Mr. V's Journey To Recovery

Mr. V would have said this

2011-05-09T09:24:00.000-05:00

The following is the last post of a young man who died of cancer and how he doesn't regret his life and how he was happy with life. I think this is what my dad would have said had he had the chance.

The last post

By Derek on May 4, 2011 7:51 AM | 143 Comments | No TrackBacks

Here it is. I'm dead, and this is my last post to my blog. In advance, I asked that once my body finally shut down from the punishments of my cancer, then my family and friends publish this prepared message I wrote—the first part of the process of turning this from an active website to an archive.

If you knew me at all in real life, you probably heard the news already from another source, but however you found out, consider this a confirmation: I was born on June 30, 1969 in Vancouver, Canada, and I died in Burnaby on May 3, 2011, age 41, of complications from stage 4 metastatic colorectal cancer. We all knew this was coming.

That includes my family and friends, and my parents Hilkka and Juergen Karl. My daughters Lauren, age 11, and Marina, who's 13, have known as much as we could tell them since I first found I had cancer. It's become part of their lives, alas.

Airdrie

Of course it includes my wife Airdrie (née Hislop). Both born in Metro Vancouver, we graduated from different high schools in 1986 and studied Biology at UBC, where we met in '88. At a summer job working as park naturalists that year, I flipped the canoe Air and I were paddling and we had to push it to shore.

We shared some classes, then lost touch. But a few years later, in 1994, I was still working on campus. Airdrie spotted my name and wrote me a letter—yes! paper!—and eventually (I was trying to be a full-time musician, so chaos was about) I wrote her back. From such seeds a garden blooms: it was March '94, and by August '95 we were married. I have never had second thoughts, because we have always been good together, through worse and bad and good and great.

However, I didn't think our time together would be so short: 23 years from our first meeting (at Kanaka Creek Regional Park, I'm pretty sure) until I died? Not enough. Not nearly enough.

What was at the end

I haven't gone to a better place, or a worse one. I haven't gone anyplace, because Derekdoesn't exist anymore. As soon as my body stopped functioning, and the neurons in my brain ceased firing, I made a remarkable transformation: from a living organism to a corpse, like a flower or a mouse that didn't make it through a particularly frosty night. The evidence is clear that once I died, it was over.

So I was unafraid of death—of the moment itself—and of what came afterwards, which was (and is) nothing. As I did all along, I remained somewhat afraid of the process of dying, of increasing weakness and fatigue, of pain, of becoming less and less of myself as I got there. I was lucky that my mental faculties were mostly unaffected over the months and years before the end, and there was no sign of cancer in my brain—as far as I or anyone else knew.

As a kid, when I first learned enough subtraction, I figured out how old I would be in the momentous year 2000. The answer was 31, which seemed pretty old. Indeed, by the time I was 31 I was married and had two daughters, and I was working as a technical writer and web guy in the computer industry. Pretty grown up, I guess.

Yet there was much more to come. I had yet to start this blog, which recently turned 10 years old. I wasn't yet back playing drums with my band, nor was I a podcaster (since there was no podcasting, nor an iPod for that matter). In techie land, Google was fresh and new, Apple remained "beleaguered," Microsoft was large and in charge, and Facebook and Twitter were several years from existing at all. The Mars rovers Spirit andOpportunity were three years away from launch, while the Cassini-Huygens probe was not quite half-way to Saturn. The human genome hadn't quite been mapped yet.

The World Trade Center towers still stood in New York City. Jean Chrétien remained Prime Minister of Canada, Bill Clinton President of the U.S.A., and Tony Blair Prime Minister of the U.K.—while Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak, Kim Jong-Il, Ben Ali, and Moammar Qaddafi held power in Iraq, Egypt, North Korea, Tunisia, and Libya.

In my family in 2000, my cousin wouldn't have a baby for another four years. My other cousin was early in her relationship with the man who is now her husband. Sonia, with whom my mother had been lifelong friends (ever since they were both nine), was still alive. So was my Oma, my father's mom, who was then 90 years old. Neither my wife nor I had ever needed long-term hospitalization—not yet. Neither of our children was out of diapers, let alone taking photographs, writing stories, riding bikes and horses, posting on Facebook, or outgrowing her mother's shoe size. We didn't have a dog.

And I didn't have cancer. I had no idea I would get it, certainly not in the next decade, or that it would kill me.

Missing out

Why do I mention all this stuff? Because I've come to realize that, at any time, I can lament what I will never know, yet still not regret what got me where I am. I could have died in 2000 (at an "old" 31) and been happy with my life: my amazing wife, my great kids, a fun job, and hobbies I enjoyed. But I would have missed out on a lot of things.

And many things will now happen without me. As I wrote this, I hardly knew what most of them could even be. What will the world be like as soon as 2021, or as late as 2060, when I would have been 91, the age my Oma reached? What new will we know? How will countries and people have changed? How will we communicate and move around? Whom will we admire, or despise?

What will my wife Air be doing? My daughters Marina and Lolo? What will they have studied, how will they spend their time and earn a living? Will my kids have children of their own? Grandchildren? Will there be parts of their lives I'd find hard to comprehend right now?

What to know, now that I'm dead

There can't be answers today. While I was still alive writing this, I was sad to know I'll miss these things—not because I won't be able to witness them, but because Air, Marina, and Lauren won't have me there to support their efforts.

It turns out that no one can imagine what's really coming in our lives. We can plan, and do what we enjoy, but we can't expect our plans to work out. Some of them might, while most probably won't. Inventions and ideas will appear, and events will occur, that we could never foresee. That's neither bad nor good, but it is real.

I think and hope that's what my daughters can take from my disease and death. And that my wonderful, amazing wife Airdrie can see too. Not that they could die any day, but that they should pursue what they enjoy, and what stimulates their minds, as much as possible—so they can be ready for opportunities, as well as not disappointed when things go sideways, as they inevitably do.

I've also been lucky. I've never had to wonder where my next meal will come from. I've never feared that a foreign army will come in the night with machetes or machine guns to kill or injure my family. I've never had to run for my life (something I could never do now anyway). Sadly, these are things some people have to do every day right now.

A wondrous place

The world, indeed the whole universe, is a beautiful, astonishing, wondrous place. There is always more to find out. I don't look back and regret anything, and I hope my family can find a way to do the same.

What is true is that I loved them. Lauren and Marina, as you mature and become yourselves over the years, know that I loved you and did my best to be a good father.

Airdrie, you were my best friend and my closest connection. I don't know what we'd have been like without each other, but I think the world would be a poorer place. I loved you deeply, I loved you, I loved you, I loved you.

Running Red Lights are Dangerous People but the City of Houston could care less Update!!!!

2010-11-30T10:30:00.006-06:00

I am not sure who will read this post but I do have updates. We are still working on setting up the Roel M. Villarreal Memorial Scholarship Fund boy the IRS doesn't make it easy to set up stuff. My mom and I are still here, every day we get a tiny bit better. In other news, here is the real reason for this post.
On November 12th 2009 my dad was struck by a woman who ran a red light. Her car basically T-boned my dad's car right into the driver's side. At the time the police didn't cite her for anything because they wanted to wait and see how my dad was going to recover and if he didn't recover and die they would try to charge her with vehicular manslaughter. Well it has been over a year and we never heard anything from anyone. My mom along with very supportive friends made that call to the investigator. It was very hard for her to do because basically you are reliving it all over again and it is a terrible feeling. Well she made the call. He told my mom that they worked hours and hours trying to build evidence to charge her. They presented the report to the district attorney who then in turn presented it to a panel or the DA may have sent it to the grand jury he wasn't sure. Ultimately they decided to only cite her for running a red light. Yeah running a red light. I am guilty of running red lights, I even got a ticket but no one died. My dad died because of her carelessness. It was hard to prove she was speeding because conveniently BMWs (yeah she had a BMW) don't have the black box that records speeds on cars. So they had no idea how fast she was going. One witness said she wasn't speeding, another witness said she was. They couldn't tell how fast she was going because there was little skid marks because she didn't hit her breaks when she hit my dad, she just crashed into him and then the vehicle stopped. The light was red, it wasn't yellow turning into red, it was RED. Other cars were stopped at the intersection because it was RED. She just flew through it like it was a green light and right into my dad who was making a left turn. So her carelessness killed my dad but all she got was a ticket for running a red light. Yes I know some will say Delena don't be mad take the high road and she will get her judgement later in life. Well I am mad because she took away one person that I cared for so much because I don't know she needed to re-apply her mary kay make up. The investigator said he was sorry that all they could do was give her a citation. He said it was unjust that this happened. He said they worked hard but because they couldn't produce evidence she was speeding or under the influence they decided not to charge her with manslaughter. I understand it could have happened to anyone and yes her intention was not to hit and kill my dad that day. However, I wish she would have said something to us. Sorry or something. Does she think about my dad? Does she ever wonder what happened to us? I am too shocked right now to comprehend. We waited for a year to hear back thinking oh they must be charging her with something, no a citation for a red light which they could have done then and there at the time of the accident but didn't. I had a feeling this would happen after reading a news story in the Houston press about how messed up City of Houston traffic laws are. Well I guess I thought people should know. I know most of you have moved on but my mom and I never will. We lost a great man who meant so much to us because a lady failed to stop at the stop light. I want everyone to remember this when they drive. I am guilty of it too running red lights but no more. I even stop at yellow. It's not worth getting somewhere 5 minutes sooner if it means sacrificing someone's life.
I love you dad and I miss you so much. I know you would tell me this happens mija and there is nothing you can do but be thankful for what you have now. I am thankful for people who have supported me through this. I just wanted to let everyone know what has happened so far.

We Are Okay

2010-01-06T18:51:00.003-06:00

I wanted to let everyone know my mom and I are doing fine. We are trying to cope the best we can and be strong. We have had an overwhelming outpouring of support and we like to thank each and everyone of you. My mom is going to inquire more about setting up a scholarship fund in my dad's name in a couple of weeks and as soon as we get more information you will read it here first. Right now we are taking it easy. I am back at work full time and my mom is off for one month.

A Time to Celebrate his life.

2009-12-22T16:03:00.010-06:00

We wanted to thank all those who have been with us during this difficult time whether it be through prayer or thoughts, etc. We wanted to inform everyone in regards to my father's funeral arrangements. You can also visit the website www.mem.com to see his obituary and you are welcome to sign the guestbook, just type in his name and it will pull up his information.

My father will be buried in his hometown of Riviera, TX and the information for his arrangements are as follows.

Rosary (Wake)

Visitation will take place on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 after 3:00 p.m. at the Turcotte-Piper Mortuary Chapel, Kingsville. A Eulogy spoken by my father's good friend Arnold Trejo and a Rosary will be recited at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at the Turcotte-Piper Mortuary Chapel. Services are entrusted to Turcotte-Piper Mortuary, 205 General Cavazos Blvd., Kingsville, Texas, 78363.

Funeral Services

We will be leaving Turcotte-Piper Mortuary Chapel at 9:30 am on Thursday, December 24, 2009. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, Riviera, Texas with Fr. Peter Antony as celebrant. Burial with full military honors provided by the Veterans of Kleberg County Military Funeral Detail will follow at Riviera Cemetery, Riviera, Texas.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is located in Riviera, Texas, one block west of U.S. Hwy 77 and one block south of Hwy 285.

We would like everyone to come and celebrate Mr. V's life and let you know that after the services we will be having some good food and good times at my father's parents house, the house he built in Riviera, TX. The address is 222 w. Live Oak, Riviera, TX 78379, please do come.

We are not trying to discourage floral arrangements but in lieu of flowers we are going to set up a scholarship through Texas A&M University-Kingsville in Mr. V's name more information will be coming soon on the blog. Thank you so much for all your love, support, and prayers.

"We are taking him home" --Mrs. V

2009-12-21T00:35:00.002-06:00

Today at 4:33 pm, Mr. V passed away. He had fought so hard and long for 39 days and it was long enough to spend time with him and to make sure that my mom and I will be okay and can take care of each other. We were able to be in the room when he passed; it was painful and beautiful to see. He was finally able to be in peace. He is no longer in pain. He can now finally go home to Riviera,TX. We are going to Kingsville, TX and as soon as we know more details I will publish on my blog about funeral arrangements. My mom and I are coping the best we can right now and are so thankful for all the moments we had with this wonderful man. Thank you all so much for your love prayers and support.

We want him to find peace

2009-12-20T10:50:00.003-06:00

My father has had a very long journey of ups and downs through out his life. Today his strong spirit could only do so much to help his body. He has been at Memorial Hermann since November 12th at 10:30 am. He fought so hard and today he is ready for a new journey.

Dr. Kreiger called my mom at 8:15 am this morning to tell us he is in the beginning stages of multi-organ failure. She wanted us to come to the hospital. We were already on our way and we decided to call everyone. My dad is one of eight siblings. All seven of his siblings are here and cousins and his aunt, Tia Tita. When we arrived the head of the Trauma Team told us he was already starting to go down hill. They had him on the maximum amount of medication and nothing is working. He has reached that point where medication is hurting him and not helping him. He developed a new infection on his leg which is a flesh bacterial infection. Normally they would do surgery to remove the dead tissure but he is so critical that it would just be detrimental to him. Right now their decision is to sustain him so that everyone can see him, then after that stop the medicine and they will give him pain medication and make him comfortable. The doctor said that he may not make it through the day. She said they did the best they could. I truly do believe that. This hospital is a good hospital. They tried and never gave up on my dad. They only are stopping because now its getting to a point where they are hurting him more then helping him and we do not want that. I am so thankful I had this time with him. He really was strong through. He still is.

My mom and I told him we love him. She said that her, me, Jonathan and Pollie will be okay and that we will take care of each other. We are trying to find strength to let him know that we will be okay and that he will be with us forever. He is still here and we are all doing the best we can to spend time with him before he goes forward into another journey. Thank you so much for your love, prayers, support and thoughts. We love you all.

