Update from Kathy re Tom - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2008 02:18 PM, CST

[Guest guest]

Tom reached a milestone a few minutes ago...he took his first walk. He didn't get too far, but that's to be expected. He said the walking part felt good, but getting back in the bed was unpleasant. It was also nice to have a visit from our friend Jay...it lifted his spirits. It gets pretty boring just sitting in a hospital bed all day. Unfortunately he's not really in a good position to have a lot of visitors right now, but it is nice to have a few. By the way, if anyone is planning to come down to town Hospital, make sure you stop at the information desk as you come in to get a parking sticker...it really reduces the cost (also, you need to have cash to get out of the parking garage).

Tom is having more pain in his abdomen. The doctor says it is probably peritonitis caused by some bile leaking into his abdominal cavity. The doctor said that Tom's level of Prograf (the anti-rejection medication) is too high, and that has kept the connections in his liver from healing quickly. That probably means there is a little bile leaking from those connections. The doctor is going to skip tonight's (and maybe tomorrow morning's) dose of Prograf which should speed the healing and close up those little leaks. In the meantime they'll keep a close watch on his abdominal pain. Apparently this is a fairly common occurence. Tom isn't running a fever, so he has no sign of infection, just irritation of his abdominal cavity. It's pretty painful. The good news is that yesterday's ultrasound looked great! The liver continues to function well.

Tom's doesn't have much of an appetite, so he's not eating much. They've decided to keep him on clear liquids a little longer. Since he has had a little stomach upset (probably from the pain medicine), he's okay with staying with the liquids for awhile.

I think that's enough info for today. I'll be going up to see Larry soon.Kathy

To send a message to Tom, Kathy and family goto;

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/thomasbutler