Tue 2/13/2007 9:26 AM

Hope all is good with all of you. Just wanted to let you know that Dad came home yesterday evening.  He is ok, but still very tired and not too awake.  While in the hospital we had a feeding tube placed into him, because of the aspiration pneumonia.  We had two choices, no food or any fluids at all, or the feeding tube.  We choose the tube.  Couldn't starve him to death.  He ended up going about a week with no food, but they had the IV going.

Now that he is home we all have to adjust to the feeding tube.  Medicare will pay for the food and a company will deliver all the supplies to the house (this is because he can't eat any other way).  The nurses we have at home are learning how to care for the tube again.  If y'all don't remember, Mom had one for a few years, but she mostly was able to eat after about 6 months.  So we have to re-train the gals.  We also have the home care coming by to re-admit him this morning.  Currently he has to be fed every 4 hours.  They may change that after he gets a bit stronger. 

At last check before this hospital admit he weighed about 130 lbs.  He looks much thinner now.  To me he looks like he just came from the concentration camp. He looks terrible with all this weight loss.  I hope we can beef him up some.

The doctors have switched around his medications and deleted 4 old ones and added 1 new one.  Since he is on this feeding program, I have stopped all the vitamins since the formula he is eating is jam packed with vitamins, and then he getting it 6 times a day.  I don't want to over do it for him.

Not much else to share with you at this time. He is talking some, mostly answering yes or no to questions.

Will update you as things change, remember no news is good news.

Love and hugs from Texas,

Mary