"We have reached that point" Dr. McNutt

2009-12-19T10:08:00.003-06:00

We went to see my dad this morning and the doctors were in front of his room. They were discussing my dad's status and as soon as they were done Dr. McNutt spoke to us. She said that his infection has not gone down, he has had it for 8 days. She said that they looked at his rectum to see if that was source of infection it was not. She said that my dad could have a dead bowel. She suspects that because his acid levels are very high which should not be the case since he is on dialysis and also because he's on the medicine again to keep his heart pumping with oxygen and his lungs that oxygen is not reaching the rest of his body as it should and that sometimes causes a dead bowel. Normally she said they would operate on my dad to remove the dead bowel but he is so critical and his bowel are pretty much rock hard from them operating on his stomach so much that is out of the question. She said its getting to that point where the medicines are doing more harm then good for his body and this infection is in his blood and its making it more difficult for his blood pressure to stabilize. They are going to try more stuff today and consult with the renal doctors to see a different way they can remove toxins from his blood through dialysis but they have nothing else. No other options they are running out of options. They are going to sustain him for 24 hours and see what happens but after that, thats it. This is it, if my dad doesn't turn around somehow in these 24 hours they have nothing left for him. As I said before the medicine is starting to do more harm then good. If he does have a dead bowel it will just cause more of an infection and they cannot do anything about it because of his critical situation. They are going to pull more cultures and see if they can do a broad spectrum of antibiotics to see if that helps but they are going to see what they can do today. Dr. McNutt pretty much told us to let people know and whoever wants to see my dad this is it. We are working on contacting our family soon to tell them. I know he has been here before and all I can do is hope he pulls out of this. This time though he has an infection that will not stop. He has high ammonia levels and his Ph balance is too acidic and they tried to neutralize it but it didn't work. We told dad we loved him and they are trying every thing they can to keep him alive but that he needed to help too. He needs to show them his strength once again that he is a fighter. Prove those doctors wrong again dad because all I can do is hope for the best. I don't know what will happen today or tomorrow but I know I will be here for my dad as much as I can and let him know that I love him. I love him and that he was the best father ever. He spoils me, loves me, lectures me and is proud of me. I am too. I am so proud of him he has shown so much strength during this time. He has the spirit of a young healthy man and all he needs is to show those doctors that. I will update you more today as we hear more news. Thanks so much for your prayers and thoughts.

Today will be a loooooooong day

2009-12-18T12:22:00.002-06:00

My dad's procedure went well. They found a blood clot in his colon and a tear in his rectum. They removed the blood clot but I missed the doctors (due to a work emergency) to explain what they are going to do about the tear. Nurse John said that everything went well and the doctors had already rounded on him and are basically going to monitor him today and give him more steriods and see if that will help with his blood pressure. I was in his room for a while and talked to him. I gave him a pep talk and said dad they are going to write you off like they did UT when they played Nebraska. You know what they won in the last second. I felt like a football coach telling his team we can do this. My dad has been here before and its just been a roller coaster ride. My mom had a doctor's appointment today with her hepatologist (liver doctor). He told her he has been there before, years ago he was in a bad car accident. He said yes that he has had bleeding, organs failing, everything like my dad but he came back. So it made my mom feel better and me too when she told me. He said its just what happens when you have injuries this extensive. Your body is in such shock it takes a while for it to get back on track. So I wanted to tell you he is still here and hopefully fighting all the time. Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts.

"He could go either way" -- Dr. Kreiger

2009-12-18T07:30:00.004-06:00

Today my dog pounced on me to wake me up and then I heard Lionel Richie sing "Hello is it me your looking for." It wasn't a dream it was my mom's cell phone ringing, her ring tone is "Hello" by Lionel Richie. It was 4:00 am and Dr. Krieger called my mom. The day before my dad had stabilized and they had gone down on his blood pressure medicine (pressers) so we decided to stay home last night. Well early this morning he started bleeding from his rectum again and his blood pressure was dropping significantly. We gathered our overnight bags and blankets and headed out to Memorial Herman by 4:30 am. When we arrived the front desk receptionist waived us through and we rushed over to STICU bed 20. Dr. Kreiger was there and explained to us that around 1 am he started having bloody stool and then his blood pressure kept dropping and they increased his dosage on his pressers to the max and he was struggling. They ordered blood and blood products. When we got there she said he was doing a little bit better but not much. Nurse Carmen explained that they were getting another type of presser but it too will probably have the maximum dosage he needs but they are hoping it works better. They are also hoping the blood and blood products will help his blood pressure too.

While we waited in his room, Dr. Kreiger was kind enough to get us another chair. Let me explain in STICU this is not like a normal hospital room they want the family members to visit but not to stay because they have to tend to the patient a lot. So normally there are no chairs or one chair in the room for a visitor. Two chairs is a special deal here. My dad was sedated but on his own the doctor explained that when your blood pressure drops significantly your body tends to sedate itself. His eyes were barely open. Dr. Kreiger explained to us that she called us because right now he could go either way, he could turn for the better or turn for the worse. She said she hates making these calls but that it is important for family to be here during this time. I agree. She let us stay for a bit to visit with dad this morning.

Around 5:30 am the Gastrologist or GI resident came in to examine dad. Dr. well I dont remember his name I dont think he said a name. Okay so Dr. Who told us that yesterday the GI team looked at my dad and had decided because of his blood thinner medicine and the tube for his bowel movements had caused the trauma to the rectum which caused the bleeding. At the time they didn't want to explore further because my dad had stopped bleeding. So they were just going to monitor him and since he started bleeding again now they are going to take action. Dr. Who and Nurse Carmen Christmas (she was wearing festive accessories) turned my dad a little so he could take a look if he was still bleeding and he was. Dr. Who said that he had blood coming out but it was weird clotting due to the blood thinners and the low low platelete count. He explained that he was going to call his attendee Dr. Wolf (seriously a real name or is it?) and see what they are going to do. He said they may do a semi-colonoscopy procedure meaning its not going to be a full colonoscopy all the way through the intestines but one that goes part of the way just to see what is causing the bleeding. He said it maybe something as simple as a rectal tear or a bleeding ulcer. He said because its during a time of shift change they probably will not do it until later this morning. At this time Nurse Carmen Christmas told us to step out for a bit since my dad was a little bit more stable she wanted to clean him up.

Around 6:30 am they called us back there again. Dr. Who wanted my mom to sign a consent form to perform the semi-colonoscopy. He explained the risks. He also said they may not see anything because of the bleeding and since it wasn't a full colonoscopy. They didn't want to risk putting my dad on anesthesia because of his already low low blood pressure which is what is required for a full colonoscopy. He said once they look and see what they find they will consult the Trauma team and see what course of action is next. So I guess now all my mom and I can do is wait and wait.

So this is what happened so far today and it is barely 8 am. My dad is very very very sick still and for a week and a half he was doing a tiny bit better but now we are back on that roller coaster ride. I told him he has been here before and he pulled through this. We went to the chapel this morning and prayed because all we can do is hope for the best. Please keep this going. Thank you so much for your love, support, prayers and positive thoughts.

"He made it through the night" Dr. McNutt (Real name)

2009-12-17T13:20:00.002-06:00

My dad was stable this morning and the nurse said he has stopped bleeding. He was unsure about his condition because the doctors had not rounded yet. Finally around 11:30 am they rounded and my mom caught them in time. I was outside on visitor duty in case people stop by. Todd, the best volunteer in Memorial Hermann, came up to me and asked if I could go back there to STICU my heart was heavy. Well it turns out my mom wanted me in there to hear Dr. McNutt talk about my dad. She told us he is still very very sick, his liver, kidney and heart are still weak. They pinpointed what type of infection he has so they are going to treat it with specific antibiotics now. She also said probably because of the catheter he had for his bowel movements was irritating his anus and the fact he was on blood thinners caused his bleeding. They came to this conclusion after they removed the catheter and took him off the blood thinners and he stopped bleeding. He was on blood thinners to prevent blood clots and the catheter because of his messy bowl movements. The Trauma team still wants to consult with the Gastologists in regards of whether they should do a colonoscopy or not. They also want to put more a stint in his leg to prevent blood clots since they took him of blood thinners. They also put him on vallium because he was breathing too hard and he needed to relax. Nothing says reellllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaax like the rich lady's sleep aid. So he has been out of it today. Dr. McNutt reiterated that he made it through the night and thats a good sign. I took it as he is not a lost cause and there is hope. I know he is still very sick but he is fighting fighting fighting with all his might!

Well today he will be going to Intraventional Radiology (IR)to get a stint through one of his veins. Well since we cannot remember the Dr's name, my mom heard Vasquez I heard Galindo, Dr. Galindo Vasquez will be his name. Dr. Galindo Vasquez from IR explained that they will do a sonogram and find a good vein to put the stint in. They will take him to IR and inject him with iodine to see everything and place the stint through the vein in his leg and try to place it under the kidneys. He explained that the reason they want it under the kidneys is because if you place it too high it may cause less blood flow to the kidneys and you definately do not want that. Since my dad has been so sedentary they need ways to prevent clots from traveling and since the heparin (blood thinner) caused him to bleed they needed another method, hello Mr. Stint. I hope tonight he has a boring night, no need for excitement. No one needs another exciting night like last night. His body is still responding to the medicines and we want him to get better. Thanks for reading this long post and thanks for your prayers and thoughts.

Blood Drive at Cy Falls High School!

2009-12-17T08:42:00.005-06:00

Event: Blood Drive for Mr. V aka Roel M. Villarreal

Where: Cypress Falls High School
9811 Huffmeister Road Houston, TX 77095.

Phone: (281) 856-1025, ask for Christy Taylor

Date: Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Time: 8:00am-3:00pm

Please take time to donate it is very important because my dad is still very sick and he still needs blood and because of people who donate he is able to get better. Please let other people know about this if you can!

Another Bump in the Road

2009-12-16T22:20:00.004-06:00

When we went to see my dad tonight we thought we would find him snoozing but we didn't. Nurse Janette told us he was bleeding in his stool and a significant amount came out. They think either his intestine is bleeding or an ulcer. They do not want to move him to get a CAT SCAN since he has been very unstable in the past couple of hours. His blood pressure dropped significantly and he can barely breath; his lungs are not functioning well. Dr. Bellester said "This guy has been giving me trouble tonight, I don't like that. He is losing blood and his lungs and blood pressure are dropping. We are going to give him blood tonight hoping that will restore it back to normal." My dad started bleeding in his stool around 5:00 pm and it has not really subsided. Its a slow bleed not like last time so they do not think an artery busted but they think it was a vein in the intestine. Nurse Janette said someone as sick as my dad, his intestines and stomach lining can weaken and can easily bleed. She said they hope to give him blood to stabilize him and that his body can stop the bleeding on its own. However there is another problem. My dad's infection is causing the complication. Dr Bellester thinks because of his eratic blood pressure and lungs barely able to function that sepsis may have set in but they are not sure. He said they are going to give him antibiotics, steriods and if need be more blood. He wants to make it through the night and stabilize him so they can send him to CAT SCAN tomorrow to see where exactly the bleeding is. He hopes it does not require surgery because my dad is too critical to be able to handle that. I know with my dad and his recovery it will be full of ups and downs, now is a down. I lectured him and said,"Dad the doctors, nurses, mom and I like it when you are boring and stable. We don't like the excitement believe me. You need to be stable you can do this, you have come this far." Dr. Bellester said he will be monitoring my dad for most of the night because he wants him to make it through the night and we do too. We were positive and upbeat with dad trying to get him to laugh. He did a little but bless his heart it wore him out. So once again my mom and I are spending the night at Hotel Hermann. We want my dad to pull out of this one like he did before. He has a strong spirit. I know its in there. We told him we will be in the waiting room nearby. Yes its a set back again but I hope he moves forward after this again. Mr. V is ready to get better he tells us every day he wants to go home. We tell him he needs to get better in order for that to happen. Please send over your prayers and positive thoughts and love and support to Mr. V. He needs all he can get tonight. Tell him stabilize be BORING, BORING, BORING. Tell him we love him and only want him to get better. Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts.

Update: They finally stabilized him at 3:30 am but he is still very sick, they are giving him tons of medicines but his body needs to fight of this infection. They are going to see how he does today and find out what is going on with his body.

He is resting today

2009-12-16T16:05:00.002-06:00

Mr. V is resting which is good because he does have pneumonia and he is on some different antibiotics. Other then his blood pressure being low Nurse Robert said he was okay. We have not talked to a doctor yet. We know he is still here fighting every day. I really do cherish every moment I have with my dad. If have any updates on Mr. V, you will definitely read it here first! Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts.

Blood Donation Update Numero 3 CORRECT BIRTHDATE!

2009-12-16T15:53:00.004-06:00

If you donate blood in my dad's name you need to know some things about Mr. V

Name: Roel M. Villarreal
Hospital: Memorial Hermann Medical Center
Date of Birth: 02-06-1944, Yes he is 65!

My dad's cousin informed me that you need to call this number 713-791-6339 to make sure it gets credited to my dad's account. She lives in California and was able to do it, so its nationwide to all my out of staters and out of towners, go donate in my dad's name. He still needs blood every so ofter and blood products. Also my mom's school is having a blood drive in Cypress, detail soon!

"He still smiles" -- Nurse Ashley

2009-12-15T22:22:00.003-06:00

I spent the whole afternoon with my dad. Well most of the time in the waiting area since he had to go to CAT SCAN and take a bath. Nurse Ashley told my mom and I that he has an infection somewhere because his white blood cell count was high. They think its pneumonia but not sure, so they took him to CAT SCAN to see where the infection is. His blood pressure is still up and down and up and down and they are working on why his body has not stabilized it. They are giving him antibiotics for the infection. Nurse Ashley said "After all he has been through he still smiles at us, he is a good life lesson. If I hear any of my friends complain about having a bad day, I am going to say you think you had a bad day, let me tell you about Mr. V. They better not complain anymore because I wouldn't." The Nurses love my dad because despite everything he has enough energy to smile to them and "laugh." He really is my hero, he has so much in him to fight and he is doing it. He is already ready to leave but we tell him no you have to heal first and then we will take you home. I told him all I want for Christmas is him to keep getting better and I said "Hey dad that's a cheap deal you don't have to buy me anything for once, its priceless." We did not watch Tiger Woods Scandal today, just his favorite shows, Law & Order, NCIS, Bones. He is definitely a fighter. Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts.

