5th time lucky?

Well Dennis is stable once again. He is doing well on his own again. He will remain in ICU today and will moved to the unit again tomorrow. Perhaps 5th time lucky?

John O - thanks for the hockey update. Gives me something to talk about with him.

e

doing well again?

Dennis was extubated this afternoon and is doing well - as we know only Dennis can do. He let everyone know he was hungry. He stated he hasn't eaten in 2 days and needed some food - which indeed was true. He had a hearty dinner of fish, mashed potatoes, broccoli, yogurt and a fruit plate. I don't know what more to say but to let you know he is doing well again.

e

God is in Control

Dennis is awake and alert this morning. He is currently undergoing a breathing trial to see if can be extubated sometime today. He is able to communicate with us by writing - which is a first in 6.5 weeks. He is wondering about the Canucks and Matt Cooke. Also wondering where his friends will stay when they come to visit him. He seems less confused than he been in weeks. He's not fighting the breathing tube anymore so, he's unrestrained watching TV and flipping channels on his own.

I meet with the Dr. V. this am and he is uncertain of Den's underlying issues with his GI bleed and his breathing. We are trying to figure out if they are related to each other. It appears that each time he has a bleed, he needs a transfusion, which is possibly causing fluid overload. In turn this may be affecting the functioning of his heart and lungs causing the frequent need for intubation. Unfortunately, each time they investigate the GI bleed, they cannot find the source. His lungs are looking the best they have in over a month, therefore, he should not be having these breathing issues. It does not seem neuological in nature.

So it's just one big wonder ... God what's going on? Perhaps we will never truly know. But we rely on the comfort of knowing that God is in control. Hallelujah for all you have already done.

e

Atypical

Today has been another day of waiting. He has had a red blood cell tag and 2 scopes done to detect his GI bleed with no confirmed results except that they cannot locate his bleed. He is currently going for another red blood cell tag to see if he has any delayed responses to the first red blood cell tag. He has had a general surgical consult but without finding a site to surgically repair, it's all for nothing.

His breathing is more of a concern than his GI bleed at this point. The staff are perplexed as to why he gets into these poor breathing patterns. They are considering if it is neurological in nature and whether he has had brain stem damage due to his cardiac arrest. They are considering a tracheotomy to assist him when he gets into respiratory distress. We are having discussions with our family as to whether this is an option we should consider.

e

Another set back

Hi folks,

Dennis started having another GI bleed this morning and was rapidly moved back to the ICU. When I arrived back at the hospital this evening, Dennis was in respiratory distress. As the evening progressed, he became more ill. He's breathing increased to 45-50 respirations per minute, heart beat of 125bpm and had a blood pressure of 225/137. Needless to say, he needed immediate intervention and the medical staff felt he needed to be intubated again. He is currently heavily sedated and undergoing a number of tests and procedures.

Dennis is not receiving visitors at the present time.

e

Den's rolling

Hi folks,

Dennis has moved back to the ward last evening and is holding up well. He's just starting to get his strength back. This morning, he started rolling back and forth on his own in bed - the little things we take for granted.

e

on the move again

Hi folks,

Dennis had a good visit from a couple of old friends today and many more coming this weekend. He has been up in a chair twice today and has tolerated this well. They will be moving him on to the ward again once a bed becomes available.

His CT scan of the head showed no abnormalities. They feel his memory loss is related the the trauma and stress he has undergone over the last 6 weeks. As further healing occurs with some brain retraining/rehab all should come back to normal. Yippee!!

As for his legs ... He is experiencing pain and limited strength in both legs now but continues to have less functioning in the right leg. PT and OT are working with him extensively to get his mobility back. He has some nerve damage to the right leg. With time and lots of rehab, this should all come back to normal too.

And as for his left arm ... yes, time and rehab should do the trick.

Prognosis is positive - no longer just 'wait and see' - it's time to exercise and rehabilitate.

e

address

Hi folks,

Dennis had a good night. He's retaining water again and they are trying to pull off as much fluid as possible. Other than that he is still doing about the same.

