Update on Dad - From Bob III

Hello Friends,

 So many of you have called to express your love and to let us know that you are praying for Dad. For that, please accept our deepest appreciation and thanks. Please allow me the opportunity to offer this update - current as of lunchtime on Tuesday. I purposely waited until after Mom and I were able to speak with Dad's Dr. in order to bring up to date and factual information about what occured last night and where we go from here. So here goes...

1. We brought Dad into the ER last night because he very suddenly became gravely ill at around dinner time. The Dr's here at the ED immediately set him on a path to be admitted, but were first concerned about stabilizing him. The concern centered around their difficulty in raising his blood pressure to a safe level. We now know that dad went into shock yesterday afternoon (most likely Septic) due to his inability to fight off infection - a probable result of chemotherapy.

2. As far as being able name the infection and know exactly what we're dealing with - the Drs are still trying to figure it out. We do know that a CT Scan showed that Dad has some form of colitis. It is TBD if that is causing the infection or if there is another source somewhere else. We'll know more as the day progresses and lab results come in.

3. Dad was admitted into an ICU last night and will remain here until he is stable without the assistance of aggressive BP meds over an acceptable period of time. He rallied at about 5am this morning and started to move in the right direction. I asked the Dr as of right now on a scale of 1-10 where his BP level is from a concern standpoint. She said 5 - meaning he's still "shocky" but has moved in the right direction away from a 1 or 2 last night.

4. Dad will be in the hospital for an undetermined amount of days - but it will at least be a few. I'm grateful that he is being treated at Mayo in Rochester. My sister, Donna, is in route and we are hunkering down and continuing to walk this road shoulder to shoulder. Dad is able to talk to us and is still "Dad" - able to tell a joke and worry about his sermon this Sunday. 

Thanks again for your concern and prayer. I have been blown away by the outpouring of support and kind words from so many.

Much Love,
Bob III