Tiger Woods What?!

2009-12-14T19:14:00.003-06:00

Mr. V is still here and alert. His swelling has gone down. His left hand has gone back to normal size and doesn't look like a baseball mitt anymore. His right hand is still a little swollen. They took out the last chest tube for draining fluid today, no more big tubes, only two little tubes but they are for his legs. He and I were catching up on celebrity gossip on Inside Edition. Can you believe Tiger Woods?! I know right my dad couldn't either. I told him he cheated on his wife with 7 ladies and now Jonathan just told me it is now 8, give me a break. Then we watched the news and of course his soap operas! Erica Kane will never die! Then I had to go to the dentist and that is why this post is late. He is still stable but very very critical, as Nurse Jennifer IV said he is progressing slowly. Hey I will take that any day! I hope he keeps going this way. Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts.

Your Morning Cup of Joe

2009-12-13T10:14:00.004-06:00

We got here bright and early by nine to see Mr. V. Of course he was asleep but hey he deserves it. He had a busy day with family coming over to see him. We got to talk to him for a second before he dozed off again. His Nurse Mary was kind enough to update us on dad. He is still full of fluid in his body, its so bad when they stick an IV in there it just oozes liquid but she said overtime the swelling will reduce. He is back on his pressers but they are monitoring it and they want to once again do a line directly to his belly to feed him. He also has a low hemoglobin count but not too low but they are monitoring it. If his dosage on the pressers go up and his hemoglobin count goes down they may need to give him more blood. So far that has not been the case. They have been giving him medicine for his liver to help it heal. They have to restore his electrolytes which are his potassium, sodium, and phosphates so he can heal faster. Can you believe that, I just thought electrolytes were just a marketing ploy to drink fancy water but we do need it but we make it on our own naturally. Of course my dad needs help in that area since he is still very very sick. Nurse Mary of Hope (interesting story on that should I be A.D.D. and tell you that okay I will)

Nurse Mary of Hope was the nurse that was in there when my dad was bleeding so much there was no hope. However when he started to get better she was still his nurse and my mom saw it as a sign that his nurse was named Mary and I think there was a halo over her head. Okay as I was saying she remembers my dad at his worst and even commented on how much better he looks. He is still very critical but is progressing well. She remembered when he was so swollen his eyelids were super puffy he could barely open his eyes. She was amazed how far he has come.

We are glad that he has progressed little by little, we will take baby steps to getting better any day over big slides backwards to getting worse. Well I just wanted to update everyone on this little bit of news on his status today. I am off to get some coffee from Cafe Herman (pronounced like a fancy French Restaurant). Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

This just in Mr. V is doing alright

2009-12-12T15:31:00.005-06:00

It is a slow news day today which is good. We went to see my dad this morning and he was sleeping of course. We tried to wake him and he woke up a little then went back to sleep. He has been doing okay so far. They are lowering his dosage on the pressers everyday so far but they have some new medicines too which I am not sure what they are for but whatever it is, its working. Also everyone's prayers and positive energy is working too. He is still alert but very tired.

My mom's friend and husband took us out to eat for lunch, we escaped eating at Cafe Herman for once! Believe me you can only take so much of Cafe Herman. We ate at Fadi's oooooh its so good I ate my weight in falafels and hummus. If you ever want to try Mediterranean food go to this place. Oooh I am turning into that blogger the ones that tell you what they eat sorry folks back to business, like you care I would but that's because I love food. Well we came back to the hospital and my dad's family was there, my aunts, uncles, cousins. They are so glad he is doing better for a while everyone was concerned since he had so much happening to him. Now they are much happier just like us. We went back to see my dad and the nurses were watching the Army vs Navy. Nurse Scott was a former Marine and Nurse Laurie's husband was in the Army so awkward kidding they were just teasing one another. I respect both since my dad and his brothers were in the army and my mom's brothers and nephews were in the marines. I know Uncle Danny Semper Fi but hey my dad was in the Army too! They told us that they wanted to change out his catheter for his dialysis machine, still have not changed it yet. He has been doing okay so far. Though since he has not been on the dialysis his blood pressure has gone up so yeah the doctors were correct in their analysis that it did cause his blood pressure to lower. I told him dad just control your blood pressure and get it better for Christmas. That is all I want for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, we had a choir that were Mennonites and they sang christmas songs. They sang "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", "Drummer Boy" and "Oh Holy Night." It was beautiful singing, it filled the waiting room with joy. We all appreciated it so much especially being in this part of the hospital. It is normally not a happy place to be. Today is a happy day because Mr. V is still here and still kicking butt and taking names.

I am glad when my family and friends come by even if its just to visit with us. It lifts our spirits. Even when we get cards in the mail it brightens our days during this difficult time. We do appreciate it. Lets keeping praying and thinking positive thoughts so Mr. V can make a full recovery. We love you all.

Its getting hot in here

2009-12-11T17:07:00.003-06:00

Well yesterday it was a month ago that my dad was admitted to Memorial Hermann. He has fought the odds and so far so good. I worked this morning again and rushed over to the hospital to visit him. First thing of course was lunch, Chinese food in honor of my dad, he loves Chicken and Broccoli. While my mom and I ate lunch in the lovely waiting area, the ambiance is just exquisite, the receptionist called out Villarreal. Nurse Jen III wanted my mom back there to consent to them changing out his lines and adding new ones. He was going to get a new line to measure his blood pressure more accurately. Also they wanted to put in a new catheter for his dialysis.

Dr. Krugar (Its really Kreiger but to me it sounded like Krugar as in Freddy Krugar) told my mom that my dad is back on his pressers (blood pressure medicine) but they think its because of his dialysis and the infection he got which was not that bad. She explained that when people do dialysis this long sometimes you develop an infection. They are giving him antibiotics for that. I swear I know being in a hospital is supposed to make you better but my dad has had more infections then I could care to count. Oh well they have been able to combat them well with antibiotics so far. They are not too concerned about his blood pressure because his heart has been beating on its own and has been strong. They had to give him blood but only because of the dialysis, Dr. Krugar explained that happens when you are on dialysis for so long. His platelets are doing much better, though. So some good news there. My mom asked her about his bones and what they are going to do about them. She said they are healing on their own just fine actually and they are going to put a brace around his back and torse for his spine. They want him to move around more as in sit up in bed. He is not ready yet but when he is they will put the brace on him. She said his ribs actually found each other and they are healing well. Weird how are bodies can do that. Same with his pelvis but she didn't really elaborate. I was kind of confused by the pelvis comment because he basically has no pelvis it was shattered. My mom said she wasn't sure either so we will probably get clarification later. I have to remind myself they are not really concerned about his bones, its organs then bones. They are not focusing on his liver so she didn't say much about that. We were lucky we got these answers which I understand they are in Trauma and have to move to patient to patient to patient. Like I said I would rather flag them down any day rather then them coming straight to us, normally its bad news when the doctors look for you.

We went to see him later this afternoon and they still had not finished putting in new lines. He was awake but not as responsive he was just doing facial expressions, not much "talking." His blood pressure was low and they took him off the feeding tube again. He is going back to the nutrition through his stomach instead of through his nasal passage and down the esophagus. He was looking around a bunch though looking at all the machines and wires. I told him again believe it or not he was doing much better. I told him he was doing well because he is prevailing against the odds. I told him to keep it up. We watched some law and order in his room. With all the machines, tv and his heating blanket its a sauna in there. I am not menopausal but man it feels like I am having my personal summers (hot flashes) there. Of course my poor dad is freezing because again of the dialysis, when the blood hits the room temperature it cools it and then cools your body when it goes back in. But hey he is urinating more and more and its getting to be a normal color, they want it really really light yellow or clear. We tell him to be patient and that he has a long recovery but he can do it, he has come this far. I always go in seeing my dad happy and positive. I have to be this way for him and show him my strength. Not to say I do not break down and boy did I last week and the week before but now I am good. My mom and I are holding up well. We have to. Mr. V is a tiny bit stronger everyday but he is not out of the woods yet. For now he is on fire! I should put my finger on Mr. V and say *sizzle* "Man dad you are smoking" Thanks so much for your prayers and thoughts.

Mr.V is really really tired

2009-12-10T14:02:00.006-06:00

I went to work this morning so of course I always miss my dad when he is the most alert. My mom and Uncle Joe saw him and he was alert and "talking" a little and blinking his eyes. Nurse Jen III said they had to put him back on the pressers because his blood pressure went a little low last night but its on a low low dosage. They still have not put in an arterial line which measure blood pressure more accurately then a regular cuff like we are used to. I am not sure if I told you what an arterial line is but its an IV to a vein that measures blood pressure. Nurse Jen III said they probably will try again today to look for another vein to put in an arterial line. My dad will not like that!

He is still alert and doing better a little tiny bit. He is very tired though, I went in this afternoon and he was sleepy. He even mouthed to me "I am very tired." Yeah of all the people in the world he deserves naps during the day. My mom is going to try to flag down a doctor to ask some questions on how my dad's organs are doing. Believe me its a good thing when you have to flag them down because if they come to you its usually bad news. He had trouble breathing yesterday but today it was better, he is back to breathing more on his own and the machine is helping less. I forgot to tell you! He was getting measured for a back brace so he can sit up. They want him to sit up. What that means for his ribs and pelvis, we do not know? Again we have to run and tackle a doctor now to get some answers. He moved to a different bed in the STICU this one has a tv! So watch out we are going to stay a lot longer with my dad.

I have nothing else to report but when I do you will read it first on this blog. Thanks again for you prayers and thoughts.

Update: My dad was sleeping when Jonathan and I got to the room tonight and his blood pressure was really really low. I am just sending my strength waves to him tonight so he can build up his strength and have his body take control of the blood pressure on its own. I know he is getting better but its still a touch and go situation. He will have awesome days and bad days, so far he has had more awesome days! I told him to keep that up. I told him all I want for Christmas is him to be totally off his blood pressure medicines that would be a big stride towards getting better. I know he can do it he just needs that extra energy. I know I am babbling but since I cannot afford therapy, this blog has become my therapist. It is very therapeutic sharing my feelings about this. Well Mr. V just rest tonight and get your strength back up for another day. Thank you for reading my deep thoughts by Delena Martello. Again many many thanks for your prayers and thoughts.

Blood Donation Numero Dos

2009-12-09T19:22:00.004-06:00

If you are in the Houston Gulf Coast area go to www.giveblood.org which is the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center and you can search where you can donate blood in my dad's name. Do not forget to say:

Roel Villarreal
Memorial Hermann at the Medical Center

Thanks guys!

Looking Good Mr. V Part Dos

2009-12-09T18:50:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the late post folks but I worked and I am not going to lie I took a nap in the hospital, this can tire a lady out. My mom called me this morning to say my dad is non stop "talking" and my mom is officially an expert lip reader. He asked so many questions and they talked, she was there for a while. She said he has been off his blood pressure medicine for 24 hours straight. That is really good since he has not had that ever since he has been in the hospital so it means his body is maintaining the blood pressure on its own. That is there goal folks to get his damaged organs to repair themselves and work on their own without medicine. Way to go Mr. V!

My mom met me for lunch today at Los Cucos which was great, my mom felt good enough to leave the hospital for a little break since my dad is progressing so well. He is still very very sick but man his will is stronger then ever! Well I think my mom tired out my dad this morning that when we got to see him after lunch he was out like a light. We just stayed for a little bit and Nurse Denise said he looked so peaceful she didn't want to wake him for his bath. He hates those! My mom went later this afternoon again and she said he was still sleeping. That's good he needs his rest to get better. I didn't get to tell my dad tonight to be boring but I hope he is boring tonight, no excitement just rest through out the night. I have nothing else new to report but like they say sometimes no news is good news. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.

Slow down Mr. V

2009-12-08T16:16:00.008-06:00

I worked this morning and my mom called to say he is still very very sick but getting better. She said he smiled and tried to mouth many words to him. She said it took her a while but finally realized he was asking her "Why am I here?" and she said to not worry about it now and that you are in good hands here at the hospital. I saw him today and he was "talking" up a storm (whoa whoa slow down buddy)but I am a terrible lip reader and had no idea what he was saying. Jonathan and I went in there and Jonathan said that he thinks my dad had no idea who he was at first but then he recognized him. Oh but maaaaaaaaaaaaaan does he not like the nurse. Nurse Jennifer III is a super nice nurse who is happy go lucky. But to my dad she was Nurse Ratched she was poking my dad with needles and moving him around. She asked him "Do you hate me" and he nodded his head like a two year old throwing a tantrum. She said, "Good hate me and shake your head it tells me you are more alert that's what we want." His arterial line that was an IV to measure his blood pressure was not working anymore so they had to work all afternoon to find another vein to put it in. NO LUCK! They decided to wait and try again tomorrow since my dad had enough. We asked my dad if he was ready to get out of here and boy did he shake that head fast up and down. I told him "Well dad unfortunately your house in Cypress is not a state of the art hospital facility with a world renowned trauma unit equipped with stellar nurses and doctors so you are stuck" Or is it? No its not, seriously. They are talking about moving him to another bed with a TV in the room, we are hoping so, since he is more alert now he can watch and enjoy TV. Man they will have to pry mom off the chair in his room if that becomes true. So in other words Mr. V is getting a little bit better each day. I told him to keep it up and that he probably doesn't believe that he is actually better then he was before. I said "Dad there is plenty of time to tell you what happened." They took out one of his chest tubes that drained fluids on his right side since he was not draining anymore fluid. He is recovering well from his urinary tract infection, he is producing more urine and its getting lighter. So yay some little victories. He is still very very very very very sick but slowly he is getting better. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts for Mr. V and his recovery.

