The latest from Duane via the /2 list on Craig Vetter's status...things are really looking quite positive!
Dear friends,
Had to take a minute to write you before I head up to bed. You aren’t going to believe it, but it’s all true…. and it’s good… another miracle.
We have had a lot of sickness in the family the last 2 months. Most recently we got a nasty bronchial thing that fill up our lungs with goop and makes us cough all of the time. It had been hard for me to breathe, so I spent several nights trying to sleep sitting up in the recliner. Then Craig caught it. We got him started on the same stuff that I was taking, antibiotics, inhalers and the nebulizer. Saturday night as we sipped our Matzo ball soup and watched TV, he coughed so much I decided he needed a nebulizer treatment. He became nauseous, disoriented, almost fainted, and complained of severe abdominal pain. In about 2 minutes his shirt and sweatshirt were soaked with his sweat.
I got son Zak up and we called our family Dr. at home. He was very concerned about Craig’s difficulty breathing and not as concerned about his abdominal pain. Craig actually wanted to go to the hospital. That was serious. I didn’t know what to do, but my sister, Denise, looked me in the eye and said, “Take him now.”
Zak was not in great shape as he was getting the bronchial thing, I couldn’t go along because I was still hacking, coughing and wheezing so Zak tossed Craig in the car and got him to the hospital. That was it, I was sure it was all over and after they left, I fell apart. I tried to go to sleep, but that was silly, I was upset, crying and coughing …
I saw that Zak was up at 2:30 a.m. so I called him and he filled me in on activity at the hospital.
They had given Craig fluids and another nebulizer treatment, so he was breathing better. They did a chest X-ray and a CT scan of his abdomen and the attending said his gallbladder seemed to be “a little inflamed.” They might want to remove it, but would probably wait until he was healthy… “no rush.” That’s when I heard the sweet words, “and guess who the surgeon is coming in at 6?" Our dear friend who has operated on him 3 times before was scheduled to be there in a matter of hours. That was all I needed because this is a surgeon that we know and trust. Now I could sleep.
Our internet has been acting up and I was unable to call in our out on my cell phone and @ 7 a.m. Sunday, my phone rang and rang and dropped all calls. I raced around to change my voicemail and bring the land line up to my bedroom… called the hospital, tried Craig’s room, the nurses’ station, but all I could find out was that he had been take away for “a procedure.”
As it turned out, the gallbladder was a mess, it apparently had burst. Our Dr. didn’t waste any time and went in to operate 30 minutes after he saw Craig that morning.
Now mind you, 13 years ago or so, this Dr. had to cut a section out of Craig’s colon when he blew a hole in it. He put him back together but he had to move things around. The gallbladder was not where it would normally have been, but he knew that. What should have been a 30 minute operation took @ 2 hours I am told and it went great. They sent the gallbladder out to the lab where they pronounced it disgusting. It had probably been leaking and giving Craig trouble for over a year! It was full of stones and really gross.
Our son, Morgan, who was the only one who wasn’t sick, showed up at the hospital to be with Craig when he got out of recovery and called me with the news. “Mom, Dad looks really good. I mean really really good. He’s happy, talking, clear eyed, not confused, something has changed. “
Morgan was cautiously optimistic, but I knew something was going on. I stayed home Sunday trying to rest having been up most of the night, Zak was passed out down at his place sick and Morgan was at the hospital until @ 5 or so when he called and said Dad told him to go home and get some sleep. The hospital had provided a “sitter” to stay with him because ever since the last accident, Craig has not been safe in a room by himself… he would get confused and try to get up or pull out his tubes. It was scary, so we NEVER left him alone. Morgan went home confident he would be okay.
I talked to Craig on the phone and he sounded like the old Craig. I could not wait to see him. I got up at 5:45 this morning to get over there. True I got there around 7:30 and could not believe what I saw. There he was, like he was on vacation, sitting up eating French toast, cereal, OJ, coffee and had a big grin on his face. It was a time warp He was alert, happy, strong… it was a miracle. PT came in and wanted to see if he could get up and walk… He almost popped out of the bed, showed he could get in and out of the arm chair without assistance and out the door they went with Craig’s walker. By the time they came back, they had chucked the walker and the attendant was holding on to belt from behind him. Craig was not shuffling, he was walking like a regular person down the hall.
This is a miracle. Friends from church stopped in to see him after I left tonight and she sent me a note and said they could not believe what they saw. And I just got a call from Zak and Morgan’s friend Brandon with the same shock. He said he could not believe the changes. Brandon said he has never seen Craig look so good. He is cautiously optimistic, but I am not. We should get Craig home thursday and it’s only up from there.
I think I just got my husband back.
Sincerely Carol
Addendum: it has now been 3 days since the operation. The changes continue to amaze us all. No one understands how a rotten gall bladder could affect his hearing, dizziness, clarity of thought, understanding, peace of mind, and how he walks.
Craig has been very needy and confused for over 3 years. He wants me with him all of the time. He wants to be holding my hand and watching me. That’s all gone now. He tells me to take my time before I come to the hospital.
He is concerned that I am still coughing and wants me to stay in bed. He doesn’t need a “sitter” in the room. He is confident and aware enough to ring for help if he needs it, and no desire to pull out his tubes and wires.
It is late Wednesday morning and when I called Craig he said that he was tired and going to take a nap and that I could come over later. He has had plenty of company. The staff loves him. Everyone likes to hang out in his room. This is so wonderful.