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. This is a way for us to keep everyone including each other updated in one place, so that we can focus on Rick. On December 24th Rick went into cardic arrest and was unresponsive no pulse or response. The staff and EMTs were able to perform CPR and measures to revive him. Rick was then taken to Spirit Lake hospital and then flown to Sioux Falls, SD. Our family gathered together with him and doctors there in ICU were able to determine that he had a blood clot on his leg, as well as his lungs and that he had went into cardic arrest due to his heart struggling to pump because of the blood clot in his lung, the right ventricle was the main area of concern with his heart at the time and causing very unstable vitals. Through the 24th and 25th they fought to keep Rick's heart beating his blood pressure was running very low with 5 very extensive heart meds his BP was still running as low as 50/30 at times. He was on life support, had developed a high fever, and very sick. Later in the evening of the 24th Rick did start to show a bit of improvement. We as a family were able to take turns sitting with him, talking to him, loving on him, encouraging him and he was responsonding to each of us with hand squeezes, and certain little things. We knew he was with us, hearing us and fighting. Later on Christmas day he was able to have the breathing tube removed, was still needing the extensive heart medication to keep his heart vitals in acceptable range. He was communicating with staff and family and very responsive and expressive to his needs. At this time he was not needing any oxygen, the thing mainly keeping him in the ICU was heart meds to keep vitals at a acceptable range. On the 26th he was moved for a bit out of ICU and onto the pulmonary floor. He was doing well at first but later in the night became very groggy, lathergic confused and unresponsive to being woken and was not able to keep his oxygen up, he was then moved back into ICU. The 29th he was able to move from ICU to the brain and spine floor and is still on this floor here at Avera hospital in Sioux Falls. He has continued to be very groggy on and off and has been very confused, at times anxious and overwhelmed, he doesnt always understand why they need to give him his medication or that the staff is trying to help him. He can get very aggitated because he simply does not understand what is going on with or why this is all happening. On January 3rd the staff contacted Bill , his brother and expressed concern that Rick was refusing his medication, any testing or vitals they needed to get on him to help him. They knew he had a very very extensive blood clot still in his lung and his right leg and possibly other places but he was not compliant to a CT to determine, the medication and blood thinners he was needing to break those clots up were also causing large hematomas through out his body. He had some fractured ribs most likely from the extensive CPR administered to revive him on the 24th, these fractures also contribute to the extenivness of the blood clots. At this time a conference call with input from all of his doctors, staff, social workers, and a palliative care team was made and family was all on together. They communicated about 15 things they were needing to test, or procedures they needed to do to help Rick but really he needed those blood clots to break up as they are putting pressure again on his heart but the meds needed were causing him to bleed out With direction and input from his health care team, consideration of his struggles right now and quality of life now and quality of life if they were able to help his medical issues going foward it was with decided with much thought, prayers, tears guidance from above to go from treatment to comfort measures for Rick. We love him soo much and knowing we were at an uphill battle and that continuing to fight just continued his pain and suffering. So at the time Rick will have hospice care and any measures needed to keep comfortable. We are working on finding him a hospice bed back in Spencer so he can be surrounded with his family and friends during this time. We do want to thank all of you for your prayers, kind words and support not only the last week but during this time. It is all appreciated very much. Rick truly has an amazing support system of friends, family and extended community. This as I said before will be a place we will updates each other and other family and friends. This will eliminate having to update people individually allowing our focus and time to be with Rick. Again Thank you so much for the prayers and support for our (brother, son, uncle) Rick.
