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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