Well, it seems that Dennis likes to move between the ICU and the ward. He has also move to several different rooms in the ICU depending on the types of equipment he needs so, if you are planning on sending him mail, please forward as follows:

University of Washington Medical Center
5 Northeast or 5 Southeast
Patient: Dennis Pak
1959 NE Pacific Street
Box 356087
Seattle, WA 98195-6087

e

doing good

Dennis is holding his own and doing well. He remains in ICU under close observation. He is undergoing neurological testing for this breathing pattern and memory. Although sleepy, he is sitting up in bed and has a great appetite.

e

back in the ICU

Hi folks,

Dennis had an episode this morning after having a great visit with his boss. He started to cheyne-stoke breath and became unresponsive. His oxygen level dropped to 76 and the medical staff went into overdrive to help him without using any heroic measures. He was transfered to ICU again for further monitoring. He's now sitting up in bed, chatting and laughing with the nurses. It appears that he is having another GI bleed. Further investigation will occur over the next couple of days.

e

holding his own

Hi folks,

Dennis is doing well. Still having difficulty breathing but holding his own. He has been very tired today, therefore, unable to get up in a chair. The medical staff are keeping a watchful eye on him.

e

Walking down the road of recovery

Hi folks,

Dennis has had another good day. He has been moved out of the ICU and on to the cardiac ward. He's still short of breath and having difficulty communicating but seems to be going down the road of recovery.

Dennis is having difficulty recollecting his past and remains confused. This is coupled with difficulty expressing himself. The medical staff feel that as he continues to strengthen and recover, his memory and communication skills will come back. We have decided to stage his visitations to help him with his memory while having positive experiences during these visits.

During this weekend, we invite friends who have know him for greater than 15 years or those that have had significant impact on his life. If you fall into either category and would like to visit, please email me at eunicecho@shaw.ca and let me know what date and time you will come. Visitation will be limited to 2 persons at any given time, between 10am to 1pm and again from 3pm to 7pm. I will also be starting up a photo board, therefore, please bring a photo of yourself.

As for others, I will let you know as soon as we open up visitation, but in the meantime, please send Dennis a card with your photo to:
University of Washington Medical Center
5 Northeast
Patient: Dennis Pak, room #5202
1959 NE Pacific Street
Box 356087
Seattle, WA 98195-6087

Thanks for your understanding. I look forward to meeting you all over the coming days. We are feeling positive that he indeed is walking down the road of recovery.

e

so far ... doing well

Hi folks,

Dennis was extubated yesterday at 3pm and so far he is holding his own. He is up in a chair today eating breakfast. His breathing is a bit labored. We are encouraging him to cough lots to get rid of his secretions. He is trying to communicate with us but we are having difficulty understanding him to due to his voice.

I am trying to working out visits with Dennis over the next few days. I will need to make these arrangements first. Once he is allowed visitors outside of family members, I will let you know. Likely starting sometime over the weekend.

Thanks, e

In God's hands

Dear friends and family,

It has been an extremely long 5 week journey with Dennis. As difficult as it has been on us, we cannot even grasp the pain and suffering that Dennis has gone through over these past 5 weeks but furthermore, a lifetime of living with a broken heart.

The frequent set backs and intubation's has taken a toll on Dennis' body making recovery more and more difficult each day. Not knowing the lasting effects of these ailments makes it difficult to know the quality of Dennis' future life. Dennis' life has not been in vain. He has touched many lives with his humor, his strength, his friendship and his love. And even through pain, there has been much joy.

He has often puzzled the medical staff with his frequent set backs. He has undergone many tests and procedures with no true diagnosis. It has been frustrating for us all including Dennis. We no longer want to prolong his suffering and have asked the medical staff to extubate him. We leave Dennis' life in the hands of God. As our Lord and our Saviour, we trust in the work of His hands. May His will be done with Dennis - whether in life or in death.

e

bleeding

Hi folks,

They have scoped Dennis this morning and have located the site of the bleed - right lower lobe. The team is consulting on the next steps. We anticipate they will take him back to IR to coil/tie the bleed off. He will remain intubated for now.

e

WHY???

Since Dennis was doing well, I decided to go home for a quick visit with my family over the weekend. My mom stayed with Dennis in the hospital and reported he was doing well - alert, sitting up for prolonged periods and eating well.

Late last evening, Dennis started to cough excessively. He coughed up large amounts of blood, blood clots and tissue. They scoped him and discovered that he is bleeding from the right lung. He was re-intubated to maintain his airway. He is currently heavily sedated and receiving units of blood to replenish him. He will also be scoped again this evening to check the status of his lungs.

