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Please Continue to Pray for Dad
By Jenny | March 1, 2007
We had a great visit with Mom & Dad last weekend. It was such a blessing for us all to be together. However, Mom & Dad both had a rough time while we were there - Mom was not getting any sleep, and Dad was pretty uncomfortable. They were hoping to go home to Atlanta this weekend, but got some discouraging news today at what they hoped would be his last appointment at the Mayo Clinic for a while.
Dr. Nguyen called the situation “disheartening.” After the surgery Dad had several tubes to collect drainage. The nurses were emptying 3-4 liters per day from the tubes, but Dr. Nguyen told us that the fluid had some important proteins, enzymes, and electrolytes that Dad’s body needed, so a few days before his discharge, the tubes were taken out. His abdomen became distended, and Dad’s waistline grew from 34 inches to 41 inches. All that fluid made him pretty uncomfortable (as you can imagine), and last Wednesday they tapped his stomach and removed 5 liters of the fluid. He thought this would give him immediate relief, but instead he suffered from severe cramping that night (from the loss of electrolytes), and was very fatigued all weekend. Evidently, his liver desperately needs the nutrition from this fluid, and right now it is not getting it. The CT scan and lab work today showed that his liver could fail (worst case scenario) if it doesn’t get these nutrients from the fluid. Forgive my poor medical understanding….it seems that his body needs to make connectors of some sort to get the fluid to the liver. I don’t know how that works, but that’s what we’re hoping for. So they’ve ordered his stomach to be tapped again tomorrow to remove more fluid buildup. They’ve also prescribed a medicine to prevent the side effects he experienced last week from the tap. Please pray that Dad’s body would do what it needs to get this fluid to his liver. Because Dad has had cancer, he would probably not be a candidate for a transplant if he suffered from liver failure.
Our comfort comes from knowing that our Heavenly Father is not taken by surprise by this recent complication. We know that He loves Dad more than we do, and He is using this sickness to teach us all about His amazing character. We are very thankful that Mom got three good nights of rest this week, and she and Dad are continuing to set an example for us in trusting the Lord for one day at a time. Without hesitation we can agree with the prophet Jeremiah: The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore, I have hope in Him.” (Lamentations 3:22-24)
Thank you so much for your continued prayers. We appreciate your support more than we could express.
March 6th, 2007 at 2:23 am
You and your family continue to encourage me. As I keep up with how things are doing through this web-page, know that you are all consistently in my prayers!
-in Christ
patti