10/29/2019 11:09 a.m. Clint, Caleb, and I are tired this morning. They have Caleb's pain controlled fairly well. They are switching from morphine to another drug because the morphine is making him nauseous. They said 7-10 days post op before he can go home. He had a nurse last night who had a collapsed lung when he was younger. He took excellent care of Caleb. Prayer needs: Caleb is having bladder emptying issues due to the anesthesia and morphine. He has the urge, but he can't let it go. They have switched to another pain management drug. Please pray he can void his bladder on his own tomorrow. They had to catheterize him until then to avoid damage to his bladder. Also pray Clint and Caleb can get some decent rest.
Caleb needed a change of position last night.
The two chest drains
They help drain the yuk and also keep his lung inflated.
Caleb has to get up to walk at least three times today.
This helps facilitate drainage of his chest cavity.
9:22 p.m. Caleb had a very full day. He walked around the floor three times, sat in the chair for extended periods, and used his spirometer every hour. The pain from this activity took a lot out of him. His surgeon said he is doing very, very well.
Every time he moves, the tubes in his chest move. He has a lot of pain after walking or sitting up or lying still for too long. Pretty much everything he does causes him pain right now. The pain wakes him up. He can press his pain button every ten minutes for a dose of morphine. He said the morphine worked much, much better after his appendectomy than it has for this.
Caleb had just managed to get a rest from the pain,
and the nurse came right then to get him up to walk again.
He is on morphine and percocet still. The surgeon refused to change his meds like the other doctor and a nurse wanted. The surgeon said the other options they have will not cover the pain enough for Caleb to rest. Caleb will have to live with the side effects or hurt worse. Even with the pain pump, his pain is mostly around a 5/6. That is about the best they can get it right now. He is eating, but it is not as much as normal due to the pain.
The reason it hurts so much, besides the very obvious internal scraping, surgical hole, and two drain holes with moving tubes in his chest, is that he has a very thick wall of dense muscle. This is surgery where being older would be an asset. The pain will have him on meds for two months or longer.
Caleb's toes are improving.
Clint is napping when Caleb naps so he can tend to him when needed. I nap when I can so I can keep them company at night.
Tip from a wound nurse: Benadryl also works on pain receptors. Good to know!
I keep getting this question: Why did/does Caleb's lung keep collapsing? "Tall young men are at increased risk of developing primary spontaneous pneumothorax; researchers suggest that rapid growth of the chest during growth spurts may increase the likelihood of forming blebs." source
Tip from a wound nurse: Benadryl also works on pain receptors. Good to know!
I keep getting this question: Why did/does Caleb's lung keep collapsing? "Tall young men are at increased risk of developing primary spontaneous pneumothorax; researchers suggest that rapid growth of the chest during growth spurts may increase the likelihood of forming blebs." source
Please pray the side effects of the anesthesia and morphine wear off so Caleb can void his bladder on his own tomorrow. He was discouraged because he saw having the catheter put back in as a step backward. We tried to encourage him that having the morphine is worth the easy to manage side effect which will hopefully be short lived.
10/20/2019 8:33 a.m. Soreness from the surgery site has set in for Caleb. It is expected and normal, but it is making things harder. He needed more help getting into position to eat this morning. It took some time for him to recover pain wise from that. Caleb also had itching all over last night. It is another side effect to the morphine. They gave him Benadryl. It will be excruciating. Both Caleb and Clint were able to get better rest last night. God has sent us good people to help all along the way of this journey. Please pray for my son's pain relief and ability to void his bladder on his own today.
9:50 a.m. Caleb's surgery/drain sites look very good. He will have the first drain tube out tomorrow. The second tube will come out on Friday. He will have morphine at least until both tubes are removed. They are coming to get Caleb for his first walk soon. It will be excruciating, but it is necessary. They gave Caleb a big lung pillow to support his arm to take some weight off of his surgery side.
10:30 a.m.
Caleb says THANK YOU for everything. He's looking whipped in the picture, but he is fighting hard mentally. The pain from the surgery has set in. It's bad because the surgery went through a thick wall of dense muscle.The big lung pillow is to take the weight of his arm off of that side. Xray shows his lung is doing well. Caleb is still on the morphine. He still has to get up and walk three times today. It's going to be a challenging day, but God will get him through it. The next few days will be tough. We are asking for NO VISITORS. It hurts to talk. It hurts to breathe. This is one time where company and laughter are not good medicine.
