Mon 7/23/2007 9:02 AM

Hey All,

More news on the Texas front.  Yesterday, was Dad's 87th birthday.  We had a little party for him and he was not at all interested in it at all.  He did realize that it was his birthday, but that was about all. 

Also, we have figured out that he has shingles now.  They are on the back of his neck and go to the front of his neck and up to his ear.  We first thought he was having an allergic reaction to something, and tried the Benedryl thing and it really didn't help.  But yesterday, blisters erupted on his neck.  Joan was the one who thought of shingles.  She looked it up on the internet and saw pictures and sure enough, that is what his rash looks like.  I called his doctor and she called me back and by describing his symptoms, she thought it was shingles too.  She prescribed an anti-viral medication and a strong pain killer for him.  We can't give him too much, because it may suppress his breathing.

So this morning, I stopped by to see him and the shingles looked a little better.  However, his urine output was very low, only about 150cc's from 7pm to 6am.  And his urine is black from blood.  We have an appointment with the urologist today at 3:45pm to see about that.  Sara (the day nurse) called me about 8 am and she said he had put out about 400cc's since I was there at 6am.  So we will find out what is going on.  He was moaning (I could hear over the phone) and told her to go ahead and give the pain killer to him.

I really are not sure how much more he can take.  He looks so bad now especially with the shingles on his neck and face.  I sure hope the anti-viral works for him.  They say they last about a month and can be very very painful.  It is best for the anti-viral to be given with 72 hours of the begining of shingles, and I am not sure if we figured it out in time, but the drug seems to work some, so I am hopeful.

I will let you know what the Urologist says today.

Love and Hugs,  Mary