Update On My Dad

First off, let me say thank you so much for all the thoughts and prayers that have been going up from the online community for our family! It really means so much to us!

I wanted to give you an update on my dad's condition. It does seem like he has had a stroke, but one brought on by hypoxia (shortage of oxygen) rather than due to an embolism (blood clot). It was a relatively mild stroke, however it is exacerbated due to him having COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Saying it is relatively mild does in this instance, however, mean that he is still currently in ICU. We are hoping he can be moved to a room in the next day or so.

He had a Modified Barium Swallow (swallowing) test performed yesterday, which he failed. He was aspirating everything he tried to eat during the test: thin liquids, honey, thickens (pudding, applesauce). They stopped at that point rather than moving on to more solid foods, which would actually strangle him even more. He is still unable to talk, also. What all this means is that he will have a speech therapist working with him for his speech, swallowing and confusion over the next few weeks.

During last night, it seems he had a very bad night, attempting to climb out of his bed and pull his tubes out. The ICU nurses called the doctor on-call overnight and he ordered an injection of the sedative Halodon (a psychotic sedative) which has knocked him out completely today. He is currently completely non-responsive. We can't even get an actual evaluation of how he is today.

Depending on how he is doing when the sedative (which has been ordered to be given NO MORE) wears off, it will determine whether he is staying at the hospital he is in currently (the one I work at) or moving on to one in Savannah.

That's about all we know for now. I'll keep you updated as we know more! Keep those thoughts and prayers coming! We need all we can get!