4:20 p.m. God is answering prayers! Caleb feels a lot better! His pain with the morphine is 0. He looks less like a "zombie" (Clint's words) and is able to do more for himself. He is moving around more. He did great on his 5th walk by walking longer and faster. There is a drastic difference from this morning to now. Thank you for praying for Caleb. We were hoping to see improvement for Caleb sometime tomorrow, but God brought relief a few hours ago!
7:00 p.m. I was able to talk to Clint on the phone for 45 minutes. He said, "It happened so fast. It was like a switch was thrown." Caleb's change today was drastic and sudden. This is God! This is why we ask for prayer! He deserves all of our praise! I am thankful to everyone who interceded for my son. Please send an email (see header), and let us know how we can pray for you and yours.
10/31/2019:
Day 4 Lunch; Better Appetite
12:31 p.m. I am directing everyone here because it is easier on me than updating all of the different pages.
Well, they changed things on us again. Caleb did not get the catheter out yesterday. We were then told it would come out today. They have now said it will come out tomorrow. They do not want to pull it out and have to reinsert it. It is very embarrassing for a young man. The problem he is having is very common and is due to the anesthesia and morphine. He is still on the morphine and is having to use it, but it is giving him much better pain control. He slept the best he's slept last night. They took the IV out of his neck today too.
The x-ray this morning showed a bit of space between Caleb's lung wall and his chest cavity. We are trying to learn if this is new, or if it has been there and is something that has not resolved that is required to resolve. This is the first we've heard of it. We were told his lung was fully inflated after every morning's x-ray. We are waiting on answers. If we get them, I will update shortly afterwards.
Because of that space, they do not want to take the first drain tube out today. The suction on the two drain tubes help keep his lung inflated. The new plan is to take the first drain out tomorrow. It all goes well, they will take the second drain out Saturday. He did really well on his first walk today. He may be able to come home on Sunday, but it might be Monday or even Tuesday now. He is able to have visitors starting with family tonight. Tomorrow, anyone is welcome.
Please pray this surgery works for Caleb. We do not want him to have to go through this long, and very painful ordeal again. If it does not work, the doctor will want to do the talc abrasion even though it carries a risk of cancer. That's why they prefer to do it on much older people. The hospital does not do the doxycycline or other types of chemical abrasion, so we will have to find a new hospital and a new doctor.
The NP came and answered our question. She went over all of the x-rays with Clint. The air space has been there since pre-op. They are giving it another day in hopes that space closes a little more. They do not want to pull it prematurely and have his lung collapse. Even if it doesn't go down by tomorrow, they are still pulling the one tube out. The air will be reabsorbed. The only thing that will keep the tube from being pulled tomorrow is if the space gets bigger, but they do not see that happening because there is no leakage around his drain tubes.
In the middle of all of this, we found another first cousin we didn't know existed! Isn't God good!
11/1/2019:
Caleb was so happy to see Bethany and Brandon last night! Bethany got up at 5 a.m. and hung out with Brandon all day at work in order to be able to go see Caleb. Caleb took his 9th walk and did very well. Waiting on the tube removal helped...the air space in his lung closed more overnight. They took out one drain tube and his catheter this a.m. Tomorrow, if the x-ray looks good, the second drain tube should come out. Things are moving along in the right direction!
11/3/2019 6:27 am: If you or someone you love have ever been in the hospital, you would not be surprised by the next sentence. Yesterday we were told Caleb could come home by the surgeon, and then four hours later we were told he could not come home by the head nurse. It was disappointing but necessary.
The second drain tube and the morphine pump were pulled. The surgeon said the x-ray shows the air space is gone. This is better than we expected.
They have switched him from morphine to hydrocodone and tramadol. The head nurse wanted to make sure Caleb's pain will be managed well with those two drugs before he goes home.
Caleb's lungs and lung cavity are still bleeding and inflamed from the procedure and will be for a good while. We knew this going into it. Normally, one would work to reduce inflammation to ease pain. This time, we want his chest wall and lung to stay inflamed as long as possible to help knit the two together. So, Caleb cannot have anything that reduces inflammation.
end of chest tube showing how much was inside of Caleb's chest
This is an involved and extremely painful surgery Caleb had. The recovery takes months. He can still be on pain medication for 2 to 3 months past hospital release. Longer is possible. Please pray this surgery works, so they do not have to repeat it.
Amanda worked an especially demanding 12 hour night shift,
and then drove to Norfolk to spend the entire day with her "little" brother.
