Continued update.....Tonight is our week mark of being home and out of the hospital. He has not had a spasm for 10 days! Overall he feels pretty good considering all that has happened over the past 5 weeks. Mitch still tends to be tired, slow in his movements, weak (he lost 18 pounds) and has a hard time sleeping. All things we were told would happen. He has been to physical therapy 3 times now and is responding very well. As you can imagine he is very tight and sore.
He had an issue at school yesterday that landed him back in an ambulance and a visit to the ER. He had a withdrawal issue and was shaking uncontrollable, throwing up, sweating, etc. The good news is he did not have another spasm through out the whole episode yesterday. He is in the process of weaning off all the heavy narcotics and it seemed to catch up with him yesterday. They gave him a shot in the ER and within 3 minutes he was calmed down and we were released an hour later. He did fine last night after coming home.
No one said the road to full recovery would be easy but overall he is doing very good all things considered. Your continued support, prayers and thoughts are greatly appreciated. Your past support has helped carry us through this ordeal and again words cannot express our deep gratitude for all the support. Thanks
Friday, March 12, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
March 5th
We have officially been given our discharge papers - we are heading west today! We are all so excited to get home. Thanks to everyone for all that you've done.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
March 4th
Mitch's kidney numbers continue to drop, they were down to 1.3 this morning and 1.0 is normal. He had his pick line taken out this morning so he no longer has any IV's in and is finally a free man. He is able to move around without being attached to his christmas tree. We were able to take him outside for a slow walk around the outside of the hospital today - he was happy to go outside with no IV's or wheelchair. We are all looking forward to returning home tomorrow, it has been a long and hard 4 weeks away from home.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
March 3rd - evening
Our mtg with the Docs went great, I really like the format of having everyone in the same room for q and a and open communication regarding Mitch. It really works great and this is one example of what makes this such a great medical location. The Docs are awesome.
Mitch was given time during our meeting to express his thoughts and deliver his "time to go home" speech. He did great and had people laughing and listening - it worked great as we are coming home Friday, provided he continues to improve at the same fast rate he has the past couple of days. They actually can't believe the change/improvement in him over the past 48/72 hours and can't remember a patient improving at this fast a rate. Most of them told us that based on his status last Thursday/Friday they would have guessed that we would've been here for at least 2/3 more weeks. And we all know the reason for his improvement - thanks for all the prayers, thoughts and support!
Mitch has been out of bed all day today - walking (sometimes with the use of a walker) and sitting in a chair doing facebook and reading all his wonderful letters. Although it was very light and slow, he was also able to get on a stationary bike and pedal for a little while during physical therapy. We can tell he is feeling better as he is on the phone with the cafeteria ordering food every couple hours.
Mitch is wondering if the lear jet we rode on to get out here can be a round trip deal instead of just one way.
Mitch was given time during our meeting to express his thoughts and deliver his "time to go home" speech. He did great and had people laughing and listening - it worked great as we are coming home Friday, provided he continues to improve at the same fast rate he has the past couple of days. They actually can't believe the change/improvement in him over the past 48/72 hours and can't remember a patient improving at this fast a rate. Most of them told us that based on his status last Thursday/Friday they would have guessed that we would've been here for at least 2/3 more weeks. And we all know the reason for his improvement - thanks for all the prayers, thoughts and support!
Mitch has been out of bed all day today - walking (sometimes with the use of a walker) and sitting in a chair doing facebook and reading all his wonderful letters. Although it was very light and slow, he was also able to get on a stationary bike and pedal for a little while during physical therapy. We can tell he is feeling better as he is on the phone with the cafeteria ordering food every couple hours.
Mitch is wondering if the lear jet we rode on to get out here can be a round trip deal instead of just one way.
March 3rd - Mitch speaking
Hey there, as you all know its mitch and in all honesty i don't have words to explain how greatful i am for the love and all the support. My foundation has been built and the faith is still growing day by day.The prayers and happy good thoughts have been felt every step of the way, Couldn't do it without you guys. The glass is full and the sun will come up tomrorrow. Thank you all for being champs and hanging in there with me because I could not do this on my own. I need friends and family like you all.I Love you all SO much and just count down the days i can give you all hugs and thank you in person! We can do hard things and we are as a team, and a winning team that is. Keep the heads high and we can do this just one step at a time. Again, Love you all so much if you can just imagine me standing with my arms wide open for the biggest bear hug I could give to all of you. Thanks so much, just remember, I will be back and a better person having gone through this. And it will make us ALL stronger in some way. You're all just so great! cya soon. -
Mitch (Mitchypoo)
Mitch (Mitchypoo)
March 3rd
We have officially moved out of the ICU and into a "normal" hospital room. Huge step for Mitch. 3.5 weeks in the ICU ward is tough.
Morning labs are back and his kidney numbers dropped again last night, we are now at 1.5, which is good news. He continues to have high blood pressure but this is something the kidney doctors are fine with as it's part of the healing process. We have some other "numbers" that are on the low end and everyone is trying to figure why that is happening. Mitch is down to about 1 mini spasms per day, which typically happen at night, but something he is able to work through.
We have our big care mtg today with all our doctors. It's a sad day when this mtg is moved to the biggest conference room to accommodate all the doctors on Mitch's team. Items on the agenda: Current condition and findings (why/how this all happened and current results on all tests given to Mitch), care/plan moving forward (plan to get him better from this point forward) and potential release time-line to go home (what Mitch is most interested in - in fact, he keeps peppering me if I have worked on my "release date speech". I get the feeling he is losing confidence in my passion for this speech as he has now asked the doctors if he can attend and say a couple things). This care mtg format is great as we get to hear from everyone and ask all the questions we want from all the different specialists.
