Hi All,
First of all, I am so sorry that no one received an update last night. My internet connection was a little touch and go, so it looks like it was stuck in my outbox. However, this news is worth the wait. I went to visit Dad on my way to the airport and I was so excited, I decided to pay an entire seven dollars for internet access so that I could share the excitement with you all. If you know anything about the Piketts, we are frugal to our core. Although I am a Pikett by marriage, there is no denying that it has rubbed off on me... just to put things into perspective.
Dad is getting better!! he told us today that they are thinking of moving him out of ICU and into a regular room within the next few days. His fever is steadily going down and was at 100.6 when we left. The wound doctor said that his incision looks good and both his liver enzymes and white blood cells continue to go down. They fed him clear liquids yesterday, but his sepsis is under control enough that they are going to use a PICC line tomorrow to give him nutrition by providing him with TPN (Total parenteral nutrition).
His breathing is fine without the vent, so there has been no talk of placing him back on. He is recieving oxygen through a nasal canula, but they have reduced the oxygen from 6L on Friday to 2L today! They even had him sitting up in a special chair today- he is alert and when I went into see him, HE prayed for US... with his own mouth, in his own words!!! Praise the Lord.
They are going to do a test tomorrow that will send dye through his system. Hopefully, this will show them if there are any leaks around his stomach and intestinal area- which could present risk of further infection.
I am still cautiously optimistic, but I wanted to allow myself to show my excitement to you all because you deserve it. The support we have received has been nothing short of incredible and I honestly feel that God has used this situation to heal more than David's body. Dad is not out of the woods yet, so please continue to lift him up in prayer. Mom and Dad face a long road of recovery, but now they know that they don't have to approach it alone.
I am really sad to be leaving, but I feel like God gave me a gift before I did. This has been such a roller coaster of a week- it feels like a month has gone by. Being able to hold Dad's hand and have him hold it back was something I did not expect. Even though we are all completely exhausted- emotionally and physically- I am so greatful for this experience.
I have to board a plane here in the next few minutes, but please continue to support mom and dad- even if they dont ask for it.
I know I say this every time- but we love you all!!!
Love,
Meryl and the Piketts
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Update: 11/27/10
Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to give a quick update this morning. Dad's fever was down slightly this morning, but everything is much the same. Eventhough we have a tendancy to hope that when we wake up, he will be completely better, I realize that things take time and instead, I am giving thanks for the fact that things were not worse this morning than they were last night. He is even more alert this morning and even asked Mom to roll him over. He needs pain control now, because the sedatives are gone.
Please pray for his comfort, that the additional antibiotic they added would wipe out whatever other infection is in his body and that we would have patience as a family.
We decided to change Josh's ticket, so he will be staying an additional week. I have to head home on Monday, but will keep everyone updated all the same.
We love you all,
Meryl and the Piketts
Friday, November 26, 2010
Update: 11/26/10
Hi All,
Today started out with great news- Dad's fever went down to 99.7. Unfortunately, by the end of the night, his fever was elevated to over 102. The doctors ran more tests to see if there may be other bacteria in his lungs that they were unaware of and started him on an additional antibiotic that treats a wider variety of bacteria, just incase. His breathing and heart rate have become more elevated, but that may be due to the higher temperature.
He is not on sedatives at the moment, so all of this is extrememly uncomfortable. They gave him ibprofen to reduce his fever, so hopefully that helps tonight. We are hopeful that things will improve in the morning, but Dad is having a really hard time.
The doctors are really stumped at this point. They cannot figure out why someone as healthy as dad would be having such a difficult time getting over this- they think there may be a possible infection elsewhere that they aren't aware of. Over the next few days, they will be working hard to find it.
Please pray that the doctors would continue to have wisdom- although they aren't completely sure what's going on, I know God is completely aware and will reveal it in his time.
We will keep you all posted.
Love,
Meryl and the Piketts
Urgent Prayer
Hi All-
Please send prayers for Dad. His fever was at 99.7 this morning, but has gone back up to 102. We're not sure how big of a concern this is right now, as we havent been able to speak with the doctor, but we are worried. Although it's not the worst thing that could be happening, it is upseting to see the contrast from this morning and we need his fever to be on a downward slope.
Please pray for peace for Mom, Sarah, Colin, Josh and Aaron. Also, please include David's parents and family in your prayers- I know they are worried as well and I am praying that God gives them unexplainable peace.
I am resting in God's love. He has never once left me on my own and I know he wont start now.
Love you all,
Meryl
Please send prayers for Dad. His fever was at 99.7 this morning, but has gone back up to 102. We're not sure how big of a concern this is right now, as we havent been able to speak with the doctor, but we are worried. Although it's not the worst thing that could be happening, it is upseting to see the contrast from this morning and we need his fever to be on a downward slope.
