Paul's Update - 05/08/06

Dear Friends:

Dad arrived at Paul's house very early today. The gastroenterologist appointment was at 8am today. Dad got Paul into the car and took him to the office. The doctor decided that it was time to take out the G-tube (feeding tube). He couldn't do it in his office because he was not familiar with the type of tube that was installed. He said he had an opening to do the procedure at Prince William Hospital this afternoon. Dad took him home and let Paul rest. He wasn't able to eat anything three hours prior to the procedure. He got chicken broth for lunch but he didn't like it. Dad told him he had to go back to have the tube taken out and he nodded. Dad helped get him in the car. When they got to the hospital to get ready, Tabby told him that in a few mintues someone was coming to take him so they could remove the tube ... he smiled. He was ready. They had a little trouble getting the IV in and the nurses were slapping his hand. He wasn't very happy about that!! The anesthesiologist came and put the IV in the neck vein. The doctor started with a scope to see what the device looked like and also how Paul's stomach and esophagus were. The procedure went quickly they used a scope and went into the stomach and snipped the tube and pulled it out. Evidently they were able to see that Paul has a hiatal hernia but everything looked good and they were able to remove the tube without any trouble. Afterwards Paul came home and rested for a bit. He had some of Ensure and laid in bed resting until around 7:30pm when we went out to get our dinner. We bought him a Ham & Cheese sub at Subway. He ate it all by himself. He loved it. He seems to be more alert every day. He is also responding more directly to our questions ... instead of staring at us he responds immediately. He is also standing and walking better. He does about 90% of the work while Dad keeps him balanced and prevents him from falling. Tonight when Dad went to put him back in bed after dinner he did most of the work to get back in the bed. Tuesday is the appointment with the orthopedist. This will only be a consultation but it will be the time for the doctor to decide when he wants to do surgery to remove the plate in Paul's foot. That should be the last scheduled procedure for Paul. The only "equipment" we have to worry about now is the shunt. Tabby plans to call the neurosurgeon Tuesday and let him know that Paul seems to be having headaches and see if there is reason to be concerned. Hopefully it will just be a normal symptom of living with a shunt! Not fun ... but not dangerous!

Have a great day! Love, Lynne & Carl