It's difficult to understand why this is happening but we continue to rest in the provision of God and His grace.

e

Another good day and getting stronger

Hi folks,

Den had another great day. He was up in a chair for 5 hours and although tired, managed well. He was able to stand on his feet today but was not able to move them. It is still very difficult to understand what Dennis is saying but with each day, he is getting stronger. He is to rest his voice but work on his exercises, so the nurses and therapist are constantly on him. He is under close observation and will remain in the ICU for a few more days.

We are not accepting visitors yet but as soon as we do, we will let you know. For now, it's all about therapy and rest.

e

A couple of pics.

Here's Dennis with his niece, Adaya who has been patiently waiting for him to recover in the family waiting room. She's managed to sneak in to have quick visit with her uncle.













This morning Dennis was up in his Cadillac chair getting ready for his first shave in 1 month. He's in great spirits.

He speaks!

Dennis is doing well and in great spirits. He has been talking but we are having difficulty understanding him due to the loss of his voice. We are able to make out bits of his words but it has been challenging. It will be some time before he can have a full conversation.

Dennis has been very restless during the night and having difficulty sleeping. The nurse gave him some medications and caused his restlessness to increase. He had difficulty breathing and scared the staff last night but all is well this morning. They are continuing to keep a watchful eye on him and will remain in the ICU until they are certain he will succeed on the ward.

His kidneys are working well and he has not had dialysis in 2 days. They will continue to monitor his kidney function to ensure it's return to normal. He's got lots of work to do to get his mobility back so, tomorrow the sneakers will be on to get him on his feet.

We have had some wonderful visits with him over the past 24 hours. I will post some pictures this evening.

e

Making Progress

Hi folks,

Dennis was extubated yesterday. He's been giving big smiles! He's trying to talk but his throat is too sore ... although his mouth is moving, we can not make out any words. With time and healing, we should hear him chattering away soon. He's been eating lots of ice chips and jello.

As for his neurological status ... he appears very appropriate but the telling sign will be when starts to talk. He is able to move his limbs on command and gives thumbs up when all is good. He's been rooting on American Olympic athletes and raising his hand when they win. I wonder what he will do when he sees the Canadians win.

He has had no further bleeding episodes and in viewing his digestive tract with a camera, it appears he had a bleeding ulcer in his small intestine. It was difficult for them to detect since it was already healed.

Dennis has lots of work to do over the next few weeks. His muscles have gotten very weak. He is still having problems with his right leg and it appears that he may have some nerve damage.


e

update

Sorry it's been a couple of days since I've written but yesterday was a difficult day and I found it hard to write anything positive so, I didn't write at all.

Dennis started to have a major bleed yesterday and with all the tests and waiting, it was just about getting the best of us. Although they preformed many tests, they were unable to locate the site of the bleed. He was promised with extubation yesterday and he was disappointed when they decided not to. It was a very emotional day for Dennis and we just held him as he cried. All we could do was cry with him. He also frequently displayed his displeasure in having his breathing tube in. Dennis is very alert and when he wasn't getting poked and prodded, he was watching the Olympics. I think it's the only thing that is keeping him sane.

Well, today is a new day and as we speak, they are scoping him to locate the bleed. There's still a possibility that he may need abdominal surgery. We should find out later today. They have promised him extubation again after this procedure so, we will see if it actually becomes a reality.

e

GI bleed

Hi folks,

Yesterday was an exhausting day off waiting as they tried to localize Dennis' GI bleed. They informed us that he may need to have an abdominal surgery for a bowel resection. In the morning, they preformed a scope of the esophagus, stomach and upper GI tract and found no active bleeding. In the evening, they completed an angio of the lower GI tract and found no active bleeding. It's all a mystery. Has healing already occurred?? After 3 massive blow out of blood, he has had no further episodes. He had 6 units of blood yesterday and he is now holding his own.

Today, he will undergo another procedure through nuclear med to see if they can localize his GI bleed ... I get a feeling they won't find anything. God is good.