Brandon spent Friday night in the hospital with Caleb.
Lunch Day 6
He feels a lot better with both tubes out.
He could feel them moving inside of him when he'd move around.
He could feel them moving inside of him when he'd move around.
11/4/2019:
Taken 11/3: Caleb and Joshua enjoying the cards sent to Caleb.
Caleb arrived home late yesterday afternoon! All of his siblings were at home waiting for him when he arrived. I had his requested meal of Mama Asbell's Lasagna and three each of two different pies waiting. It was a happy reunion followed by a celebratory feast!
Caleb has a ways to go, but his surgeon said he is doing better than average! His lung and chest cavity are still inflamed and bleeding which was the goal as the two knit together. His body can absorb the fluid at this point. He can not have any anti-inflammatories.
Most patients are on hydrocodone and tramadol for a month after leaving the hospital which is why doctors do not let them drive or return to work. We were told to expect him to be on heavy pain killer for up to a month while needing pain relief for 2-3 months total.
Caleb has Rxs for both hydrocodone and tramadol but has not filled them. His pain level is 0 which has to be God answering prayers for his pain to be diminished. The surgeon and nurses could not believe the sudden change in his pain level that came after I asked everyone to pray. Thank you all again!
He is already at work on his college this morning!
He is having problems regulating his body temperature which could be from the blood loss or the weight loss from the events of the past month that put his BMI too low. His lung collapsed three times in October. The third time was right before his surgery.
Caleb has to get an x-ray of his lungs later this week. He can do that locally. Next Monday, he goes back to the hospital in Norfolk to see his surgeon. We are asking for prayers for a good report.
4:20 p.m. Caleb was allowed to take his bandage off and get his FIRST SHOWER since Sunday night! It felt "pretty good!" There is a concern with his incision sites. When I removed his bandage, it looked like he is developing a SSI (surgical site infection). I asked friends who are nursing professionals (one a wound care specialist), and they said it does look like an infection is trying to get started. We have cleaned and treated them with the Rx ointment given to us. We will use wound cleaner again later tonight. Clint, Caleb, and I will assess it in the morning and take action if necessary.
His return to the hospital is Monday, November 11.
Caleb has a ways to go, but his surgeon said he is doing better than average! His lung and chest cavity are still inflamed and bleeding which was the goal as the two knit together. His body can absorb the fluid at this point. He can not have any anti-inflammatories.
Most patients are on hydrocodone and tramadol for a month after leaving the hospital which is why doctors do not let them drive or return to work. We were told to expect him to be on heavy pain killer for up to a month while needing pain relief for 2-3 months total.
Caleb has Rxs for both hydrocodone and tramadol but has not filled them. His pain level is 0 which has to be God answering prayers for his pain to be diminished. The surgeon and nurses could not believe the sudden change in his pain level that came after I asked everyone to pray. Thank you all again!
He is already at work on his college this morning!
He is having problems regulating his body temperature which could be from the blood loss or the weight loss from the events of the past month that put his BMI too low. His lung collapsed three times in October. The third time was right before his surgery.
Caleb has to get an x-ray of his lungs later this week. He can do that locally. Next Monday, he goes back to the hospital in Norfolk to see his surgeon. We are asking for prayers for a good report.
4:20 p.m. Caleb was allowed to take his bandage off and get his FIRST SHOWER since Sunday night! It felt "pretty good!" There is a concern with his incision sites. When I removed his bandage, it looked like he is developing a SSI (surgical site infection). I asked friends who are nursing professionals (one a wound care specialist), and they said it does look like an infection is trying to get started. We have cleaned and treated them with the Rx ointment given to us. We will use wound cleaner again later tonight. Clint, Caleb, and I will assess it in the morning and take action if necessary.
His return to the hospital is Monday, November 11.
THANK YOU EVERYONE for EVERYTHING
you have done for Caleb and our family!!
THANK YOU FOR THE MEALS, GIFTS, CARDS, TRANSPORTATION, ERRANDS, and ETC!
Thank you to those who helped me fulfill my commitments
and keep things moving forward!
THANK YOU TO CFA for the 30!!! meal cards!!
you have done for Caleb and our family!!
THANK YOU FOR THE MEALS, GIFTS, CARDS, TRANSPORTATION, ERRANDS, and ETC!
Thank you to those who helped me fulfill my commitments
and keep things moving forward!
THANK YOU TO CFA for the 30!!! meal cards!!
