June 27th

From: Jim Harrer
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 11:58 AM
To: John Harrer ; cate praggastis ; Tom Harrer ; Bill Harrer
Subject: Dad's update

Dad's spirits are good. He got up and went and had coffee with his
peeps. Neda, Al, Frank were happy to see him.

Changed his PICC dressing today. His vitals were:

Temp 98.4
BP 142/68
Pulse 77

Starting today, we're going to keep a log of each time he feels he has
a breathing issue. So far, none this morning.

...Jim

June 27th

Dad's mental state is excellent.  He got caught up on his bills and cleaning his desk. He wanted to build a spreadsheet, so I helped him do that.

In addition to John's great email update yesterday while we went to Costco, I want to add that Dr. Rose also said the culture she took last week came back negative and his ear was now completely clear. Non of last week's puss returned.

He is having some intermittent breathing issues.  It reminds me of an asthma attack.  He could be sitting in his chair and out of know where, he starts breathing heavy.

I working with Debbie's cousin Dean who is an MD and used to work at the Heart Hospital to see if we get in to see a pulmonologists or other specialist.  Dad feels strongly that if I take him to see Dr.

Nickols that he's going to treat everything BUT the breathing. So I'm working this other angle. If I come up empty, Dad has agreed to go to Dr. Nickols Thursday or Friday for a check up. We agreed on that this afternoon, so that is the latest update.

...Jim

June 25th

We just got back from seeing Dr. Rose.  She is good with him stopping the antibiotics.  As she said, we are going to have to see what happens sooner or later, the ear looks good, let’s give it a try.  Dad can go to the House clinic tomorrow and finally get his hearing aids properly adjusted.

As for the breathing problem and seeing Dr. Nichols, Dad has decided to take a wait-and-see approach.  He knows Dr. Nichols will want to perform a lot of tests and Dad does not want that.  Dad did agree that if he has another breathing episode, he will schedule an appointment with Dr. Nichols.  Dad also agreed to leave the picc line in for another week while he sees what his body does without antibiotics.

Dad seemed in good spirits and a little relieved to have the doctor’s approval.  He did appreciate everyone’s concern the last couple of days and is looking forward to getting back to normal.  Let’s hope that happens.

I wanted to wait until Dad went to bed before I wrote an update. I hope my delay hasn't caused any needless worry.

Dad has had a tough day, but he's trying to stay up beat. He's very tired of being tired. 

Today he has been fighting diarrhea all day. He is also having intermittent  Shortness of breath. He has no energy.  The good news is, he says he has not been dizzy. Feels more like asthma, my words, not his.

He's also just having a bad day and is feeling depressed. He's thankful we're here, but wishes we didn't need to be. Does that make sense?

 

I'm going to call Dr. Nichols and Dr. Rose tomorrow and see if I can get him in. He's convinced he's been on these meds to long and wants off. In his mind, he was going to be able to stop in a few days anyway, so there is little risk to go off the meds and see if he feels better. As much as he wanted to go on a walk today, between his diarrhea and shortness of breath, he decided against it.

The shortness of breath is new, and he wonders what is causing it. I noticed it last night on the walk as well. I would worry if he was by himself.

Let me know if you have any questions. You can call my cell if you want more info or have specific suggestions.

..Jim

Sent from my iPad

On Jun 24, 2012, at 12:42 PM, "Bill Harrer"  wrote:

So this is very weird, he has been on those meds for 5 or 6 weeks now, and to suspect that the meds are the cause of his queasiness is probably not the case.  Please keep us updated on how he is feeling. 

So this makes me think that we need to have a schedule for dad for a few more weeks, what are your thoughts and availability if you agree.  Deb and I are going away for a few days at the end of this week to celebrate our anniversary, but I can be available after that if needed.  I am suppose to start a job, but I can bale on that too if needed, please let me know.

Bill

From: cate praggastis

Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2012 9:51 AM

Subject: Dad update

Hey there... So, yesterday Dad said he didn't feel great and slept a lot of the day... today, he woke up queasy and simply said he didn't want to take the IV meds anymore, they made him feel weird...   so Jim flushed the IV with Heperin.. and we will call Dr. Rose in the morning.. call if you have any questions... Love you all.. Sis

Catie

June 20th

Greetings all!! So, we just returned from Dr. Rabinov's office.. she said dad had a stubborn abscess  ( a pus pocket was her medical term) ... she lanced it and pus came out (yuk!).  It bled, but Dad said it didn't hurt. Because of the abscess, she wants to keep him on the anti-biotics for at least another round... She took a tissue sample and sent it out for a culture and will have the results when he goes for his visit next WED June 27th at 4:15 pm.  

She suspects this abscess may be the original culprit of the infection.

