Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are
using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your
support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting. I
should have thought to start this story earlier, so some of it is written as my
memory allows - this past week has been very traumatic.
Bill had not been feeling well for a few days, he told Tina that
he had severe stomach pains, he was unable to walk or even stand up. Tina
finally got him to the hospital on Friday, August 12th. As soon as he got
there he started vomiting blood - they admitted him right away - details
missing/forgotten...
Because of the blood and the excruciating pain he was in, the
doctors put him in an induced coma and transferred him to the Critical Care
Unit. This was a very crucial time and we are hopeful that he was handled
well and that there no lasting effects from this event. If this had happened at home, he would not
have survived at all. Thankfully Tina got him to the hospital in time.
He has dozens of tubes and wires attached to him. He had
been bleeding from everywhere and the doctors were unable to slow it down, they
gave him blood transfusions and blood products to try to keep him alive.
He has Esophageal Varices, which are swollen veins in the lower part of your esophagus. They are caused by
increased pressure in the blood vessels of your liver. As the pressure builds in your liver, the
pressure also builds in the veins in your esophagus. After several days the doctor was able to band the large ones
to slow the bleeding. They are not able to repair the stomach bleeders as that would require surgery
and he is not strong enough to survive any type of surgery at this time.
His kidneys shut down, he's been on Dialysis twice a day for
three hours a day. That has been helpful as his kidneys are starting to
function on their own again as of this morning (Wednesday, August 17th) We
will see if they continue to function without the dialysis.
His liver has failed, his kidneys are jeopardized, as well as his pancreas. He has blood in his
lungs and has pneumonia. On a positive note - his heart is strong!
He has been take off of all pain meds and sedatives to see if he will wake up.
It’s been a couple of days now – and today he opened his eyes a little and moved his head a little bit on his own.
His chance of survival has gone from 5% to 10% - we are still hopeful and praying for a miracle.
He is not yet a candidate for a liver transplant, as he would
have to survive without alcohol or drugs for six months before being put on the list.
I do NOT know how he would survive in the meantime without a functioning liver.
When he comes out of this, it will be a long road to recovery. We remain hopeful.
I will be there again tomorrow through Monday and will update this site as I can.
At this time he can only have family with him. When he is stable and in a regular room,
I'll let you all know when he can have visitors. Your thoughts, wishes & prayers are all welcome for his recovery.
You may donate to help with Bill's expenses through GoFundMe here:
http://www.gofundme.com/2ka89qk 
