Update from Kathy re: Tom - SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2009 08:00 PM, CST

[Guest guest]

They decided not to send Tom home today because he's having a lot of trouble eating enough to take in sufficient nutrition. They have taken him off IV fluids for now, so he is also making an effort to drink as much fluid as he can, but he's having a hard time with it. He has no appetite, and he gets full immediately. We have been giving him a nutritional drink that he can tolerate that provides 250 calories and 9 grams of protein in an 8 oz. drink. He drank three of these today. At least he's taking in that much fat free nutrition. The doctors gave him magnesium supplementation this afternoon. I looked up magnesium deficiency online, and the first two symptoms were lack of appetite and nausea. Maybe the supplementation will help him feel like eating. They also gave him a couple doses of albumin. A deficiency of albumin can cause dehydration, so hopefully this supplementation will help keep him from losing too much fluid.

The good news is that his drainage has slowed considerably, and the drainage shows no signs of Chyle (fat) leakage. This is very important because he cannot fully recover until his body starts handling fat. Keep your fingers crossed (and your prayers going) that this remains clear. He met with the head of the transplant department this afternoon who said that his liver function levels are still great. The doctors have also taken him off of all his antibiotics because he shows no signs of any type of infection (including MRSA).

The doctors have taken him completely off Heparin and he is now on Coumadin only. This is another good step toward getting him home. He will need to be on the Coumadin for several months to avoid bloodclots. He shows no signs that the blood thinners have caused him any internal bleeding, so that is also a good sign.

Tom is very concerned about the amount of time he has spent in the hospital...it has been much longer than he ever anticipated. Even though Jacqui is doing a fantastic job keeping the business moving forward, Tom is very anxious to return to work (at least part time). He was able to do about an hour of work today, so that eased his mind a little. It's just kind of a rough time for a tax accountant to be stuck in the hospital. Hopefully he'll only be there for another day or two then he'll be able to start a limited work schedule. Please ask God to give him peace about everything.

Larry and Debbie White visited Tom this afternoon. Debbie and I went and had some lunch and left the guys to talk and watch the football game. Tom's spirits seemed a little better after the visit. I think he gets very lonely in the hospital room. Thanks again Larry and Debbie.

Let's all hope that today's supplementation works to increase Tom's appetite and keep him from becoming dehydrated anymore. Hopefully he'll be home in the next couple of days.Kathy

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

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

-- Ian Cribb P.Eng.