GOOD NEWS!! :)

My dad had the breathing tube removed a little while ago! :) His bed is sitting up. He's got his glasses on and is listening to music and has said a few words (I'm sure that he's very sore from having the breathing tube in for so long). He's still following commands with his hands and feet and the infection in his lungs is still improving. Thanks everyone for your prayers!! :)
(Now I have to get over this yucky cold so I can go back to Seattle)

All 3 daughters (a year ago)

All 3 of us- Jennifer, Megan, & Mary

Mary & Megan- March 31st 2007

Tomorrow is Megan & Brendin's 1st wedding anniversary... I'm off to find more pictures on myspace. :)
(I was very pregnant- Addy will be one year old in a week)

Juan & Lupe with Dad & Sally (Clayton's wedding)

Happy St. Patrick's Day Grandpa!

I took this picture to email to friends and family on St. Patrick's Day.. but, plans changed and I forgot about it until today. So, happy St. Pat's to you all. :)

Halloween 2007- Dad & Sally with Landon, Adalynn, & Dawson

Sunday update

My dad is doing okay today. His shunt is functioning properly. He followed commands for his doctors this morning (squeezed hands and wiggled toes). The infection in his lungs is slowly starting to improve. Hopefully in a few days he'll be able to breathe on his own. Otherwise he will have a tracheostomy sometime this week. If the breathing tube is left down his throat for too long it may cause damage to his vocal cords.
Sally is there with him until Monday morning. I (Mary) am at home sick with something I picked up at the hospital (probably the flu). Alex is going back to work for at least a couple days but then will probably return to Seattle later in the week. Kevin and I plan to return to Seattle for the weekend (as long as I'm doing better- there's no point in driving back to Seattle if I'm too sick to visit my dad).
Anyway, I think that things are starting to look up for my dad. Your thoughts and prayers and very appreciated. I will update again tomorrow when after I talk with my Uncle Wayne. :)

Saturday update

Yesterday evening our father went in at about 8pm for a permanent shunt. He did very well during the procedure and is doing good now. He is sedated at this time and looks very comfortable. We (Mary and Jennifer/Alex) are going to head back to our homes later today. Sally, his girlfriend, is heading this way this afternoon. Hopefully she will be staying with him throughout the week. We arent quite sure at this time though. Wayne, our fathers brother, is the only one who can call the hospital for updates. We ask that it stays this way. Everytime someone calls, his nurse has to step away from him to take the call. We will be in close contact with Wayne and will be sure to visit this blog site often. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers... keep sending them this way.

Friday update

This morning our dad responded with movement when asked to (just his hands and toes). He is still overbreathing and has a high fever. He goes in to get the shunt in a couple hours. Surgery takes anywhere from an hour to two. Otherwise he's still stable.. no new updates. The surgeons have talked with us about doing a tracheostomy. It is a surgical procedure to create an opening through the neck into the trachea (windpipe). Anyway, J'Ali and I have had enough of the hospital for a night.. so, we're going to stay in a hotel. We'll update you all when we know more.

No new updates today

Our dad is taking tiny steps forward each day. He's on a new medicine to help irritation from the breathing tube.. and his doctors are weaning him from the pain meds. We have not seen much movement yet today... he's been really on and off though. There are alot of factors that can be causing his changes. The time of the day, how much meds are in his system, how is bed is sitting, etc. etc. Keep sending those prayers this way. Hope for the best!

Wednesday morning

Our dad is able to move his feet and hands on command. He's also now able to move his eyes from side to side. :)

the horse Pat fixed up and painted for Penny (shreks grandaughter)

more updates

My dad moved his left leg and coughed a few times over the last hour (a positive thing when you have a breathing tube in). His oxygen has been in the high 90's and was even at 100% for a while. Things are slowly looking up. :)

he passed the test :)

He passed the breathing test from this morning. He breathed on his own for 45 minutes before the breathing machine was turned back on (which is an improvement from yesterday's 20 minutes). His eyes are still wide open but he is not responding with hand or foot movement. Earlier I asked him to squeeze my hand if he wanted a foot massage and he squeezed very tightly. The nurse said that it was just a reflex.. but, I disagree. J'Ali and I have been holding his hands for long enough to know that he hasn't been randomly sqeezing. He also squeezed when I asked him if he wanted to wear his glasses. The neurosurgeons are talking about putting a shunt in his head later this week. He is still running a fever which could be why he isn't very responsive right now. I'll post another update when I know more.