PLEASE DONATE BLOOD!!!!!!! (Update)

2009-12-08T12:20:00.012-06:00

My cousins Joey and Anna are creating awareness at the hospital they work at as to why it is important to donate blood and posting flyers around the hospital. They are having a blood drive in Wharton, TX and every time a unit is donated in my dad's name it will credit his blood bank account. In other words units of blood my dad already used that has been charged to his insurance whatever you donate in his name will credit his account and not be charged to his insurance. For Houston, TX people if you say his name and what hospital he is at, at whatever place you donate they should credit his account too. Please read below:

Please consider donating blood on behalf of:

Roel Villarreal
(Uncle of Joe Ann Balles and Anna Cortez)

He was involved in a major car accident on November 12, 2009 and is still listed in CRITICAL CONDITION.

He has been able to receive several units of blood because of donors, like you.

He is currently at Memorial Hermann on Fannin Rd.

(at the Texas Medical Center)

Thank you.

Location of Blood Drive:
Gulf Coast Medical Center
10141 US 59 RD
Wharton, TX 77488
(979) 532-2500

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center ~ Blood Drive
Thursday, December 17th
GCMC Classrooms (adjacent to the cafeteria)
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Walk-ins Welcome

Or contact Carol Wootton at 979.282.6090 to schedule and appointment.

Donating Blood - Saves Lives!!!

Updates Updates Updates

2009-12-07T19:58:00.004-06:00

Saw him this afternoon his eyes were open and alert. I forgot to say he does have a urinary tract infection which he has antibiotics for. He also is off the feeding tube for now but I think they are weening him off the feeding directly to his stomach and slowly replace with the feeding tube through his nose. He was off the blood pressure medicine for now. I am hoping his body will slowly begin to control his blood pressure on its own and he will totally be off the pressers (doctor talk for his medicine for blood pressure which is Norepinephrine). I am learning a lot about the human body maybe not as much as my cousin Robert who is in medical school now but enough for my pea brain to be in awe of all of it.

I also wanted to make it clear because I know some people who have not seen my dad don't truly understand how critical he is. He is immobile because of all the fluid in his body and can only really move his head a little. He is so stiff and swollen it hurts him if a nurse even picks up his arm to change his dressings. He cannot talk at all because of the tracheostomy which causes you to lose your voice because it goes directly in your trachea. So he was badly injured and its a miracle that he is still here. He is fighting his way back to normalcy. It will take a long long long long long long long time before he gets there but if he keeps this up he will get there. Now on to more lighthearted fair, please enjoy this picture of my dad's favorite grandpuppy, the infamous Pollie Oprah Martello: ( I tell dad every day she misses him feeding her his dinner scraps)

"He is very very sick but getting better" Dr. McHappy

2009-12-07T14:52:00.006-06:00

I went to work this morning and my mom called me and sounded serious, I almost had a code brown (ask my Aunt Gloria and cousin Joey about that). However she quickly sounded chipper when she said," I have the quote of the day from Dr. [Positive McHappypants]" My mom has the habit of writing down what doctors say in her notes as quotes of the day and I in turn tell it to you my lovely audience. Here is how the exchange went down with her and McHappy:
"[Your husband] is very very very sick but getting better; you must have a lot of people praying for him"
"Why yes we do, a lot of people are praying for him."
"Well keep it up it's working"
Dr. McHappy (nickname) is the new head trauma surgeon for the team and Dr. McNutt (not nickname) is still on the team. Dr. McHappy was grilling her, Dr. McNutt, about what they are doing to my dad and he was joking with her. He said that my dad looks good from what he can tell why is he still in ICU? (Of course Mr. V always looks good) Dr. McNutt was getting defensive and upset and Dr. McHappy was just being lighthearted and jovial. He quickly told my mom that not to take offense because when they start joking about patients it means they are getting better because if my dad was not he said he would not be joking at all. So I took that as a really good sign. Last couple of weeks he had two doctors and two nurses tending to him non-stop, to now where he only has one nurse tending to him.

I saw him this afternoon, Nurse Christine had just gave him some pain medicine because she was changing his dressings. But maaaaaaaaaaaan when she started moving my dad around he did not like it he grimaced then clenched his teeth and then let out a "scream" (not an actual scream since he has no voice yet because of the tracheostomy). I know some of you would say hey that is terrible but to me its a good sign because last week he had no response maybe a little frowny face to say he was in pain but now he can move his head a little and do all those expressions. He is becoming more aware. I know that my dad is very very critical still but he has come so far. I think it boggles the doctors' minds that a man in his 60s with a heart condition and is hefty can make it so far. They have him on his blood pressure medicine again but at a very very low low dosage, super low. But they are going to try to get him off of it completely. We saw he was back on an actual feeding tube again with some nutrition. I hope this "food" will give his body energy to heal. He needed some blood today but only because his blood count was low but not at a dangerously low level. I heard that the nurses who had tended to him are all pulling for him because he is tough and a fighter. That was so good to hear. I only hope he still heads towards the right direction. Thanks so much for your prayers and thoughts.

"He is heading in the right direction" Dr. Lee

2009-12-06T07:58:00.003-06:00

Last night my mom and Uncle Rudy went to see my dad around 8:00pm when visiting hours started again. I was catching up on my tv on hulu.com, its an awesome website for people who do not have DVR. Anyways when my mom and uncle came back I asked how dad was doing and if he was blinking more. My mom said that Mr. V was blinking and trying to mouth words again. I just about dropped my open my mouth to the floor. Oh but it gets so much better. She said they saw a doctor and waived her over to dad's room and asked about my dad's condition. I was expecting the "he is still stable but not getting better or worse condition" but instead she said that his heart was beating on its own with no medicine and he was completely off his blood pressure medicine and that he was maintaining his own blood pressure. That completely floored us but not really because we all knew Mr. V had it in him. Tell my dad he has a weak heart when we all know he has the biggest strongest heart there is. She continued to tell my mom of course he is still very critical but if keeps this up he is heading in the right direction. She made it clear to my mom this will not be in a couple of days or weeks but in the far future if he keeps it up. My mom and I know this because he did sustain very serious injuries that of course his body needs plenty of time to repair itself. She said his kidneys are still damaged but right now they could go either way, restore themselves or he could have chronic kidney damage and need dialysis for the rest of his life. My dad has been there before he can kick start those kidneys. His liver is still damaged as are his lungs. But he is still here and has been stable since Tuesday when they dropped the bomb on us (reminder: told us he had multi-organ failure). My Tia Sylvia told my mom that my dad has lasted this long because God wants him here with us. I am not a very spiritual person but I do believe that my dad is still here with us for a reason, he has more life to live.

When I saw him finally last night, I just blabbered on and on about stuff. Told him my friend's cheesy joke she posted on facebook about Tiger woods, What do you call a Tiger? A Lion Cheetah, get it, yeah I laughed but i love corny jokes. I think my dad tried to laugh or roll his eyes. I had to update him on celebrity gossip, I am trying not to watch real news right now because yeah I have enough to deal with then listening about sadness everywhere. He tried to talk to me too! I was so happy but it zapped all his energy so I just talked to him until he fell asleep and said we will be back early to read Da Vinci Code to him. So I have to finish getting ready folks to head out to the hospital. I will update more if there is anything that changes. Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts.

Mr. V is making pretty eyes and Mrs. V

2009-12-05T12:24:00.000-06:00

We saw my dad this morning and he has been pretty stable. He did not give the nurse any trouble last night. While my mom spoke and touched his forehead he started to open his eyes more and blink. We just love when he is more alert. He is still the same not better but not worse. We are hoping his spirit will finally give his body the strength it needs to heal. We are not giving up on you Mr. V! So hopefully today will be a slow news day. He is okay still in very very very very very critical condition but he is still here and stable. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2009-12-04T12:12:00.004-06:00

We were running a little late to the hospital this morning because it decided to snow! The roads were not icy thank goodness but my mom still drove 10 mph, so yeah people walking outside were zooming past us. But she is taking my dad's advice better safe then sorry and no need to rush. We had to wait to see Mr. V because Nurse Jen was cleaning him to look good for his ladies. He did look clean and refreshed we noticed they went down on his pressure medicines, I guess the steriods they are using are working. We have not talked to doctors today because right now we just want to spend as much time as we can with Mr. V. He is still here and still fighting. He looks more alert each day. My mom is reading to him right now so I excused myself and said I will be back to tell him crazy Pollie (my dog) stories. So for now nothing really new other then oh yeah the dialysis machine was not working correctly again! Nurse Jen said she just probably needed to change the cartridge and the filter so we will hope that will work. So lets hope for a slow day today folks of just the nurses and doctors monitoring my dad and letting him build strength. Thanks for your prayers and well wishes.

Update: My dad is still not doing better or worse he is at a stand still. My mom and I are spending as much time as we can with him when we can but also letting him rest. We even braved the weather like mail carriers, through wind and rain and snow to see my dad. I am cherishing every moment with him and I always have. I love him and I let him know everyday.

No News is Good News

2009-12-03T14:54:00.004-06:00

I went to work this morning (my choice) so yes it is late but hey like my uncle said no news is good news so its a slow day today which is good. Dad had a stable day yesterday and so for he is been okay today. My mom read to him this morning, they are reading The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. I recommended it since my dad likes history but my mom likes mystery both things, its not really accurately historical but hey its fiction people, best of both worlds in other words. My mom said she waited until the doctors did their rounds. The doctors said that he is somewhat responding to some medicines, overall he is still in critical condition, but he is not getting better or worse they want to try new things to get him better. They may try a steroid to regulate his blood pressure and see if that works better. So again he is still the same. We are grateful for days like this right now that he is not getting worse and hopefully he will get better.

I went to see my dad and he is blinking more and when I started to talking to him his blood pressure went up. Nurse Jen said he recognized who was here, he was aware I was there. So I talked to him and said to him that its my turn to motivate him and tell him he is a strong person and he will persevere. He has been my support and strength for most of my life so I told him its my turn now. I know he understands me because he blinked and tried to move his mouth more but I told him that is great but not to over exert himself and just relax and and build your strength in repairing your body.

So consider it a good thing that my posts are getting smaller and less dramatic and I am not posting as much, it means Mr. V is still here and fighting. So tune in later for more updates but we want some good ones, I know I do. Thank you again for your prayers and thoughts.

He is still here

2009-12-02T13:56:00.005-06:00

I saw my dad today and he is in there. My mom told me that he is still losing platelets so they want to only get it from one donor instead of multiple, to see if that makes a difference. They are also doing a line directly to his stomach to feed him and give him nourishment to see if that will strengthen his body to help his organs. It really is a small chance of working but they are doing everything they can to help Mr. V win this fight and recover. My dad is sleeping now and just resting. I feel he wants to come out and be strong physically again like he is spiritually. I can only think positively and be strong. As I said before I am not ready to let him go. I am ready for him to get better. All we can do is think positive and pray. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers, we love you all.

Update: My dad also got a DVT filter in his vein in his legs to prevent blood clotting since he has been immobile for a while. I hope everything they do is helping him.

You dropped a bomb on us

2009-12-01T17:21:00.003-06:00

I had to work today, so I came to the hospital at 3:15 pm and my mom was in the back waiting area behind closed doors. She was there with a chaplain. The chaplain said that Dr. McNutt (not a nickname) had told my mom that my dad had multi-system organ failure. His heart, lungs, kidney and liver are not functioning on their own anymore or are very weak and that they have to use medicine and his dosage only keeps going up. The chaplain continued and said the trauma team will keep doing what they are doing but soon the medicine will not work anymore and his organs may not be able to function on their own. His heart is weak because of his triple bypass and it is barely functioning correctly. They basically said that they would not rescicitate if his heart stops beating because of his severe internal damage he only has less then 1% chance of his heart to start beating again. The doctors are saying medicine can do so much the rest is up to Mr. V and right now his body is not well its only getting worse. He has total renal failure his kidneys are not working at all. They cannot tell us if his organs will be able to work on their own again only that the outlook is not good. We are going to be strong for my dad and see him as much as we can. We are going to talk to him and tell him we love him and not think of this as us saying goodbye but being with someone we love and giving him strength. I told my mom whatever happens to dad I know in my heart the doctors did all they could for him because these are the best doctors and nurses in Houston maybe even the world. I am cherishing every moment I can with my dad right now. Ugh this is really hard to type as my eyes get watery but I love my dad. He is a great dad and I know he has many "sons" and "daughters" out there whom he looked after as if he was their own dad. I never minded sharing him even though I am spoiled rotten, my dad had enough love to spread to everyone. I cannot be to sure what will happen to my dad but I do know I want to spend as much time as I can with him and tell him he is a good husband and father. Its out of my hands his fate but whatever it is I want him to know that lots of people love him and we want him here with us. His spirit is so strong but right now his body needs that strength and I know he is trying with all his might. So he had been stable for some days now but they had hoped he would get better and he hadn't.

He is now getting a new line again for his dialysis because it still is not working right. He is in IR right now so we are just waiting until later when we can go into see him again. Its hard for me to believe that this is it I am not accepting that because I cannot give up on dad and I have to be strong. I don't want him to think we have given up on him. I know he is not very responsive right now but I know he can hear us and sense our feelings. So I want to be there for him and be strong. My mom and I are strong women and we are just going to combine our strength and pray for the best. We love everyone and this is a brutally bleak and honest blog but we want you to know because we know you are concerned about Mr. V like we are. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.

Superfasthappyupdate

2009-12-01T11:22:00.002-06:00

I am on break from work so quick update. Talked to my mom and she said he is doing a tiny bit better in most things they tested him for. His dialysis machine is still not working right (why they cannot get a new one is beyond me). She said he is doing okay today. So I hope he keeps it going. Go Mr. V you can do it! Thanks so much for your prayers and thoughts!

