Update 4/24/10
So I just got home from visiting Brian at the hospital. His spirits seem good. He's still really weak but is able to keep his humor. His heart rate has become almost normal. While I was there he got up 3 times to walk around. He's doing very well. It was a nice change to see him up and out of bed. They allowed him to eat once last week but he had a bad reaction so they put him back on an IV of nutrition. He will hopefully get to eat solid foods next week, currently they are allowing him to have hard candies (which he doesn't seem to care for) and some flavored ice chips.
But... they estimate he will be discharged in 2 weeks! That is if he stays progressing at his current rate. So keep him in your prayers!
Though I had to share (with Brian's permission of course) this adorable pic of him I took today! Always the comedian. :D
Update 4/16/10
For those of you who want to know if there is a way to help...
http://www.thecareplace.org/brian/
Brian hasn't eaten since his first surgery on the 5th. They are removing fluid from his lungs over the next hour. He has been accumulating fluid in his lungs for the last several days. There is a fluid buildup and it is very difficult for him to breath. We have friends and family with him 24x7 and he ...is still in allot of pain and on a continual drip of morphine. They did find fluid in his cavity again, but will take a new procedure with needles and remove the liquid that way, instead of opening him back up.
Doctors are still optimistic.
Original Post 4/13/10
A lot of people have been asking about my brother Brian, what happened and why he went in for surgery. One of the reasons I haven't shared too much detail about the procedure is because Brian is a very private person and dislikes talking about it to people that aren't aware of his condition. I have decided to post this and send this post to the certain individuals that are asking rather than sending out the same story in multiple emails.
The History - So my brother has
Ulcerative Colitis. Brian was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis back in 2003. He spent a month in the hospital to recover. Once out, he seemed to lead a normal life, he was healthy active and the disease went into remission. That is, until October of 2008. From that point his health went up and down, his quality of life deteriorated. He was in the hospital a few times for colonoscopy’s and blood transfusions. His doctor tried everything she could, every drug out there, each with months of waiting to see if it would actually work. She finally ran out of options and told him to talk to another specialist to confirm that the last option she could recommend was surgery. The second opinion confirmed and Brian agreed to go forward with the surgery.
The Procedure – a
Colostomy. He had his lower intestines removed. This is the part I know is a bit private for Brian so if he wishes to share I will let him do so. I understand that this procedure will increase his quality of life, and before you think it’s a permanent colostomy bag, that is not the case. It’s amazing what they can do with the human body these days!
Present day – Brian had the surgery Monday April 5th, 2010. It was a 6 hour procedure and according to the doctor this is a surgery where it’s common place to have complications during the surgery, Brian did very well! It was a stressful 6 hour wait for the family and his girlfriend Saundi. My brother Shawn flew out to be with Brian during the first week of his surgery. I attempted to keep myself distracted but found I couldn’t focus on anything. We were able to see Brian right away and I was surprised at how alert and lively he was considering what his body had just been through. Over the next few days the family and Saundi, took turns spending the night with him. By Friday he’d been out of bed walking around on his own. We were all quite impressed with how well he was recovering.
Saturday was a different story. His heart rate had increased to 170 and his blood pressure dropped. It was just me, my mom and Saundi at the hospital with him. He was breathing shallow quick breaths and we knew something was wrong. After a long day of ruling out possibilities, such as a
Pulmonary Embolism, leakage, infections, etc. Brian was taken to ICU. His original surgeon, Dr Hui, was called in.
When he got there he took another look at the ct scans that the Radiologist ruled as clear, and he found something! Thank God he decided to take a quick look! He found something but couldn’t confirm what it was without going back in. He got Brian prepped for immediate exploratory surgery to find out what was going on.
It was quite an intense moment as we stood there when he explained he would have to open up my already weak brother, and poke around to find out where the leak had occurred. We were all emotional wrecks. I was grateful my friend Andie had decided to come to the hospital to visit me before all of this went down. She arrived right in time for me to break down on her shoulder outside. Within a half an hour of deciding the only option was to open him up again Brian was whisked away to the operating room. It was a tense couple of hours but Dr Hui came out and explained that Brian was doing well, that he found a massive infection on his right side and that if they hadn’t caught it, he would have been dead in a couple of days! Talk about sobering! Yet we could rejoice that Dr Hui had found the minute spot on the CT scan where the Radiologist had passed right by it. Thank God!
So we were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief. Brian, we were told was going to make a full recovery now that they knew what they were dealing with. What happened was that at some point on Friday when he was doing so well the suture had ripped and he was leaking fluids to his right side. He had a drain on his left side but for some reason it wasn’t draining all the fluids out. Dr Hui put another drain on the right side and explained there was still no way to fix the torn flesh but time would have to heal it. He explained the reason why is because it would be like sewing through tofu. But now that they know what to look for they wouldn’t need to open him up again but have other ways of clearing it out.
Today Brian is doing remarkable! He was moved out of ICU the next night. Every day he gets out of bed more often than the day before. He still has his sense of humor and is quite entertaining to talk to while on all his pain meds. Today he has some labored breathing and they found some fluid in his lungs and said he needs to get up and walk around more. We’re still not sure how long he will have to stay at the hospital but overall we’re extremely thrilled with his progress! I believe he’s doing even better this time around then the first surgery!
It’s been an incredible comfort knowing so many people were praying for Brian. I am so amazed at all the people who are so willing to offer to help in any way. I thank you all! I haven’t been able to respond to all of you as I’ve been dealing with a lot of things! I know you understand but know I am so grateful to you and your prayers! I know it’s the only way I’ve been able to function this last week and a half!
I will keep updating this post when anything new comes up.
Labels: Inspiration, Updates
posted by Charity at 4/25/2010 01:01:00 AM 