Please pray for peace for Mom, Sarah, Colin, Josh and Aaron. Also, please include David's parents and family in your prayers- I know they are worried as well and I am praying that God gives them unexplainable peace.
I am resting in God's love. He has never once left me on my own and I know he wont start now.
Love you all,
Meryl
"Small Baby Steps"
Hi everyone,
We are so excited to see that Dad's fever is down to 99-100 degrees this morning! So far, this is the biggest improvement he has made in the past week! It has been hovering around 102 for over 5 days. We are praising God. His doctor said he is making "small baby steps in the right direction". His liver enzymes continue to trend to the appropriate level, so that is a good start. Also, his blood pressure has stabilized and respiratory rate has improved as well. He is still very, very sick and hasn't tolerated any nutrition (via OG tube), but is stable with IV fluids. Due to his current sepsis infection, it is too risky to place a PICC line, which would provide nutrition intravenously. They are going to try a very small amount of feeding into his stomach again today. Please help us pray that he tolerates it and is able to absorb some of that nourishment! We are confident that these small improvements are being made because of all the wonderful support and prayers that have been lifted up over the past few weeks. Thanks so much!
Currently (as of noon Friday), Dad is more alert and stable. He is coughing a lot more and trying to breath over the ventilator. He has not been given any sedation medication over the past 16 hours, and it is beginning to wear off. That is good and bad. He is more alert and more annoyed by the multiple tubes down his throat. However, he is more responsive and interacting with us. Today, when I came to his bedside, he opened his eyes, lifted his head slightly, and turned to my voice. He is not focusing or visually tracking yet, but is keeping his eyes open for up to a minute. He has been trying to talk around the vent and tubes. It is not working, but we are trying to figure out other ways for him to communicate with us. The wonderful nurses here gave him a much needed bath and shave today. :) He had a good 7-day beard.
We would like to continue limiting visitors to family and elders/pastors due to risk of infection and Dad's need to rest. However, it is nice to have people visit mom and sit with her for a few minutes. It has been nice to have that added support since we (the kids) are busy with other things as well. Josh and Colin are getting as much done around the house today and tomorrow. If anyone in interested in helping out with handy-man or cleaning types of activities, call Josh: 336-430-5869 or Meryl: 336-207-8434.
Again, we appreciate all the love, support and prayers we have received over the past few weeks. Please keep them coming!
Love,
Sarah
We are so excited to see that Dad's fever is down to 99-100 degrees this morning! So far, this is the biggest improvement he has made in the past week! It has been hovering around 102 for over 5 days. We are praising God. His doctor said he is making "small baby steps in the right direction". His liver enzymes continue to trend to the appropriate level, so that is a good start. Also, his blood pressure has stabilized and respiratory rate has improved as well. He is still very, very sick and hasn't tolerated any nutrition (via OG tube), but is stable with IV fluids. Due to his current sepsis infection, it is too risky to place a PICC line, which would provide nutrition intravenously. They are going to try a very small amount of feeding into his stomach again today. Please help us pray that he tolerates it and is able to absorb some of that nourishment! We are confident that these small improvements are being made because of all the wonderful support and prayers that have been lifted up over the past few weeks. Thanks so much!
Currently (as of noon Friday), Dad is more alert and stable. He is coughing a lot more and trying to breath over the ventilator. He has not been given any sedation medication over the past 16 hours, and it is beginning to wear off. That is good and bad. He is more alert and more annoyed by the multiple tubes down his throat. However, he is more responsive and interacting with us. Today, when I came to his bedside, he opened his eyes, lifted his head slightly, and turned to my voice. He is not focusing or visually tracking yet, but is keeping his eyes open for up to a minute. He has been trying to talk around the vent and tubes. It is not working, but we are trying to figure out other ways for him to communicate with us. The wonderful nurses here gave him a much needed bath and shave today. :) He had a good 7-day beard.
We would like to continue limiting visitors to family and elders/pastors due to risk of infection and Dad's need to rest. However, it is nice to have people visit mom and sit with her for a few minutes. It has been nice to have that added support since we (the kids) are busy with other things as well. Josh and Colin are getting as much done around the house today and tomorrow. If anyone in interested in helping out with handy-man or cleaning types of activities, call Josh: 336-430-5869 or Meryl: 336-207-8434.
Again, we appreciate all the love, support and prayers we have received over the past few weeks. Please keep them coming!
Love,
Sarah
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Update 11/25
Hi All,
Dad was more alert today than usual, due to the fact that they have taken him off of the sedation in an attempt to prepare him for the removal of the breathing device. They gave him nutrition this morning but unfortunately, he was not able to keep it down. The risk of aspiration was too high to try again today but they said maybe in a little while.