"He had a good night last night" Nurse Mic

2009-11-30T21:51:00.003-06:00

We went to see my dad tonight again and they just got him new lines for his dialysis machine so its a go once again to get him set up. Nurse Mic is a good nurse, she is not super friendly but she does her job and does it well. She told my mom sorry about last night, my mom had tried three times last night to call to check up on my dad and she kept missing Nurse Mic. But she told my mom my dad had a good night last night so that made me and my mom smile. I told my dad, "You better have a good night tonight for Nurse Mic." He is still not really too responsive but he does respond when you move him around. We told him that people want him to blink his eyes again and mouth his words like he did a couple of weeks ago. So this update is to let you know that Mr. V is still hanging in there and hopefully tomorrow they will have him back on his dialysis. As soon as we know about his platelets it will be up on the blog. Today their concern was about getting his line replaced for his dialysis. Thank you again for your prayers and thoughts.

The Waiting Area

2009-11-30T18:47:00.004-06:00

As I wait here to see my dad again at 8:00 pm when visiting hours are open again, we talked to a woman whose grandson is in here too. He has been here as long as my dad. He was shot while walking with his sister from a party and both unfortunately got caught up in crossfire. They were innocent bystanders. His sister was treated and released. He was not. He is in STICU like my dad, he is only 25 years old. I hear this story and it breaks my heart just like when people hear my dad's story it breaks their heart. I pray for his recovery too and all the people who are here. They were just living life when tragedy struck. Just like my dad who just thought he was going to run his errands on Wednesday morning and probably call me for our weekly lunch plans, her grandson was just walking home thinking nothing probably had a good time and then all of a sudden life is no longer the same for him. I feel for this family and we know each other's pain. Little by little the people we love who are hurt get better but sometimes they get worse, but we still pray and hope for recovery in the long run. I hope her grandson gets better just like she hopes my dad gets better. We just talk to each other almost everyday and its good to know there are people who do not give up hope and we won't. My dad and her grandson have overcome a lot so far and now its just a waiting game of when they recover because they will recover. I am very thankful that we have family and friends who love us and so glad to meet these people in the waiting area who have been kind to us. I know this is not a normal post but its just my deep thoughts by Delena Martello. I promise the next post will be about my dad's update but I just thought I would share about what we encounter everyday waiting in the STICU, new stories new people same tragic situations. We only pray and hope for the best because that is all we can do.

Mr. V is still here fighting.

2009-11-30T15:10:00.007-06:00

I had to work today so my post is late I know. My mom saw my dad this morning and said he was still the same, stable and hanging in there. Nurse Jennifer III was concerned because my dad is platelets level is low and they have to keep giving him platelets. A hematologist will come by and look at my dad and see what could be going on and what needs to be done to raise his platelet levels. They had to take him off his feeding tube again because they just wanted to not risk his veins constricting because they have him back on blood pressure medicine even if it is a low dose. Well since 11:30 am they have had him at Interventional Radiology (IR) so they can locate a vein in his lower area to put the dialysis line there. Its better to do it there then his neck because there is too much of a risk of infection and other complications. As of now he is not back from IR and we hope they did not lose Mr. V again. I will update you on his status once we find out from the doctors what happened. Oh I am about to go see my dad. Hold on to your horses we will be right back after these messages.

Update: He is back from IR but they couldn't find a vein in his lower area so they had to put it back in his neck again but a new catheter to the same vein. It works there so they are going to keep it there and re-evaluate later. We went in there as they were trying to hook up the dialysis machine to my dad. It was not happening, the machine was not working right. It had to be rebooted twice and then errors happened. Last time this happened they just got a new machine but I think this nurse is stubborn and is like YOU WILL WORK DAMN YOU, she didn't say that but I could sense it in her frustration. All during this time she had managed to be nice to me and my mom that is talent. She is hilarious too, she makes us laugh. So Nurse Angela is a Nurse Funny Pants. She has a good sense of humor. Nurse Funny Pants told us that the hematologist came by and ordered labs for my dad so they can evaluate his situation and see what they can do. So we are just waiting, we probably will not see dad until later but I will update you guys if we here anything different. So far he is hanging in there. Thank you again for your prayers and thoughts.

"He is doing well" --Dr Smooth

2009-11-29T17:25:00.005-06:00

We went to see my dad again and his curtain was closed, my heart raced a little. Dr. Tanner (not related to the Full House Tanner Family) aka Dr. Smooth came out and talked to us. He has such a soothing voice that he can tell you "Hey your hair is on fire" and you will be so soothed by him you just say "yeaaaah" in a dreamy voice and let your hair stay on fire. He is smooth like silk not abrasive like Dr. Bones when he talks to you. He is very compassionate and talks in a low soothing voice. He told us that he was just trying to find another vein for his dialysis but he is a big guy so they cannot find a vein. The line is currently in his neck and its getting to be time to change it to another location to prevent infection. They want to move the line near the groin area. My mom asked about his kidneys but at this time he couldn't answer us because they are just still monitoring him for bleeding, he said right now we are just glad he stopped bleeding. Like I have said before they focus on one thing and the most important and fix that and then move on. Bleeding Internally tends to rank very high on the list. So yes we are thankful that he has stopped bleeding and we just want him to rest and have his body repair itself. Dr. Smooth said tomorrow they will probably try again to move his IV line for his dialysis again and do it with Interventional Radiology (IR). They will have an XRAY screen over his leg and groin and try to locate a vein by injecting it with iodine so they can see it and then they can guide the needle to that vein. He was not sure if they are going to do that just yet, but first they will try again to find a vein without doing IR.

His Nurse, Nurse Angela, was really nice and she dad has not given her any trouble and I said good, that he needs to be boring. We stayed and watched her brush his teeth, he DID NOT LIKE IT, he looked like a mad 3 year old being forced to brush his teeth, like uugh no get away from me were his expressions, we laughed. Nurse Angela said, "Hey you gotta have good breath for your ladies here!" We are glad he is slowly responding, he is not 100% but its coming back which is good. We told him his Texans FAILED but the Cowboys won. I know my dad was like "CATORCE" in his head when we told him about the Texans. My dad yells out catorce which means 14 in spanish so he won't cuss. It kind of sounds like a spanish curse word when you say it just right, go ahead and try it sometime. Yeah but today was a good day, an operation that went well and no bleeding. Tomorrow is another day. We take it day by day and cherish the good boring days. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!!!

"He is the best I have ever seen him" Dr. Bones

2009-11-29T14:02:00.003-06:00

Dr. Bones, the thoracic surgeon, called my mom to say the surgery went well and that the area that he was bleeding at has stopped bleeding and he looks the best she has ever seen him. She was still concerned about his kidneys so that is another bump in the road. Its okay my dad can conquer this too. We saw my dad and he looked fine, he was sleeping still from all the anesthesia. The nurse said his blood pressure was a little low so they are going to put him back on the blood pressure medicine but a very very very low dosage until it gets back up. So Mr. V is looking good. Earlier my Tia Sylvia's reverend and his wife came by and visited my dad and prayed over him. I am not really a spiritual person like my dad but I know this really did lift his spirits. Earlier in the week we had Father Tim pray the sacraments for the sick and anointed for my dad. My mom keeps my dad's rosary with her and holy water from Lourdes, France. I really think science and faith can work together. If my dad's spirit gave up he wouldn't have been able to survive so much right now. If it hadn't have been for the awesome care by his doctors and nurses too he wouldn't have been able to survive. I know logically this makes no sense but what does in life really. All I know is my dad and people who have faith he will survive and the doctors and nurses have not given up on him, has made him stronger. Thank you all for the prayers and thoughts for my dad's recovery.

We are just waiting

2009-11-29T10:42:00.004-06:00

We got here at 7:30 am because my dad was going to have surgery around 8:00 am. They are going to take out his pressure packs and close him up. Dr. Bones will re-evaluate his bleeding and see for sure if it did work. As I said yesterday was a boring day just little baby steps going forward. We can only pray he makes baby steps going forward today. He went in around 8:30 am we think to the OR (still a good sign they think he is stable enough to go to an OR). So we are just waiting until Dr. Bones calls us or talk to us in the waiting area. God willing he gets better as my dad would say. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts.

A Day of Rest

2009-11-28T18:55:00.003-06:00

Sorry Folks for the late post but today was a day of rest and errands. We saw my dad this morning and he was doing okay. He was already off of his blood pressure medicine so his body could take over maintaining it and it was very stable, it still was a little low but slowly going up. This is a good sign. He is also on a feeding tube once again and they are also going to ween him off other medications that are for nourishment and just use the feeding tube as his sole source of nourishment. Tomorrow they are going to remove his pressure packs and close him up so hopefully that will go well. They are still testing him for everything because he is still critical but Mr. V is slowly going in the right direction once again. So the late post, reason. Well my mom and I went to their house out in Cypress and we got more things from the house for her and me. She has good neighbors who put away her newspaper out of site and water her plants. She got some things like bills, medicine, etc. Just because for a little our world has stopped doesn't mean the bills stop nope they don't care they still collect from you no matter what your situation. "Oh yes ma'am that is unfortunate for you about your husband but okay are you going to pay this or not because we are about to cut off your power." Awesome, only in America. My mom gave me her king size bed sheets for my new king size bed (thanks Murphy family)! Yeah another adventure in how after a days of spending the night at the hospital and just wanting to crash at home in your bed and your husband says "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey we got this bed and we need to set up and also dismantle our queen size bed and yeaaaaaaah are you and your mom ready for some furniture work?" Ugh we did it and it looks nice but yeah I was tired. My mom too but she ordered me today after we did our run to Cypress to go home and rest. I did because my dad was having a good day today. Me and my mom forget we need to take care of ourselves too. I know it will be harder for me to convince my mom to do the same and rest but I bet when my dad gets better she will do it. I know with injuries as serious as my dad has sustained their will be ups and downs but right now he is up and we cherish that so much. We thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts.

"It Went Well"-- Dr. Bones

2009-11-27T15:56:00.002-06:00

My dad has his surgery today and according to Dr. Bones it went well. He was hardly bleeding at all but she still replaced his packs and kept it open. They are going to take them out Sunday and close him up. Now they are focused on getting his kidneys back to normal. They are still unhappy right now but they are trying to pin point what are causing his kidneys to be unhappy. My dad is still critical as the doctor debbie downer remind us every day. We just hold onto those good days as long as we can even if its just a boring day of him being stable that is a great day. My dad is still making those baby steps to recovery and we are so happy. We thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.

"Everyday is Important"--Nurse Scott

2009-11-27T11:20:00.004-06:00

Thanks to my Tia Elma and Tia Maizie, we were able to have a decent night rest at my house. My aunts volunteered to stay the night at the hospital so we could go home. My mom got a call from Dr. Bones to say my dad's surgery is scheduled for 11:00 am or 12:00 pm and that he was still bleeding, not as much as before, but that she was going to take out the pressure packs and pack him again. This time she said she wouldn't close him, she would leave him open. She also said his kidneys are operating at a 20 and in a normal person they need to be at 100. So his kidneys are not doing so hot or as Nurse Scott said, "His kidneys are not happy." We decided to get going to the hospital to see my dad before they take him to surgery. But first breakfast, hey food is important to me because I love food.

After an adventure to try and find breakfast tacos because my favorite place, brothers tacos, was closed today hey who said they could be closed today. So we had to ride through my east side hood to find Alamo Tamale Company so we could get some breakfast tacos, yeah score we found some, delish! Well we got to see my dad this morning I tried to sneak in a taco so I can place it under his nose so maybe this well help him get better. Hey nothing like a good chorizo and egg to get you going, am I right, pos I am! Well no food is allowed boooooooo. So anyways we talked to Nurse Scott.

While we were their talking to dad my mom said "Today is an important day, Roel." Nurse Scott said, "Everyday is important." Its true everyday is sacred to us that my dad is still here. Nurse Scott explained to us that my dad is still bleeding and that his hemoglobin count went down from last night but they decided to take some action. They were going to give him a medicine called factor 7 which is something that we produce naturally to help with all the blood functions. However in order to use the factor 7 they needed to give him blood, platelets, and plasma. Also to help his kidneys they need his blood flow to improve too and also they are thinking maybe other factors contributing to his kidneys not being "happy" They are testing his adrenal gland for cortisol that we produce that helps the kidneys function and if those levels are low it causes kidneys to not function. However they are giving him a steriod of cortisol to help his adrenal gland which in turn will help his kidneys. I am learning so much about the body. Wow it all depends on one another and if one thing breaks down everything is affected. They have to keep everything in my dad in balance medically as best as they can but its still not as good as what we do naturally. IT WRINKLES MY BRAIN! You think WOW! So I tell my dad everyday they are doing what they can and the rest is up to his spirit and body to get better. I know this post is long and you are probably like skimming but at least know this. It will be a long time before he is back to old Mr. V but the doctors, nurses and my dad are doing their best to keep him going and he has not given up. We love you all and thank you again for your prayers and thoughts.

"He is much better"-- Dr. Hammond

2009-11-26T16:34:00.004-06:00

When we went to see my dad around 11 am the doctors were doing their rounds. Luckily we caught them right when they came to my dad and I kept overhearing "good, good, great" and it was Dr. Hammond saying it. He spoke to us and said he is responding well to the packing and that his bleeding has decreased significantly and he is pretty stable. He did remind us of course he is still in critical condition but that he is much better today then yesterday. They already are weening him off some medicines so his body can start doing more on its own. He had been heavily sedated yesterday so he is coming off of that today but he is still not really responsive but he is aware of things. So far so good today. He is still not out of the woods but he is taking tiny steps in the right direction and thats all we ask for. We can be patient as long as he is getting better. We will take those little baby steps any day of the week. Of course my mom said to him this afternoon, "Looking good Mr. V." He really does look good.

They are going to perform surgery tomorrow and remove the pressure packs and reassess what else can be done for my dad and see if it has stopped the bleeding if not they may pack him again, not sure. Of course Dr. Bones will be performing the surgery and it will be around noon or early afternoon. He has come so far so I know he can do this.

Again its a great Thanksgiving Day and the Cafe Herman turkey meal wasn't half bad, it reminded me of public school days of getting dressing served in an ice cream scoop ahhhhhhhhhhh memories. It wasn't my mom's dressing but its okay as long as I got to spend it with my dad. I hope the Cowboys win today because it would make my dad happy (yes Houston people my dad loves the Cowboys but really he will always be an Oiler's Fan, hell he just loves Texas teams!). We love you all and thanks for your prayers and thoughts.

