Monday, November 14, 2011

Quick Update

Hi All,

Sorry my posting has been non-existent this last week. My oldest daughter turned 4 on Friday so we've been busy celebrating. I also spent about 24 hours with Andrew last Wed-Thur night. I was happy to see Andrew and spend some time with him. I definitely was not the best caretaker as I had to keep my little one out of everything in sight. I was able to take Andrew to his appointments on Thursday so was glad to meet Dr. Parmar and many of the nurses and staff at the Integrated Health Clinic. I was very impressed by their clinic and their warm and loving personalities. I was extremely impressed with Dr. Parmar. He is just the kind of doctor Andrew needs. He is full of life and very positive. He sat with us for a while and answered questions and reviewed his labs. Since I didn't write anything down, my information is going to be very vague.
Dr. Parmar said that a few of Andrew's levels indicated some improvement since the week prior. This is good news and he was very pleased to tell us this. His sodium level, however, is now at a critically low point. Andrew needs to be able to take in more salt to get his levels up. Dr. Parmar has put him on a very strict fluid intake and is requiring Andrew to try and eat as much salt as possible. He also has restricted Andrew to only drain his abdomen every few days. Andrew has been taking shots of soy sauce! You can't fault him for his creativity!

Andrew's albumin levels are low, which leads to dehydration and he has been dealing with cracked lips and throat. His feet continue to cause him a lot of pain. This is probably the biggest problem for Andrew. His feet fill with fluid and become extremely swollen and it is hard to walk and even when he is laying down the pain can sometimes be unbearable. Not only have we all entered this medical world, we are also in the spa business now. We all spend countless hours massaging and rubbing his feet, legs, hands, head, etc with every kind of oil and lotion possible. This always helps to relax Andrew and gives him temporary relief. One of Andrew's friends downloaded a bunch of relaxing music on his iPad, so we turn on the music, light the fire and the candles all in hopes he can relax enough to sleep.

Helping and taking care of Andrew is a 24/7 job and I just want to thank each of our family members and friends who have helped out. We are so so grateful. And Andrew is extremely grateful for the help and the love.

Andrew's last scheduled treatment is for next Wednesday November 23. He will be back home in Seattle that night so we can enjoy Thanksgiving together as a family.

That is all for now, we wish you a wonderful week. I'll be back here when I get a report from Martha!

3 comments:

Laurie and Alan said...

We are so glad to hear the positive report, thanks Elizabeth for keeping us all updated.

Sending prayers, love and heartfelt thoughts to you Andrew and wishing you and the family a very Happy Thanksgiving. : )

Laurie and Alan

Adam Ghilchritst said...

Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for updating such great post. My best wishes with Andrew, I hope his report will be positive. Enjoy a very happy thanksgiving. :)

urgent care

daina said...

hi