As for blood results:  and in a quick comparison to the results from last week:

WBC 5.6 - down a little, but still in the normal range

RBC 3.11  - up a bit.. but still low

Hemoglobin 9.9  down a smidgen and still low

Hematocrit 30.1  down an even smaller smidgen (30.2 last time)  but still low

 

I have scanned the full results pages and am including them here.  

Dad was bummed, but okay.. knowing he had to have the picc line in anyway.. And I told him, Dr. Rose indicated that if the infection is completely clear when she sees him next week, she will likely only recommend the picc line stay in for another week, so I relayed that to Dad, and he felt mubh better... I told him I would pass the info on to Jim, so he could remind Dr. Rose next week at their next visit.... ;-)

June 18th

Quick notes on the Dr. Saike visit.  Dad’s BP was 148/64, weight 164, temp 99 (it’s hot here)

Dr. Saike was pleased that the creatinine level and kidney function have “stabilized”.  Dad’s legs were mildly swollen and he showed me how to check it in the morning.  He said most peoples’ legs swell in the afternoon and he would only be concerned if it were like that in the morning.  Dad got the blood boosting shot again although we are near the upper limits.  We will still check his hct every two weeks, however.  Dr. Saike said that with his body not struggling to fight the infection it may be easier for him to make red blood cells.  Dr. Saike doesn’t need to see Dad until October, outside of the bi-weekly office visits.  They agreed to do the finger-stick blood test at the office so we don’t have to go somewhere else to have the labs.  When we mentioned Dad was urinating less frequently Dr. Saike said that has NOTHING to do with kidney function but the amount of fluid he intakes

June 13th

Hi Everyone,

Well, I have some good news, Dad’s ear is doing much, much better.  Dr Rose looked at it today and said most of the swelling is gone, there is just one area that was swollen, and she suspects was the cause of the whole problem.  She did break the swollen mass so it would drain.  It is painful for Dad right now, but hopefully by morning most of the pain will be gone.  Since Dad still has some infection she wanted to keep Dad on the antibiotics one more week, but we feel we might be able to discontinue the injections in about 10 days or so.  I did ask when Dad would be able to resume wearing a hearing aid in the left ear and she felt he would be able to when he completed the antibiotics.

I asked about taking another culture to ensure we are fighting the right fight and she did not feel it was necessary, nor to include any oral antibiotics.  She wanted to stay on the course of action that appears now to be working.

So as it stands right now, he will probably be on antibiotics for another 7 days, which would take him through Friday, June 22nd.  The nurse that put in the PICC line said they typically like to leave it in a couple of weeks after they have completed all antibiotics just in case it is needed.  If that is what Dr Rose wants, that would mean he would have the PICC line in until early July, but I did not ask her that today, so it might be good if Catie can ask at his next visit next Wednesday @ 3:00, assuming all goes as planned.

Dad’s pain level this morning was a zero, the first time in a long time he was pain free.  By lunch though, he said his ear felt a little swollen and that his pain level was a 0.5.

On a side note, Dad is feeling better and better.  We went for a walk this morning and then took a shower/nap while I went for a bike ride.  When I got back he said he was going to put his feet up while I took my shower and when I came looking for him I found him in the living room with his feet up on a chair and lying on the carpet doing exercises.  He has a strong will to get back a little of what he lost in energy and stamina.  I asked him if he wants to go to Grant’s game this weekend with Tom and Mary and he said yes without hesitation.  He also wanted to go to Sirs on Monday and I am working with John to see if we can make it happen.  He changed his mind when we started talking about how he was going to get there and doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone.

He is a joy to be around, is joking around a lot and eager to do things, all great signs, but he will need help until we get him off the PICC line and antibiotics, in my opinion.

That is about it for now, he is looking forward to seeing Catie and Lee next week and having dinner with John and Ranae tomorrow night.

I am including the last two weeks lab results that I got from the Home Health Care Nurse for your records.

Love to all,

Bill

June 12th

Dr. M. took some blood and there were some positive results I thought you might like to hear about.

First, his red blood cell count was 3.1.  My records show it hasn’t been higher than this since Feb. of 2010.  His hemoglobin is above 10 for the first time in a long time and his hematocrit is over 30, again for the first time in two years.  More importantly is his kidney numbers stayed steady through his hospital experience.  His BUN, which is body’s ability to get rid of wastes, was 46, down from 64 in March.  And his creatinine stayed steady at 2.5.  These results were not fasting and I’m not certain if that skews the results.

On a side note, Bill – I’m not sure the hemoglobin/hematocrit results will suffice for Dr. Saike’s visit next week.  Again, I’m not certain, but I think I remember Dr. Saike’s office saying the results had to be within seven days.