"He is a fighter"--Nurse Scott

2009-11-26T10:45:00.003-06:00

We saw my dad this morning and Nurse Scott reported he had a better night then the last couple of nights. He is doing a tiny bit better, but we will take tiny bit better then way worse. He is still bleeding but its not "pure" blood as Nurse Scott said. He said its some blood and other fluids which is fine if it was blood then they would be concerned. His bleeding has slowed down quite a bit and like I said its not just blood its other fluids that need to be drained out of his body. His platelet count is still down but its slowly improving, where as before they tried and tried to replenish and the count would go no where. We missed Dr. Bones this morning she was looking for us to tell us about my dad but we had went down to Cafe Herman for free breakfast. But Dr. Bones has been checking on my dad and has been since yesterday she maybe insensitive in her remarks but she is good at her job just like the character Dr. Bones. So my dad is still hanging in there and I am thankful for that, it is going to be a good Thanksgiving after all. Happy Thanksgiving everybody! We love you all and thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

You are my Sunshine

2009-11-25T23:55:00.004-06:00

Well goodnight folks, today was a trying day and my mom and I are exhausted. We are still here being strong for my dad. It has definitely been a roller coaster of love as we go through ups and downs and ups and downs and ups. We are praying that my dad goes up and keeps going up. We are again at Hotel Herman aka Memorial Herman STICU waiting area. The beds are a bit uncomfortable if you define bed as a barely padded chair and a crappy ottoman. As I said before we are here for my dad and I really believe he knows we are near. We tell him that. Tonight I sang to him the song he would sing to me when I was little "You are my sunshine." I told him mom and I are not ready for our sunshine to go away. We are all not ready for our sunshine to go away. We thank you for your prayers and thoughts.

Family and Friends make us Stronger

2009-11-25T17:44:00.003-06:00

My family is here at the hospital with us and we are thankful they have taken time out of their busy schedules to check on us. Especially since its thanksgiving it means so much. Yesterday my mother in law and sister in law came and it really helped just to visit and laugh about my husband of course. When we get emails or comments of encouragements helps us too. We just feel so loved and my dad feels it too. Like I said he is the underdog but he is down but not OUT! They are looking at him round the clock hoping he will turn around and we hope so to. Having family and friends who are supportive have helped so much. We love all of you please keep up with thoughts and prayers.

"This is our last resort"--Dr. Bones and Dr. Hammond

2009-11-25T13:45:00.002-06:00

This blog is very very hard to type. After my dad's surgery they had hoped the bleeding would stop or slow down and that medicine would eventually stop it. The internal bleeding has not stopped and they cannot give him anymore blood or blood products because that would be toxic to his body. Dr. Bones said that she doesn't want him to go to surgery again because it would be a strain on his body. She essentially said that he is bleeding to death because his body is not healing. She also said there is one last resort procedure that may help it will give him a 30 to 40 % chance of survival. She said that they are going to pack him. They are going to open up his incision they made this morning for his surgery and pack it with gauze. Essentially its like applying pressure to a wound to stop the bleeding. She said they will pack him and then after two days remove it and see if that helps if not well they are not sure what else to do. We had a chaplain pray with us to help the doctors and help my dad. I told dad he cannot give up the doctors are doing their best to save him and he just needs to help them too. I want my dad to prove them wrong and say in your face doctors. I want my dad to turn around and get better and give it all he has got. I love him so much he is my only dad. I cannot imagine my life without him. My mom cannot either they have been married for 35 years and I told dad he had to make it to 50 years so we can throw them a big party. I am not ready to let him go, I never imagined this would happen when I was 30. He needs to make it to see his future grandchildren and see me get old and wrinkly too. I know this post is very sad but this is how I feel right now because we are trying hard to be strong but there is a breaking point. I didn't want to sugar coat it but my dad is getting worse but I know this is a good hospital and they are trying everything they can do to help him. I will keep you all posted as soon as we find out about him after they do his procedure. Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers.

"He is a tough guy" --Dr. Bones

2009-11-25T04:06:00.003-06:00

My mom and I were half asleep in the waiting area when we heard "Villarreal!" Dr. Bones was looking for us. She sat down and said that the surgery went well and they discovered a lot of blood was clotting around his lungs (blood settled around his lung and was not draining well) and they have stopped the bleeding. However she said he may bleed again because he was not clotting so well. They are giving him medicine to help with the clotting. She said that my dad is a tough guy and the fact that he survived surgery is a big deal. I know in his condition surgery is a big big risk, its a big risk with a healthy functioning person. She had just checked on him and said that he was doing fine and because of the removal of the clotting he was able to breathe better. My dad is a tough guy like I said he is El Tigre. I told my dad yesterday, dad you made it this far you can do this. He is doing it and he amazes the doctors as he does it. We love you Mr. V and people are praying up a storm that you recover. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers, we love you all.

Mr. V's bumpy ride to recovery.

2009-11-24T23:41:00.003-06:00

We had left the hospital at 9:30 p.m. When we arrived to my house to have a restful sleep, Dr. Bones called my mom at 10:45 pm to say my dad needed surgery and she needed to come back to sign consent forms. Dr. Bones explained my dad was getting too much blood product i.e. plasma and platelets and that too much could be toxic to his body and cause him to die. My mom and I drove back to the hospital and here we are spending the night again. Dr. Valdez spoke to us about the operation, he said that my dads broken ribs are very sharp and they are against veins and arteries and every time he has been moved those ribs have been cutting some veins and arteries. Their main goal is to stop the bleeding and tie up the veins and arteries that have been cut. They are doing exploratory surgery to do this and make sure there is no other bleeding elsewhere. We asked if they were going to fix the ribs while they were at it, he said no because their main goal was to stop the bleeding. My mom signed the consent form and they were on their way to get my dad disconnected and sent off to OR. I want my dad to make it through this surgery he has too. I know everything has taken a toll on him but he has to fight. I know I am in a good hospital with good doctors and I know its out of my hands all I can do is give my dad strength and pray we all pray he makes it out okay. My dad is a survivor he has the eye of the tiger. We all thank you for your love and support and your thoughts and prayers.

The Cape

2009-11-24T18:10:00.004-06:00

My Tia Elma called me this afternoon and shared a good story about my dad. Many of you may not know that my dad had terrible kidney problems when he was five. The doctors told my abuela Fina that my dad was not going to live. My aunt told me their cousin Bene told my dad if he got better he could wear a cape. Well my abuela and dad took a train ride to Galveston to the doctors there and he was there for a long time and he got better so much better. My aunt said that when my dad came home, Bene kept her promise and let him have the cape. He wore that cape all the time and "flew" around the house and didn't take it off. So please if you have a good story about Mr. V please share it in the comment section below and we will tell him those so he can have some good stories to hear. If you cannot figure out the comment section just email me too. I hope you enjoyed this little story about my dad because it shows he is strong, I told him I would get him a cape if he got better.

My mom is keeping up her spirits

2009-11-24T17:51:00.004-06:00

We got to see my dad again for a bit this afternoon. Dr. Bones was there and told us he is hanging in there, she is still monitoring him for his bleeding and so far it has not warranted enough for her to be concerned for surgery. The Nurses, Nurse Mary and Jennifer III, and Dr. Quentin were working on my dad replacing IV lines and one of his chest tubes. They want to make sure everything works and this hopefully will help, you need to replace IVs every once in a while when they are in your body so long. They also replaced his chest tube, it was slipping and it needed to be replaced with a new one and moved the chest tube to another place. This will hopefully help him drain fluid better. They also are running the dialysis to help flush out the fluids building him up. He is very puffy right now and you know what Mrs. V said. "Roel I hope you don't get stretch marks from all this bloating" Hahaha my mom and the nurses and doctor laughed. I said in my best Joey (my cousin) impersonation,"That is wrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooong." We have to keep our sense of humor around dad it helps us. We need to laugh to keep our spirits up and it has. I will not lie we have had difficult times and times we have cried but we pull ourselves together and remember that we need to be strong and to just laugh. We have had our shares of inappropriate jokes about this situation but we know Mr. V would be laughing too because thats just how he is. He and my mom have the best senses of humor I know and thats one of the many reasons they are perfect together. Ah Que Mr. V as my mom always says. Again thank you for your thoughts and prayers he is fighting all the way.

"We want a boring day" --Nurse Jennifer III

2009-11-24T10:39:00.003-06:00

My mom went this morning to see my dad and talked to the doctors. He is still bleeding but it has slowed down. She said they are monitoring everything and their main goal is to get him stable and then get better. His blood pressure is still low and they keep pumping him with medicines to raise it to a normal level. Dr. Nightshift (i didnt remember to catch his name) came to talk to us out in the waiting area when he got off his shift. He was very somber in his tones and said that basically my dad's rib had punctured an artery in the accident but because the blood was clotting in his lung it was contained but because he had been moved, the artery opened up again. They want to avoid any procedures right now if they can because he said doing a surgery on his body would have the same affect as running a mile. They want him stable and to see what to do next. Dr. Nightshift seemed concered about my dad's health and to me it says he really is doing his job to keep my dad stable and to get his body to recover. Dr. Nightshift was very honest when my mom asked about his kidneys because she was told their were damaged and she asked well how damaged are they and will they heal. He said that he didn't know because their main concern is to stop the bleeding. So its still critical for my dad right now, high alert critical. We do not need drama today, Dad.

Nurse Jennifer III told my dad that we want a boring day, where my dad keeps stable and no excitement. We all want that today. My mom and I are being strong for my dad. He needs all the strength he can get to recover. I love him so much and so do a lot of people. So right now its just a waiting game to see which way he goes, and I know in my heart he will go up. I told him last night dad you have gotten so far you can do this. Thank you all so much for your prayers and thoughts. We love you all.

Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

2009-11-23T23:13:00.002-06:00

I think this song is fitting for my dad and his situation. In Rocky III, Rocky Balboa was going against Clubber aka Mr. T and he was big and had a mohawk and large gold jewelry but did Rocky give up, heck no he clobbered Clubber, because he had spirit and was the underdog, as always. My dad is a survivor and yes his daughter is a movie freak that happens to love all the Rocky movies except Rocky V ugh we don't talk about that one. Today my dad had a trying round with his body but his spirit didn't give up. He showed them with his one two south paw punches. My mom and I talk to him everyday that he is doing so well he can do this.

My dad is in high alert critical condition meaning they are really watching him and the doctor on call is checking on him. As I told you guys in the last post he was internally bleeding again, well it has slowed down a bit but he still needs blood and his blood pressure dropped. His body temperature has dropped too. His Nurse, New Lady Nurse (forgive me he has so many its hard to remember the names) has been keeping an eye on him. New Lady Nurse said they are keeping an eye on his blood pressure, his blood count, his heart rate and his body temperature and then some. They want him to remain stable through the night and they are once again pumping him with lots of fluids so he has a swollen body again. He doesn't need surgery thus far and the doctors do not want to perform surgery unless they need to in his condition because to do so would be risky. But my dad is Rocky Balboa when they think he is down he gets up and knocks some sense into them.

He tells us with his eyes he is fighting hard to recover. We tell him just by resting and letting the nurses and doctors tend to him he is doing so much to repair himself. We are in the hospital tonight spending the night because my mom and I want to be close and I think my dad can sense when we are close. I feel that our strength and I mean all of us here who are his family, friends, acquaintences touched by him, that our strength, give him strength. Your thoughts and prayers help us get through the rough patches and helps us celebrate the good things that happen. We love you all. My dad has the eye of the tiger, he is El Tigre.

Meet Dr. Bones and other adventures...

2009-11-23T16:56:00.004-06:00

This morning my mom had to go get out their personal belongings from my dad's car before the insurance towed his car from the junk yard. So I went to the hospital by myself this morning at 8:45 am. My mom called me as soon as I got there that my dad had internal bleeding last night (it was really at 2 am) and they are going to do a procedure on him. She explained that they had thought maybe it was his aorta that had been bleeding and that the reason they discovered the internal bleeding was that one of his chest tubes on his left side was gushing out blood and he was losing a lot of blood. So they had to replenish his blood supply and also take pictures of his aorta and put a small camera down his throat to his body to see his heart and aorta. The aorta looked fine, the stint and graft looked excellent. His heart looked dry because he lost a lot of blood. So they of course gave him more blood. Around 10:30 I went in to see my dad and they were preparing to take him to get a cat scan. Nurse Jennifer II explained that because it wasn't his aorta they were going to do a cat scan from his chest to his abdomen to his pelvis to see what could be causing it. She said he would be in CT (Cat Scan) for a while and that they would call us when he is back, yeah right like they EVER do that. So I waited and waited, I was lucky enough to have family and friends stop by and visit with me.

Still waiting my mom finally was done with getting things at the junk yard and getting a rental car. She came to the hospital around 2:00 pm. She and my uncle went in to see my dad. My uncle said that the surgeon was there talking to my mom and him and he said she reminded him of Bones (Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, tv show). So Dr. Bones told my mom, "You know we may have to do surgery and he may die and he is highly critical." Yeah just like Bones very matter of fact with no type of empathy or bedside manner. Well Dr. Bones didn't want to do surgery unless she had to and she noticed my dad had stopped bleeding. They had already prepared my dad for surgery and just as the surgeon came to see him he stopped bleeding. So Dr. Bones was going to come back in an hour to see if he starts bleeding again but that she didn't want to risk surgery if she didn't have to. She of course reminded my mom he may die if he goes into surgery in her logical matter of fact tone. So my mom, uncle, cousin and me wait and wait. Thank god my cousin brought chocolate I had bought for her son's fundraiser it came in handy, whatever my dad's in the hospital I can cheat on my weightwatchers, don't judge me.