The good news is that the numbers are moving in the right direction. I mentioned that his liver enzymes were at 400 the other day- they are now at 160! a normal range is 0-50, but considering the fact that they were at 1000 after they clotted the liver, this is much better! Also, the nurse mentioned that his white blood cell count is going down, which is also a good sign. His fever is hovering right around 101.5, so we really need to see that continuing to go down over the next few days.
We hope to speak with the doctors again directly to get a few questions answered tomorrow. Hopefully we will haev more news to share. Although this is mostly good news today, Dad is still in a tough spot. He is still fighting and needs our prayers more than ever. Thank you all for all of your love and support- it means the world.
We love you all so much!
Dad was more alert today than usual, due to the fact that they have taken him off of the sedation in an attempt to prepare him for the removal of the breathing device. They gave him nutrition this morning but unfortunately, he was not able to keep it down. The risk of aspiration was too high to try again today but they said maybe in a little while.
The good news is that the numbers are moving in the right direction. I mentioned that his liver enzymes were at 400 the other day- they are now at 160! a normal range is 0-50, but considering the fact that they were at 1000 after they clotted the liver, this is much better! Also, the nurse mentioned that his white blood cell count is going down, which is also a good sign. His fever is hovering right around 101.5, so we really need to see that continuing to go down over the next few days.
We hope to speak with the doctors again directly to get a few questions answered tomorrow. Hopefully we will haev more news to share. Although this is mostly good news today, Dad is still in a tough spot. He is still fighting and needs our prayers more than ever. Thank you all for all of your love and support- it means the world.
We love you all so much!
Visitors
Hi All,
Mom asked me to pass along that due to the infection, we need to keep the number of visitors limited right now. She asked that for the next few days, that only family and elders/pastors come to visit. We will let you know as soon as it's safe for regular visitors to start coming again.
Thank you all for your continued prayers! we love you.
Mom asked me to pass along that due to the infection, we need to keep the number of visitors limited right now. She asked that for the next few days, that only family and elders/pastors come to visit. We will let you know as soon as it's safe for regular visitors to start coming again.
Thank you all for your continued prayers! we love you.
The Blog
Hi everyone,
We have been SO blessed to have so much wonderful support from friends and family. It has been amazing to hear and see all the love that people have for Dad (David).
We decided that we would start a blog to keep everyone updated, as people were getting left off of the email list. We will try to keep sending these updates in email form, too.. but if you know someone who would like to be kept up to date, please give them this website.
This is not the way that we imagined Thanksgiving would be, but we are thankful to have most everyone together, despite the circumstances. We have so much to be thankful for and that's what we are trying to focus on right now.
One of the things that God has made evident over the last few days is just how blessed we are to be a part of this amazing family. They have a mix of strength and compassion that is not often found. Seeing Cheri care so tenderly for David while trying to stay strong for everyone else has really been incredible. Sarah is the perfect mix of her mother and her father, she is a leader during crisis but is not afraid to show how much she loves us all. Colin amazes me with how hard he works- he is always the first one to help, but never draws attention to himself...whenever anything is needed, you turn around and he's right there. Josh continues to amaze us everyday- he has so much wisdom and find solutions to problems most cannot even begin to tackle. Aaron bring us humor and is willing to help whenever needed. Dad and Mom have given us so much to be thankful for in our family- so, today is still a good day :)
We thank you all for your continued support and desire to stay updated. Please continue to pray for him!
We have been SO blessed to have so much wonderful support from friends and family. It has been amazing to hear and see all the love that people have for Dad (David).
We decided that we would start a blog to keep everyone updated, as people were getting left off of the email list. We will try to keep sending these updates in email form, too.. but if you know someone who would like to be kept up to date, please give them this website.
This is not the way that we imagined Thanksgiving would be, but we are thankful to have most everyone together, despite the circumstances. We have so much to be thankful for and that's what we are trying to focus on right now.
One of the things that God has made evident over the last few days is just how blessed we are to be a part of this amazing family. They have a mix of strength and compassion that is not often found. Seeing Cheri care so tenderly for David while trying to stay strong for everyone else has really been incredible. Sarah is the perfect mix of her mother and her father, she is a leader during crisis but is not afraid to show how much she loves us all. Colin amazes me with how hard he works- he is always the first one to help, but never draws attention to himself...whenever anything is needed, you turn around and he's right there. Josh continues to amaze us everyday- he has so much wisdom and find solutions to problems most cannot even begin to tackle. Aaron bring us humor and is willing to help whenever needed. Dad and Mom have given us so much to be thankful for in our family- so, today is still a good day :)
We thank you all for your continued support and desire to stay updated. Please continue to pray for him!
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