Morning labs are back and his kidney numbers dropped again last night, we are now at 1.5, which is good news. He continues to have high blood pressure but this is something the kidney doctors are fine with as it's part of the healing process. We have some other "numbers" that are on the low end and everyone is trying to figure why that is happening. Mitch is down to about 1 mini spasms per day, which typically happen at night, but something he is able to work through.
We have our big care mtg today with all our doctors. It's a sad day when this mtg is moved to the biggest conference room to accommodate all the doctors on Mitch's team. Items on the agenda: Current condition and findings (why/how this all happened and current results on all tests given to Mitch), care/plan moving forward (plan to get him better from this point forward) and potential release time-line to go home (what Mitch is most interested in - in fact, he keeps peppering me if I have worked on my "release date speech". I get the feeling he is losing confidence in my passion for this speech as he has now asked the doctors if he can attend and say a couple things). This care mtg format is great as we get to hear from everyone and ask all the questions we want from all the different specialists.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
March 2nd
Things were a little busy yesterday and I was unable to do an update, so here we go. We are finally over the insulin incident from Sunday - it proved to be a long day, night and early morning. Mitch was very sick and sleep escaped all 3 of us until about 4am and then we were only able to get about 3 hours. Because he was so sick he couldn't do the proper prep for one of his test's yesterday - which is frustrating because it just ends up pushing everything back another day.
His kidney numbers this morning were 1.9 - another good drop and we now see light at the end of the tunnel (normal for someone his size is .08-1.0). But as the kidney doctor explained to us this morning, getting that last .9 to drop will now take time and we will stop seeing the big drops day to day. The good news - we have gone from major kidney failure a week ago to now having his kidneys almost back to normal. We will never be completely sure how or why his kidney's failed in the first place (doctors have ideas) but we are just very pleased and feel blessed that his kidneys are healing on their own.
All his other numbers seem to be falling back into place as well, we have a couple that continue to be out of the normal range and are being watched closely. The reason for all this is still a mystery and has the doctors stumped. His back is still very tight and stiff, he had a small spasm last night but was able to work through it. He was able to walk around yesterday, making 4 strolls around the ICU ward with his walker and what he terms his christmas tree, his poll of machines and IV's. He was also able to accomplish a number of first's yesterday: take a real bath, shave for the first time, eat 2 good meals while being able to keep them down and talk on the phone. All first's for him over the past 3 plus weeks. We are hoping that at this point we can continue to take steps forward instead of 1 forward and 2 back as has been the history over the past 3 weeks.
We all hit the wall last night about midnight, as Mitch just simply wants to go home. We sure can't argue with that. It has been a long time away from home and stuck in a single room and the same bed for 24 days. He misses his sisters, his dog, his room, his house and his friends. We had a group hug early this morning, said some tender things to each other and let the tears flow - it was one of those moments that money can't buy, one of those experiences that will bond us forever and change our outlook on life for years to come. We then read all the wonderful cards and letters from all his friends - what a great bunch of kids who said wonderful and profound things. Unbelievable!
We have sure learned a lot through this process - "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain". This is one thing we have sure taken to heart having lived what we have for the past 7 weeks. You better learn to enjoy the journey and not simply look forward to the final destination.
We are happy to report Mitch is making small steps forward - we are very thankful for great friends, family and all the support.
His kidney numbers this morning were 1.9 - another good drop and we now see light at the end of the tunnel (normal for someone his size is .08-1.0). But as the kidney doctor explained to us this morning, getting that last .9 to drop will now take time and we will stop seeing the big drops day to day. The good news - we have gone from major kidney failure a week ago to now having his kidneys almost back to normal. We will never be completely sure how or why his kidney's failed in the first place (doctors have ideas) but we are just very pleased and feel blessed that his kidneys are healing on their own.
All his other numbers seem to be falling back into place as well, we have a couple that continue to be out of the normal range and are being watched closely. The reason for all this is still a mystery and has the doctors stumped. His back is still very tight and stiff, he had a small spasm last night but was able to work through it. He was able to walk around yesterday, making 4 strolls around the ICU ward with his walker and what he terms his christmas tree, his poll of machines and IV's. He was also able to accomplish a number of first's yesterday: take a real bath, shave for the first time, eat 2 good meals while being able to keep them down and talk on the phone. All first's for him over the past 3 plus weeks. We are hoping that at this point we can continue to take steps forward instead of 1 forward and 2 back as has been the history over the past 3 weeks.
We all hit the wall last night about midnight, as Mitch just simply wants to go home. We sure can't argue with that. It has been a long time away from home and stuck in a single room and the same bed for 24 days. He misses his sisters, his dog, his room, his house and his friends. We had a group hug early this morning, said some tender things to each other and let the tears flow - it was one of those moments that money can't buy, one of those experiences that will bond us forever and change our outlook on life for years to come. We then read all the wonderful cards and letters from all his friends - what a great bunch of kids who said wonderful and profound things. Unbelievable!
We have sure learned a lot through this process - "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain". This is one thing we have sure taken to heart having lived what we have for the past 7 weeks. You better learn to enjoy the journey and not simply look forward to the final destination.
We are happy to report Mitch is making small steps forward - we are very thankful for great friends, family and all the support.
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