Well an hour past and my mom and uncle went back there again. Thank god my dad was not bleeding and had not bleed so Dr. Bones decided not to do surgery. He was stablizing more and more. They were going to settle him back onto all his machines--they took him off of them because they thought he would be off to surgery. What they concluded was one of his ribs may have punctured an artery in the accident and it didnt start bleeding until now and that its now stopping, so they are going to monitor him all day and night. Dr. Ware (real name and the real bone doctor) said he was going to wait till the end of this week to do surgery on his ribs. Of course Dr. Bones (not her real name and not a bone doctor) told my mom that my dad was doing much better now. My mom said while they were there a priest came by and they prayed over my dad and then the nurse who came to tend to my dad her name was Mary. That was a sign a good sign. I am so glad that my dad is still fighting and pushing forward, its so great even when he is stable for us and him. I know it will be a long recovery but he still progresses every day little by little and that is all we ask for. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers, Mr. V certainly knows people love him and want him to get better.

"I am no lip reader"--Delena

2009-11-22T17:53:00.004-06:00

Well I know its a good sign when my dad keeps trying to talk but no sound keeps coming out. It's like playing charades or password with him. We are terrible at this game. The nurses say he is responding more to their commands, so my dad understands us. We just don't understand him, ugh I need to hire a lip reader. Well he has been doing well today. The trauma nurses and doctors are working hard to fix Mr. V again. One of the nurses who tended to my dad stopped my mom this morning and said he was glad my dad was doing better and that he checks on him everyday even when he is not assigned to him to make sure my dad was doing well. Nurse Jennifer II and Jennifer IV said he has been charming and flirty shhhhhhhhh don't tell my mom. That's the Mr. V we know and love. He has had no complications today and believe me this makes our day. I keep reminding my dad all the time, we love him, we all love him and want him to get better.

"He is taking a turn for the better"--Dr. Greenburg

2009-11-22T10:38:00.005-06:00

Mr. V is doing it! My mom went early to the hospital, I was running late of course. When I got to the hospital she was already in the STICU seeing my dad. She came out to the waiting area and said "Awesome, Awesome, Awesome" My mom timed it just right to see the doctors making there rounds. She waited until they got to my dad and she heard Dr. Cotton going over all the tests they have done on my dad, e.g. his ammonia level. Every time they would go down the lists of tests and say my dad's levels Dr. Cotton would respond Awesome! They are reducing the medications they are giving him. His levels are slowly returning to normal. I finally realized they are testing my dad for EVERYTHING! They want all levels of everything that should be normal output for our bodies to test normal. Its going to take some time for him to go back to normal but the doctors see him making progress once again. Dr. Cotton reminded my mom "small steps" and that it would be a long time. He is still on dialysis and less fluid is coming out of his chest. The drugs they are giving for his jaundice is going to take a while to kick in so he is still yellow. My dad is responding better and he is doing more and more each day to try and communicate. He mouthed the words "Water" to my mom, to say he was thirsty. I about cried that is the first time he has tried to mouth words. She told him he couldn't have any water but that the nurse will wet his lips with a damp cloth.

As far as his infection, it wasn't a mystery infection really, his colon was inflamed and causing the levels in his body to go haywire and cause the fever and increase in white blood cells. They put him on new medicine yesterday and they said he is responding to it well and the dialysis has helped a lot. His white blood cell levels have not gone down but they have not increased either but the doctors said he just started the medicine so it will be a little while before it starts to really work. I know they are being conservative in telling us remember small steps and we know but we are just happy to see him recover bit by bit. He is still in his "rotisserie" bed as Nurse Jennifer IV calls it. He needs that bed to keep up his circulation and help his lungs, which by the way look healthy. Well I will keep everyone posted if there are further developments. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers, he knows that a lot of people care for him and want him to recover.

"Nothing Exciting Has Happened"--Nurse Jennifer, IV

2009-11-21T15:46:00.004-06:00

I forgot my laptop so I apologize for the late post; I have to wait until the community computers are free in the waiting area. My mom and I saw my dad today at 2:00 pm finally after two hours of waiting. They were giving him a bath and other stuff before they let us go back there to see him. We met a new nurse, Nurse Jennifer, who happens to be the fourth Nurse Jennifer that has tended to dad, so she is Nurse Jennifer, IV. Jennifer, IV told us that nothing exciting has happened and that he has been pretty stable. His fever has not come back and his blood pressure is normal. He is in this new fancy bed of course and it was rotating him side to side when we got there. He blinked his eyes really well while we were there to let my mom know he is aware that we were there talking to him. He is still on dialysis and still will be until the renal doctor checks his kidneys and makes sure they are getting better. I just felt so much better when the nurse said "nothing exciting has happened." I always remembered what my cousin's friend said who is a doctor, she said you never want doctors or nurses to be excited about your condition, you want them to be bored because that means its nothing really serious. Mr. V is fighting more and more each day. I know this will be a long recovery with setbacks but for every little setback there are giant leaps towards progression. Again thank you for your thoughts and prayers, its working.

Mr. V will not give up without a fight...

2009-11-21T00:26:00.002-06:00

Jonathan and I went to see my dad late this evening. Due to an emergency in the STICU with another patient it was on lockdown again. Finally, we were able to see him. His eyes were open again. I was telling him stories and he was able to move his mouth a little and his eyes and eyebrows. He was on his dialysis machine and its a 24 hour dialysis machine. This way it can really help out his kidneys. They had done a CAT SCAN again to see if maybe they could find anything else that may be adding to the infection they found nothing. The New Nurse said they could not find any other infections in his body. She told us he was stable and that he had no fever and that his blood pressure is normal. She said she took him off of one blood pressure medicine. He is in a new type of bed that he is strapped to so they can rotate him from side to side while he is on dialysis. This is supposed to help the lungs she said. I am not sure what she meant by that but I was just to busy being happy that she said he was doing fine so far. Now we just have to pray he stays fever free and normal blood pressure through the night. His heart rate is high but they are going to figure out what to do in the morning when the doctors do their rounds. Also the renal doctor (for his kidney's) will come too, to check out his kidneys to see if they are doing any better. I am praying that they will do better and that he will fight this infection. He has come so far from such serious injuries, he has some fight left in him.

He is a fighter

2009-11-20T16:58:00.002-06:00

My mom spoke with the doctors this afternoon about my dad's condition. He is not doing well. He still has an infection and they cannot tell where its coming from. This is causing low blood pressure and his kidney's are failing, renal failure. He is starting dialysis right now so they can sustain his metabolic and remove toxins in his body. If they cannot find the source of the infection and treat it correctly his organs will shut down one at a time. Right now they are treating his jaundice with a medicine called Actigal. The only little light was that he still has a fever but its at a good level, but his white blood cells are high. In my heart its not time for my dad so he needs to fight this. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts. It was really hard to type this post but I had to because with every journey to recovery there are obstacles that can be conquered.

Looking Good Mr. V

2009-11-20T13:24:00.002-06:00

Well I am waiting to see my dad, they have the STICU in "lockdown" as my mom said. They are doing a procedure on one of the patients (not my dad) and will not let anyone in until its done. My mom did get to see my dad this morning and she said he was trying to move his eyes more and he moves his eyebrows. When the respiratory therapist was talking my dad tried to move his head to see who was talking, he almost did it but the respiratory therapist helped him move his head. So he is almost there folks. I am going to tell him about Dr. Red Duke today and Pollie of course (his favorite grandpuppy). I am going to tell him about how everyone is praying for him. I will wait to tell him about the Nurse Sunshine incident. Other then that just hanging out with my family today which is great. My Aunt Lee brought me a pic of my dad and my mom from 1974 so you know that is going on the slide show. Nothing says looking good like my dad in his leisure suit. Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers, its working!

We are so blessed

2009-11-19T21:26:00.004-06:00

Once again we cannot thank family and friends enough for showing their support and love through this difficult time. We appreciate everything you have done for us. Whether it be dinner from Diamond S (still in that Nacho Coma), prayers, blessings, Big GINORMOUS gift baskets, cards, flowers, being there, you name it we are appreciative of all you do. Mr. V is progressing in the right direction, again tonight he opened his eyes and still communicates with his eyebrows, we said he is doing morse code with them. That's all to report for now! We love you all so much!

Eyes wide open

2009-11-19T14:35:00.006-06:00

While I was at work this morning (work is being very understanding so I am part time temporarily), my mom went to see my dad and she said he opened his eyes! She asked if he could move his eyes or move his hands if he understood her and he tried with all his might and was able to move his eyebrows up and down. Yup the old Mr. V eyebrows, where we would joke his were getting to be like Fergie's dad (not singer Fergie but Duchess Sarah Fergusen) but yeah they moved up and down to tell my mom "Hey I am still here and I am not going anywhere." We still have a couple of battles to overcome. His eyes and skin are turning yellow so they think he has hepatitis and he has an infection in his lungs still. So as soon as the doctors figure out what is causing the yellowing and his infection they will treat it. Then when its finally treated they will look into his broken bones. I am so glad he opened his eyes this morning. Right now he is sleeping my mom said and he is yawning big yawns. I don't blame my dad it probably took a lot out of him just to open his eyes. Well he is heading in the right direction. Thank you guys so much for your prayers and concerns. I am sure Mr. V knows in his heart there are a lot of people who love him and thats why he is tough and fighting this every step of the way.

Update:
Dr. Red Duke was here! If you dont know who that is click on his name and you will be directed to website about him. But I cannot wait to tell my dad this because he used to have a medical news spot on the local station in Corpus Christi on Channel 3. I saw him talking with a family member about a patient and I heard him and thought hey I know that voice. I almost wanted to ask for his autograph but I didn't. The front desk was stunned because they said he rarely comes out and talks to patients or their families. Wow he is like House, MD. the man behind the curtain. My mom walked by him and she confirmed it was him! Sorry dorky but it excited me that we have celebrity doctors at an awesome hospital

Mr. V has sinus

2009-11-19T06:03:00.003-06:00

I apologize for not updating last night but I was exhausted. They performed every thing I said they would in my other post. Dr. Hughes told us that his CAT SCAN showed nothing but that he has some sinus issues. However, they are going to schedule an MRI on him so they can get more detail on his brain tissues. They are still concerned that he has not woken up yet. Last night when my mom and I visited him maybe it was my imagination but his eyelids started to want to open. It made me think of when you are in a real deep sleep and you want to open your eyes but that its just to exhausting to do it. Also, they put in the tube on his right side to drain the fluid that has settled around his lungs. They may do the plating of the ribs today or tomorrow. Dr. Hughes explained that they slit open his left side and slide the plates over the ribs to force them back into place, so they can start healing. We do not know the results of what bacterial infection he has, and we will not know until 2 days from now, that's how long Dr. Conservative said it will take to culture the bacteria. For now they are pumping him with some antibiotics but in 2 days they will know specifically what kind of medicines to give my dad to beat this infection. I am still hoping my dad will start to turn around he already has overcome so many obstacles. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts for our family, we do appreciate it and love you all.

Pictures of Mr. V

2009-11-18T16:16:00.002-06:00

Hello my family and friends, I am trying to put together a slide show of my dad for the blog. If anyone has pictures of my dad email me. You can just click email me and it will go to my yahoo. I already have some from family working on getting some more!

Meet Dr. Conservative

2009-11-18T11:19:00.004-06:00

My mom went to see my dad this morning and she always times it when the doctors are doing their rounds. She was able to speak with Dr. Hamilton. Dr. Hamilton is part of the trauma team and he has been the doctor who has always given us conservative diagnosis, hence Dr. Conservative. Well today was no different. Dr. Conservative said my dad has an infection because he has a fever and the temperature remains high. They are going to do a bronchoscopy on my dad to get a sample from his lung to see what type of bacteria it is. The preliminary prognosis is pneumonia but they are not sure. They also want to do a CAT SCAN again of his brain because Dr. Conservative said he is not waking up as quickly as he should. Ugh these doctors never agree. Dr. Quentin says it may be a while before he awakens, Dr. Conservative is like no he should have been awake and talking and making coffee. Seriously talk to one another that is all I ask. They are also going to do a thoracostomy, inserting a tube for the right lung since fluid has been collecting on his right side. Also they discussed about plating his ribs. From what I understand(if anyone out there is a medical student, ahem Robert, or nurse reading this blog feel free to correct me) they take a metal plate in front of the ribs and connect them together to allow them to mend. I tried to google some type of diagram to no avail, thanks google! So I know my dad will pull through but its going to be a long journey of little downs and big ups. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts.

"He tried to open his eyes"-- Dr. Quentin

2009-11-17T15:44:00.004-06:00

As you know my dad was scheduled to have his tracheostomy tomorrow morning but SURPRISE SURPRISE it was done this early afternoon. How did my mom find out you say? Well when she went to go see my dad around 11:00 am they told her she couldn't because they are doing procedures right now. The receptionist could not elaborate. FINALLY my mom saw him at 2:15 pm and she saw that they had performed the tracheostomy. The New Nurse (substituting for Nurse Sunshine) told my mom that they had performed the tracheostomies here and that 3 other patients had to get them too, that's why they wouldn't allow anyone back in STICU. I got off work at 1:30 and got here by 3:00 and was able to see my dad with my mom. He was doing fine, he looks better not so bloated. His heart rate is going down and they are trying to make it go down even more with some medicine. New Nurse was nice enough to call at the front desk to let us know the doctors were doing their rounds. So thank you New Nurse. Dr. Quentin spoke to us and said that when he was examining my dad earlier he said my dad's name,and my dad tried to open his eyes. He couldn't do it just yet but he was trying. He said that people who are older it may take a while for them to wake up once they are off the sedatives and especially since he had two surgeries yesterday it may be longer. Dr. Quention also said that they may do a cat scan on his chest because he is draining quite a bit of fluid from there so they will assess from their if they will clean his chest or let it drain some more. I think it made my mom's day when he said "He tried to open his eyes." So we are just praying he stabilizes more so that way they can go ahead and tend to his bones. We are so thankful he is progressing.

Just Breathe

2009-11-16T21:27:00.002-06:00

My dad will be having his surgery for his percutaneous tracheostomy on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 9:00 am. My mom trusts Nurse Midnight (Nightshift Nurse) and she confirmed it. Nurse Midnight also said my dad's heart rate went down to 118 which is good, because yesterday it was at 141. His vitals are good and he is still sleeping and Nurse Midnight was going to let him rest for the night. Oh also my dad is off the sedatives so slowly they are getting him to wake up. Every thing is looking good so far. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Shout out to Master Jay!

