:::this is the way the world ends:::

Back in St. Louis

Jerry has taken a bit of a bad turn in the last couple of days. He has pneumonia an infection. Also, the pain from the surgery has been difficult to manage since the staff don’t want him on narcotics when he has pneumonia. J.E. is en route to St. Louis for an unknown amount of time. Hopefully Jerry will make it through this crisis soon – I fear his spirits are low right now.

15 Comments

  1. Ned

    Thanks for this update Liz. Sorry to hear this. For what it’s worth, we’ve really had Jerry and you guys in our thoughts and prayers. I know you guys have had an emotional year. I hope things turn for the best.

  2. Tobias

    Steph and I are thinking about Jerry, and J.E.’s trips. Jerry’s spirits getting low is the hardest thing to hear — also the pain that he has to go through unassisted.

    So I’m glad J.E. has the flexibility to make runs to St. Louis and help relieve both.

  3. Liz

    Thanks guys. It does mean a lot to know you are out there thinking and praying for Jerry. Hearing about his low spirits is indeed the most worrisome part of this for me so I’m thankful J.E. can take the time to go up there.

    For what it’s worth, his pain is not wholly unassisted. They’ve switched from narcotic pain medication to a non-narcotic, which isn’t as effective. And they may have decided that he should still have some narcotics at night.

    The only other update that I have is that they moved him back in the ICU yesterday.

  4. Shotts

    Thanks for all this update. I’m particularly sad to hear Jerry is back in the ICU, which doesn’t sound good. I hope he’ll be upgraded soon, and his spirits will rebound. Here are more thoughts to him from here.

    And J.E., you’re a very good son for going to Saint Louis to be with your parents. I can imagine it’s very difficult, but am sure it’s a huge blessing to your family. Keep your spirits up as well…

  5. J.E.

    I spent most of the day at the hospital with Mom and Dad. Dad was a little grouchy, which is good to see, but pain is his constant companion.

    The pain is being managed but never really goes away. After being jostled and pestered most of the day he is finally sleeping. Right now what he seems to need most is sleep and food (though pain pills and antibiotics are helpful too).

    Thanks to everyone for your support. I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.

  6. J.E.

    Dad slept about 12 hours last night and then was sleeping on and off throughout the day. Seems to be building up his strength. I think the pain meds are making him moody. They’ve just switched his prescription tonight. Perhaps that will help. He’s only on one antibiotic right now but his stomach is still pretty upset so he’s not eating super well. But he is able to keep down his protein slurry. With all the sleep he is strong enough at times to cough up stuff from his lungs so that is good too. Good day today hoping for better tomorrow.

  7. Ned

    J.E.
    If you have down time when your dad is sleeping and you want to talk, feel free to call sometime. If you don’t have my phone number just shoot me an email. But I’m the only one not reading HP; so we’ll have to talk about Robert Wright instead, which maybe isn’t that different.

    The other night after our dinner prayer, Eliot looks up at me, and says, “Dad, who’s Jerry anyway?” Now he knows. He remembers you as the guy that read to him “at the first lake house.”

  8. J.E.

    Thank you Ned and thank you Eliot. When Dad is awake enough I’ll tell him about Eliot I’m sure he’ll get a kick out of it.

    Regarding Jerry, today was a day just like yesterday. He spent most of the day sleeping partially because he needs the sleep to heal and partially because blood has an elevated level of CO2 due to the pneumonia.

    I think he is getting better even if he does not believe it.

  9. J.E.

    Dad improved quite a bit today. He was awake and focused enough to watch TV most of the afternoon and smiled a few times as well. He did not smile during his short physical therapy session which was painful and tiring. But up until today he hasn’t really been in any shape to do physical therapy. Perhaps tomorrow he will be able to stand on his own two feet.

  10. J.E.

    Lots of good news today. Chest X-rays are much improved. Blood gas is good. Dad is awake enough to care what’s on TV and requested Fox News for most of the day (drat). But the best news is that he didn’t take any pain medication all day. He is still too week to stand or get into a chair but I have a good feeling about tomorrow. Most likely he will be moved out of intensive care tomorrow.

  11. Ned

    Great to hear this encouraging news. Hang in there J.E. I admire your participation in all of this. And sorry about Fox news…

  12. Shotts

    J.E.–Great news. I hope Jerry is indeed out of ICU today, and that you’re all doing well. And that FOX news is at a minimum. I hear Saint Louis is terribly hot, so I hope things are cool in the hospital…

  13. J.E.

    Dad did leave the ICU yesterday. His arm and legs are still quite weak but the physical therapist is keeping him busy. I’m headed back to Texas today.

  14. J.E.

    I’m back in Austin now. (With all the weather delays I had to spend the night in the Dallas airport.)

    Dad is doing well and likely to be discharged next week sometime.

    Thanks again.

  15. Shotts

    Good news. Sorry you were stuck in Dallas….

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