a privilege. His posts and others help save me when I was near dead from hormonal problems back when; and I’m sure there are countless others he has helped that he may not realize. I have been copying these posts from another forum and posting here because I know there are many here who do care.
I agree with CrazyCrew (and everyone else). I am a pretty new to this board and KSman was right there with some good advice very quickly after I posted. It is clear he has given a lot to this community. I wish him and his family all the best for a speedy recovery.