2009-11-16T20:20:00.003-06:00

I would like to thank Jay Johnson for helping me with my blog design as I am computer illiterate and all with websites. So thanks Jay for my snazzy new design!

Success Part Dos!

2009-11-16T17:39:00.004-06:00

We just saw my dad. My mom was lucky enough to corner Nurse Sunshine and Dr. Hamilton. Dr. Hamilton told us my dad's abdomen had been closed, they didn't need it open anymore! He also told us about the surgery on his aorta but we already knew that went well. This is good news people because they had told us before it could be at LEAST a week before they could close up his abdomen. And it was only two days! Also Nurse Sunshine said he was off his sedative medication. So he could wake up later tonight or tomorrow morning. So he will be awake and alert, no talking yet as he is still being weened off the breathing machine. But this is good progress. Its still a long road ahead but everyday it gets better.

UPDATE:
Another Surgery, another day. Tomorrow my dad will be going for a percutaneous tracheostomy. This is a surgery in his throat so be can breathe better instead of tubes down his mouth through his trachea. We are not sure when the surgery will be done but my mom will be sure to find out and hope this time they will not lose him.

Cardio City Sweetheart

2009-11-16T16:50:00.001-06:00

Success! Dr. Azizzadeh, Vascular Surgeon, talked to us at 4:15 about my dad's operation. It went well and he is fine. My mom made the mistake of saying "oh so you are a cardiologist" Dr. Azi (ugh his name is too long for me I am lazy) said "No I am a vascular surgeon" My mom said "Oh there is a difference?" Dr. Azi said "Yes I deal with the vascular side, the arteries,veins, I am the plumber, basically" So no we know and the more you know... Well Dr. Azi told us basically they did basically a sonogram and saw a weakening of the wall of the aorta in my dad. They went in and placed a stent in with webbing to cover up the surrounding area where the wall was weak. So everything went fine and he was doing well. He wants to see my dad after he recovers for a follow up visit. So its always good to hear when a doctor says follow up visit when your dad is in critical condition. Its just these little things that are so big to us. Well now we know he is in his room for sure, my mom asked and they said yes that bed 22 was back. So in a bit I will get to see my dad and one day we can tell him the story of when they lost him. We will laugh and laugh and laugh.

Bed 22 where are you?

2009-11-16T16:18:00.003-06:00

At STICU they assign a bed number to the patients, my dad is bed number 22. Well this morning he went into surgery to clean out the sponge in his abdomen that he has open to release pressure in his organs. Well that was at 9:30 am. We saw as my dad was wheeled away to surgery and then went out and waited. My mom and I went over around 11:30 to ask is Bed 22 back in his room. The receptionist called back there and asked if Bed 22 was back in the room, no he was not. So my mom and I thought well maybe they have not returned yet from surgery. So we waited. Then my Uncle Joe came by around 12:00 so my mom decided oh hey its noon I should ask again if your dad is back. So she went up there and asked the receptionist again, hey is Bed 22 back from OR (operating room). She said "No he is not back but look someone came to see him." She pulled out the visitor's sign in sheet and there was my Tia Elvia's signature. She had missed us and tried to see my dad. Well my aunt came back to the waiting room and said she tried to see my dad and the lady handed her the badge (you gotta have a badge to get in) and so she thought okay I am good to go.

Well my aunt saw that no one was in my dad's room and she rushed back and told the receptionist. The receptionist was in shock saying well if he was still in OR his visitor's badges would have been pulled so no one could see him. Apparently STICU failed to tell the receptionist. Well as my aunt was telling us this my mom said okay well lets go to lunch I am sure after lunch Roel will be back. So my aunt decides to go home but my mom, my Uncle Joe and I go have a nutritious lunch at the cafeteria, if you call chicken wings and french fries nutritious. So we go back to the waiting area and my mom decides to try again. She calmly goes up to the desk, while my Uncle Joe and I sat in the waiting area. Then my Uncle Joe notices she left so we think "oh she is visiting with my dad." Then my mom comes back and says yeah he is in surgery for his aorta now. Whaaat?!! When did this happen?

"Paging for Bed 22, Roel Villarreal where are you?"
My mom told us a story of a nurse and a receptionist and their failure to communicate. So lets go back to the eighth time my mom asked where my dad was. The receptionist picked up her phone to call back to STICU and they said nope he is not in his room. So she tells my mom "I will go back there and see what is going on." Well she goes back there and waves my mom into the hallway of the STICU and has Nurse Sunshine with her. ( I call her Nurse Sunshine because she is my dad's dayshift nurse and she is SOOooooooooooo not a morning person nor is she very friendly.) So here is the conversation:

"Where is my husband?"
"Oh he was taken to have surgery on his aorta"
"Okay well did he every come back to his room from his abdomen surgery?"
"Oh yeah uuuuuugh probably an hour and a half ago"
"Well why didnt you tell the front about it, isnt it important to inform the front when he is back from OR and when he leaves to OR?"
"uuuugh, well "
" Well can you at least tell me where the surgery is at and where is the waiting room"
"uuugh hold on" (Nurse Sunshine fumbles for her phone)
"Nevermind I know he will be at the Cardio Vascular center here I will just ask when I get there where my husband is at"
"Well okay" says Nurse Sunshine as she prances on her way back to Sunshine Land where patient care is never a priority in her land nor knowing how to be informative to the family of patients it must be nice in Sunshine Land. Luckily the nice receptionist said "Oh I can call over there for you and your husband will be on the seventh floor because thats where they have all the surgeries" So she called and told my mom he was there and that to wait in the waiting area. So my dad was basically lost for a while because no one bothered to tell us when he was out of surgery and when he got back and when he went again to surgery. Its always fun when people play with your emotions.

Finally my dad was found and he was in surgery so hallelujah...

To Surgeries with Love

2009-11-16T09:57:00.004-06:00

Well thanks to effective hospital communication, NOT, we learned that my dad will be in surgery this morning to clean out the sponge that is in his abdomen. So that surgery was scheduled for 9:30 am. So as far as we know the aorta surgery will be this early afternoon. The nurse didn't know when exactly but she would let us know when she found out. It looks like his swelling went down.

Last night he was fighting a little fever but now his body temperature is normal. His heart rate is a little high but they are giving him an IV drip of medicine that will lower it. He still has a looooooooooooong way to go but everyday its a baby step towards recovery.

I Heart Surgeries

2009-11-15T21:18:00.004-06:00

My dad is going to have surgery tomorrow morning, Monday November 16, 2009 at 9:30 am. He will be having surgery to fix his aorta and have a Endovascular Stent Graft put in. This will help the aorta heal and eventually close up. Please pray everything goes well. I will update the blog tomorrow after the surgery.

UPDATE:
Surgery scheduled for early afternoon on Monday, November 16, 2009.

Delivery for Mr. V!

2009-11-15T10:40:00.001-06:00

A lot of you wanted to know where you can send anything like cards or flowers. Right now he is in STICU so please hold off on flowers until we get into a regular room at Memorial Hermann but if you wish to send letters or cards please mail them to my parents address:
Roel M. Villarreal
17402 N. Riata Lake Dr.
Cypress, TX 77433

Thank you all!

"We're making progress" -- Dr. Alvarado

2009-11-15T09:55:00.006-06:00

Today is going to be a great day! My mom went in to visit my dad this morning and while I was waiting and reading some enthralling literature called Lucky magazine (hey believe me this is all I can handle right now). She finally came out she hugged me and began to shed some tears, TEARS OF HAPPINESS! She said that Dr. Alvarado had said they are weening him off the ventilator (breathing machine). That is great news since Dr. Alvarado had told us two days ago it could be weeks before they would remove him from the ventilator. His lungs look really healthy and they are going to try to get him to breathe on his own soon. He told her "We're making progress." This really brought tears to my mom's eyes because only yesterday did Dr. Hamilton say," I can't tell you he's making progress, but he's not getting worse."

My dad's vital signs are okay and he only needed 2 pints of blood yesterday, this great news! They are only giving him platelets now to help with the blood clotting. He definitely has no brain injuries. Their goal the next couple of days is waking him up and breathing on his own. This gives us so much hope. I know it will be along time before he can get up and go have coffee with me but the fact is that I can wait for that moment. All your thoughts and prayers have helped us so far.
Update: 11:28 am
Dr. Amer spoke to us, he is a cardiovascular surgeon. He wants to repair my dad's aorta; it has a tear and he said now its minimal but he does not want it to rupture. So he is going to try and schedule the surgery tomorrow early afternoon. This is the beginning of many surgeries to come so please keep us in your thoughts.

We Are Family

2009-11-14T20:12:00.002-06:00

I want to thank our family and friends for their support and prayers. We are keeping up our spirits the best we can. We love you all. I hope my dad realizes how many people love him and want him to get better.

Pressure!

2009-11-14T13:06:00.006-06:00

My dad has been stable the past 48 hours. They had concerns because he had been bleeding but the bleeding was slowing down which is a good sign. His vital signs are in tack. Its hard to see my dad because he is hooked up with tubes coming everywhere and monitors attached and IVs galore. I know in my heart that this is helping him heal. His nurses that are taking care of him are very nice and informative. They have kept us up to date on his condition. Yesterday his bladder pressure was up and that was a concern. They told my mom they were going to monitor it and explained that normal bladder pressure level is between 5 and 8, my dad's was a 22 but it was not critical yet. Well this morning it reached critical. Dr. Alvarado had informed my mom, when she was finally allowed to see my dad this morning, that because of all the fluids in him and because his kidney's cannot keep up with processing it, that the fluids are building up along the wall tissue of his abdomen and that its building up pressure on his organs and that they needed to perform surgery. They made a large incision down his abdomen to relieve the pressure to allow his organs to swell up and expand and then heal. They informed her its a routine procedure and if all goes well it should take 45 minutes to an hour. They are going to leave my dad's abdomen open for weeks to let it heal. Their main concern is to let his internal injuries heal basically before they even think about tending to his ribs and pelvis. Dr. Ware was the surgeon to perform this and he also said he may remove the spleen and look at the liver. Update: Just saw my dad the nurse said everything looked good, his organs looked fine no need to perform surgery on them. All they had to do was cut open his abdomen to relieve the pressure and every so often check it to see if the swelling has gone down, it looks good. He is progressing well but it will be a slow recovery.

Trauma and Drama: A Recap

2009-11-14T11:26:00.004-06:00

Thursday, November 14th:
At 10:30 am my mother called me to tell me that my dad was in a terrible car accident and that the jaws of life had to be used and he had to be life flighted to Memorial Hermann Hospital Downtown. This is one of the Trauma 1 centers in Houston and the best. My mom told me a witness had called to tell her that she saw the accident that occured and my dad was fine. He was alert and responsive and told the witness my mom's name and where she worked. They were able to locate my mom and luckily she was in her office at that time. The witness said my dad was okay but in a lot of pain and the helicopter had just arrived. The paramedics then called my mom afterwards and told her the same thing as the witness. My mom then called me.
I was at work trying not have a mental breakdown, it was very hard not to cry. My mom was going to pick me up at work and we were going to meet up with my dad at the emergency center at the hospital. At this point we had no idea how bad my father was. We arrived at the hospital and was told first to settle with the business office for insurance purposes, of course. Its almost like the receptionist said "Hey your dad has been in a horrible accident and badly injured but can you pay first before you see him thanks GO USA HEALTH SYSTEM!"
So my mom settled that business and then we were told to wait in the Dr. James "Red" Duke waiting area for Life Flights. (Dr. Red Duke used to have a spot on Channel 3 News in Corpus Christi ah memories from my childhood) Well we waited and waited and waited and waited and waited. Finally mom went back to the receptionist and she was surprised a doctor hadn't spoken to us yet. She let us know they had moved him to Shock and Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU). We arrived there and was told they had just received the order to place my dad in bed #22 but he was still in Interventional Radiology. They would let us know when he was in his bed and usually would take 45 minutes to settle him down and hook him up. A little information background here, we arrived at the hospital at 11:30 am and it was already 1:00 pm by the time we got this information. So we waited and waited. Jonathan came around 1:30 and the three of us just waited. My mom's good friends from work came by to be supportive and brought lots of people magazine's (thanks Brandi and Nicole!). Then we went and asked again and again and again.
Finally at 8:30 pm Dr. Hamilton told us our dad's prognosis. My dad has a shattered spleen, fractured liver, shattered pelvis, broken ribs, cracked lower spine (no spinal cord damage), and injured aorta. He was intubated and thanks to my addiction to Grey's Anatomy, I knew what he meant. Basically my dad had to have a tube shoved down his throat and was hooked up to a breathing machine to help him breath to make sure his ribs, since they were broken, did not puncture or bruise his lungs. He told us my dad was heavily sedated so he wont feel the pain and that basically he would be in the hospital a long long time. My dad tested negative for head trauma so that was great news. Also Dr. Hamilton told us that they were going to monitor my dad for the next 24-48 hours to make sure he keeps stabilized and that this was a crucial time. I am not going to lie I was very upset it took so long to find out about my dad but my mom said something that helped. She said, "Delena, I think that because the doctors', tending to your dad, number one concern was to save his life and stabilize him and that we were secondary. In the big picture it was very important to save his life rather then tell us what was going on right away"

Chapter Numero Uno: My Dad, Mr. V

2009-11-14T11:03:00.000-06:00

This is my first time blogging so please bare with me through typos and terrible grammar. I started this blog to update those who know and love my dad, Mr. Roel Villarreal aka Mr. V. I know everyone will want to know his progress as we entail this long journey to recovery. To do a quick recap my dad was in a terrible car accident that luckily he survived. He sustained many internal injuries and broken ribs and shattered pelvis. He has been taken care of by the best trauma team Houston has to offer at Memorial Hermann in the medical center. We appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers as we entail this long sojourn. Please check in daily as I will try to update on his prognosis.