Day +98 Improving, S L O W L Y.

Dear family and Friends this is a blog entry by Charles' father, Don.

Thanks to those who have left comments and thanks Dorothy and John for the card. And thanks, Harold for the visit. Charles gets meds all the time but there is none better than a FRIEND!! And, we are grateful that Karlin is feeling well, back to work and visiting.

There are many views of Mt Hood. This is another from this afternoon. With Winter's Spring here the views have been wonderful. Since OHSU is on the top of a tall hill there are good views of the city too.

Charles' blog has been "opened" so that anyone may add a comment.

I was in Friday when the Dr, Dr. Chan, made patient rounds and visited Charles. They have been concerned that is gut was not healing so they had given him a gut exam, colonoscopy, on Thursday. He has continued to have a raw gut and is still on a "nothing through the mouth" diet. They did the exam with the intent of cauterizing, to stop bleeding. The result was that they were surprised that his gut was healing except for a 7cm area that was raw. As a result, they were not able to cauterize. Dr. Chan said that they are going to take things slow in order to avoid a setback.

They have changed meds on him over the past week. They have given him a different anti-rejection drug and a different pain drug. They were concerned that morphine might be slowing his gut healing so they have been giving him Fentanyl. That is set up so it can be self-administered. They have been tryng to adjust the dosage on it so that Charles is not so drowsy. See the end of this blog entry for the side affects of Fentanyl. So, for the past several days Charles has been drowsy and when waking a bit disorientated. I can't find the detail sheet that the nurse gave me on the new anti-rejection drug. The side affects of that drug are NOT something that you want to read, often. Look for that in a later blog entry. At any rate they are working on his meds and taking his treatment s l o w. They look at his case EVERY day and adjust accordingly. The doctors and nurses are WONDERFUL!!!

Another thing that came up this last week was that Charles insurance ran out. He has very good insurance through his work and we have not had to be very concerned. Then, this last week the Social Coordinator, from OHSU, called and said that Charles' insurance for the transplant and related had maxed out. He has not reached his lifetime max, just agreed upon transplant max. So, I visited with the Coordinator, who is most wonderful and valuable, and she suggested that we apply for another insurance. I was able to cancel Charles current insurance and apply for the new. The agent I was working with received the last piece on info about 6:10pm on Friday, the 26th, last work day of the month. We needed to cancel by the 28th and start the new on the 1st of March. I think we did it. The new insurance is good and the premium is a few bucks less. How about that. Now I just have to verify that Charles was accepted tomorrow. And, I must add that the office people at his work in Eugene are WONDERFUL!! Thanks Natalie!!!!

Today Charles and I watched the Olympics - well Charles watched about ½ of the game. It was probably the hottest contest of the whole Olympics - Canada vs USA - Hockey. Wow, what a game! And, even though we are USA we thought it was neat that Canada won. They have been making such a thing of it the whole Olympics. USA can certainly hold their head high.

Thanks to all of you. We feel your interest, faith and thank you for your prayers. We know they are heard. dg

SIDE EFFECTS: (Fentanyl)
This medication may cause drowsiness, dizziness, pain at the site of injection, headache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, trouble sleeping or sweating. If these effects persist or worsen, notify your doctor promptly. Report promptly: mental/mood changes, tremors. Unlikely but report promptly: poor coordination, vision problems, difficulty urinating, unusually slow breathing, hallucinations, slow or irregular heartbeat, rash. Very unlikely but report promptly: seizures, fainting. In the unlikely event you have a serious allergic reaction to this drug, seek medical attention immediately. Symptoms of a serious allergic reaction include: rash, itching, swelling, severe dizziness, trouble breathing. Laxatives with senna may be helpful for narcotic-related constipation. Consult your doctor and pharmacist before use. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist.