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Note: All prices in US Dollars
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Mon 2/19/2007 12:12 AM
Hi to all
I just got back from visiting Ed in Houston. He is in the hospital.
It seems he had a "flash edema" episode. I hope i am spelling edema correctly. It means that he is retaining water. Often you may see edema as a swelling of the legs ets, but in his case is is effecting his heart and his lungs. This could lead to congestive heart failure (CHF) and/or pneumonia.
When he was admitted to the hospital on friday he was in bad shape. Joan was visiting for her Presidents Day holiday and during the admission process she asked the doc what would happen if we did not admit him and take him home. The doc said that he would be dead in 2-3 hours. It appeared that his lungs were filling up and his blood presure was 80/48. He breathing had the crackling that may be the "death rattle" but we are not really sure what that sounds like.
Anyway, they got the right directics in him and within hours of admission he was looking better. I got to Houston around noon on Saturday and he looked better than I expected. He was getting a lung treatment and had a mask on. I made a comment that he looked like a fighter pilot and he smiled. He was also able to squeeze you hand and push back when you pushed his foot (on his non-stroke side). He was up and semi-responsive for about 2 hours on Saturday.
On Sunday he was sleeping the whole time we were around from 9 am until about 4 pm when i left for the airport.
I talked to his primary doc Saturday evening around 10 pm when she made her rounds and she said that Ed is a "delicate flower". He was thrilled with how clear his lungs sounded and was talking of sending him home on Sunday. But as of 4 pm they had not removed the Foley so it is unlikely that he would be released on Sunday.
The key will be to balance his fluid and food intake via the feeding tube so he has enough fluid to keep his BP up but not so much that he has congestive heart failure. They are also cutting back on the dosage of this heart meds so they won't get too concentrate and become toxic to him. They also changed his diaretic meds too.
So we will see how this episode ends. Thank you for all the prayers and good wishes. We will keep you informed.
Tom for Anna, Joan and Mary too.
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