Horton Hospital

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2-24-05

Phil went to the Surgeon to have his staples removed today. This is what they looked like before they were removed - 10 days after they were "installed".

2-21-05

He came home from the hospital today. They removed the tube from his nose yesterday. His staples should come out on Thursday 2-24-05. He is down to under 130 lb., having lost over 20 lb. during the last 2 weeks.

2-19-05

Phil finally had a BM today. He still is putting out too much bile and has the tube in his nose. He was  quite a bit stronger while walking today.

2-17-05

The dressing was removed from Phil's incision today. It is ~5" long with 20 staples. He is walking around a little to try and get his intestines working again. It is hard for him as he's very sore from the surgery. The tube was not removed from his nose today. Maybe tomorrow. It seemed like he is still putting out too much bile.

2-14-05

Evening

Phil had significant adhesions removed from his intestines today. His condition appears to relate to the formation of tissue after the removal of portions of his small and large intestines as an infant.

 The doctors found 4 places where the scar tissue was wrapped so tight it choked his system off. They made a 4" long incision vertically from above his belly button, removed his bowels from his body cavity and cut the tissue off that had built up over the years.

 The chief surgeon said he should be fine. He'll be able to eat regular food and live a normal life once he recovers.

 He'll remain in Horton Hospital (room 514) on morphine drip for several days while he heals and his bowels begin to move again. A nurse told me they don't work for several days after a procedure like this. Once they hear movement inside him they will remove the suction tube from his nose and try to get his system going again. He could be released several days after that. My guess is he'll probably be there for a week to ten days.

 Thanks to everyone that has been so kind and shown such support. My son is truly blessed with great friends.

 

Morning

Phil's doctors have concluded he hasn't made the progress they were looking for. His intestines apparently are twisted and blocked. They will operate on him early this afternoon.

2-12-05

We thought Phil had the flu. After 1 week of puking we took him to the emergency room at Horton. After a series of tests he was admitted. Apparently he had blockage in his intestines.