Tuesday morning update

My dad is currently having a breathing test. He seems to be doing very well and might pass it this morning. He's still overbreathing.. but, not as much as yesterday. His blood pressure and blood sugar seem to both be controlled for now. The neuro doctors just came around and asked his nurse to hold off on the pain medicine during the day so that he can gradually become more active... this will also help his sleep cycle to become more regular. His eyes are open wider today then they were yesterday. I asked him if he wanted to wear his glasses and he squeezed my hand yes. He hasn't moved much for the doctors... but, he has responded by squeezing my hands several times this morning. The nurse thinks that it's just reflexes.. but, I don't agree. I've held his hand a lot the last couple weeks.. and he doesn't randomly squeeze his hands. He responded to the pain test (his fingers and toes are pinched) and moved his head a bit. His eyes aren't focusing yet, but he's more alert now that he's no longer sedated. His brain is still swollen which is most likely what is preventing him from more movement. I'll update again when I hear the results of the breathing test.

Monday, March 24th

Our dad is now able to open his eyes when asked to and can move his right hand and foot off and on (he followed comands slightly earlier but wasn't able to this evening at all). His blood pressure and blood sugar are still all over the place so he is being monitored very closely. He is still fighting the pneumonia and has the breathing tube. He is off of the sedation for now but is still on a lot of pain medication. Hopefully by the end of this week things will look up a bit more.
We are camping out in the waiting room outside of the Coronary Intensive Care Unit for the night. It's pretty quiet around here so far tonight.. so, hopefully we'll start the week with some good sleep. Thanks everyone for your thought and prayers.

We're on our way back to Seattle

We're heading back to Seattle this morning (Mary & Jennifer). We will update you all with his status once we arrive. Thanks for all of your support and prayers.

Sat Morning March 22, 2008

Pat is still stable and sedated. He continues to battle the lung infection. Each time they withdraw the sedation, he experiences a dangerous spike in blood pressure.

Thank you to those from Cobra and others that donated money to the daughters. It has made it possible for them to come home for a very much needed weekend break. Terry is holding down the fort today. Hopefully we will get some more updates later today. Thanks for all your support.

Shelley, Terry's wife

ps Apollo web is down for the weekend.

update

We just talked with a couple of the neuro doctors and their team. They evaluated our dad while the sedation was off. At this time he is not responding with arm or leg movements. He was able to open his eyes when asked. He also responded to pain after his fingers were pinched but did not respond when his feet were pinched. He's stable and more tests are being done to find the cause of the strokes. We just gave consent for a procedure where they insert a small camera down his throat to take pictures of his heart. Also, another scan on his head was done at 4AM this morning.. we still haven't heard the results.. but, no results usually is a good thing. We'll update when we know more.

Friday 8am

This morning our dad was taken off of sedation for a little bit. He is able to open his eyes and blink. This is an improvement from yesterday. Keeping him off of sedation tends to raise both his breathing rate and blood pressure, which isnt good. They only tend to give him a "sedation vacation" once a day. Right now his blood pressure is okay so he is still on vacation. The neurology team should be coming this way soon. They will be able to do a better evaluation on him then. Keep your fingers crossed and prayers coming this way. Thank you and have a great day!

Thursday Update

Our dad has had an MRI and a CT today. He has had a few small strokes in his cerebral hemispheres (caused by clots- not bleeds). The main focus of the doctors is treating his pneumonia right now while keeping him sedated and his blood pressure under control. Pictures were taken of his lungs and his pneumonia is very serious. They were able to take some cultures from his lungs and are now treating him with two different antibiotics. There have been no changes in his lungs since the pictures were taken yesterday.. which is good. His heart beat is strong and his blood pressure is currently stable.
J'Ali (Jennifer) and I (Mary) are both doing okay. It's been a long week, but we're glad that we're here with our father. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers.

note from family

You can also call Mary or Jennifer (Alex/J'Ali) for details. Please leave a message if we don't answer and we'll call you back. We have asked the nurses to only share information with his brother Wayne. This is to be sure that our father is getting the best care that the nurses can provide. Mary (509)551-1690Jennifer (509)628-6251Thank you!

Wed. March 19, 2008 9:30 am

Pat is stable and the scan that they did last night, seems clear -- no new strokes. An infection in the lungs is what they are concentrating on now--pneumonia. If they can get this under control, he may be able to breath on his own.

Tues March 18, 2008 9pm

Some people have asked if there is anything that they can do to help. The two daughters have been sleeping in the hospital's hallway since Friday. A donation to help with motel rooms so they could get a nights sleep would be so appreciated.
You can contact Terry at 947-2009.

Tues March 18, 2008

Good news!
Pat O'Lynch has a new lease on life. A new team of surgeons have determined that there is still hope for Pat. Information will be updated as it received. Please feel free to leave notes for his family. Terry Grimshaw is contact person.