Otherwise, they will give him dialysis and do another breathing trial. Please pray for his breathing as he continues to have difficulty breathing on his own. This is the next major step in his recovery.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support.

e

re-intubation

Hi folks,

Dennis is getting re-intubation this morning. He is having some type of upper GI bleed and with his declined respiratory status, they feel he needs to be intubated for the scope procedure. We are devastated with this set back and ask that you pray that we make the right decisions regarding his care.

e

breathing difficulties

Hi folks,

Dennis has been struggling over the past 24 hours with his breathing again. He is short of breath and breathing rapidly. He is on bi-pap to help him with his breathing. His heart rate has increased and he has had 1 episode of ventricular tachycardia. He was put back on a couple of his heart medications to help bring his heart rate down. He did not tolerate dialysis as well yesterday and they will try again today.

e

He says "hi"

Dennis was extubated yesterday at 3:30pm and although alert, he was unable to talk. He was not following any commands but looking around and smiling. He grew more restless as the night went on so a good dose of sleep was in the works. The medical staff put some big white boxing gloves (restraints) on to prevent him from hurting himself.

This morning the nurse greet us with excitement. I rushed in and Dennis said "hi." When I asked him how he was doing, he said "tired." Words are still hard to come by as the intubations have taken its toll on Den's voice. He is also congested, therefore, breathing and talking at the same time requires a lot of energy. The next few days will be filled with lots of deep breathing, coughing, exercising his limbs, sitting up and getting rest.

e

He smiles!

It's hard for me to express how I am feeling this morning. I was standing by his door and he waved to me. I couldn't get my gown on fast enough to get right beside him and when I did, he smiled. It was incredible!!

Dennis will be getting his breathing tube out today. He is breathing well on his own. He is also get a more "permanent" kidney dialysis line inserted in his clavicle. He will have the one in his groin removed so that he can start moving his legs. His kidneys are starting to wake up but it may take some time before they are functioning well ... until then he will get dialysis. He's not running anymore infections so he should be off isolation today.

Praise God!

e

getting better everyday

Yesterday evening, Dennis' blood pressure dropped dangerously low. The medical staff worked quickly to get him restabilized. Due to this turn of events, they were unable to do his neurological assessment or breathing test.

They have turned off his sedation and he is awake this morning. He is following some commands but not following others. It will be a few days yet before we can get an accurate picture of how he is doing neurologically. He is still intubated but they have turned off the ventilator and he is breathing on his own. They will continue to turn his ventilator on and off throughout the day to strength his lungs before extubating him.

He will have another 5 hour kidney dialysis run today with the hopes of pulling off another 2kg. As I indicated previously, Dennis is "skinny" and has lost 25kg (55lbs) over the last 5 days ... I wish I could lose weight this quickly too!

e

positive feelings

I'm feeling good about today! It's beautiful out and I believe that God will give us the desires of our hearts. God is good.

Plan for today: Dennis is starting a 7 hour run of kidney dialysis this morning at 9am. Once this is completed, the medical staff will lighten his sedation and wake him up. They will do a neurological exam to see if he has lost any of his marbles. They will also do a breathing trial this evening to see if his lungs are strong enough to manage on their own. And if so, they will extubate him.

I'll keep you posted.

e

progressing

Hello,

Dennis continues to progress well on dialysis. They have taken a large amount of fluid off him and my mom describes him as "skinny" ... of course only skinny as skinny can be for Dennis. The nurses have weaned him off 2 of his blood pressure medications and his ventilator medication. He has tolerated this well. They are continuing with his dialysis and will try and wean him from another 1 of his blood pressure medications. He remains heavily sedated and continues on all of his heart medications.

e

a little glimmer of hope

Hi folks,

We have been 24 hours free of any shocking or pacing!! He is still having a couple of irregular beats but he is not having runs in which he needs assistance to get out of. He is getting a little more stable.

The medical staff are treating him aggressively to bring him through this crisis and they have now moved to 24 hour dialysis for 3 days to pull of as much fluid from his heart. He is tolerating this well so far.

Thank you so much for all your prayers. Our family feels your presence and your support with us as we all anxiously wait for a positive outcome.

e

no progress

Dennis is continuing to have problems with the right side of his heart. He was shocked by his defib another 3 times during the night. Although he is not getting worse, he is not making any progress. He's liver is now failing.

We are still hopeful that he will come through this but we are starting to have some very difficult conversations with the medical staff. We are seeking God's guidance through this process.

We ask, only if you are able, to fast and pray over the next 12 hours.

Thank you,

e