June is here already...

I've been doing really well now for about a week. I'm eating and keeping food down okay. Gained 10 lbs back. I will have another CT scan in 2-3 weeks to see if they can find the source and or cause of the bleed I had on April 26th. My energy level is increasing every day. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers. Love you all, Alan.

May 14

Hallelujah! Alan feels significantly better today!

We finally got a call back from a GI doc yesterday and he said he felt the reason Alan is having so much stomach trouble is because the pool of blood in his peritoneal area is constricting his duodenum. (Yes, we really have a body part called a duodenum. It's at the bottom of the stomach leading into the small intestines.) He also said everybody dissipates blood at their own rate and it's not unusual for it to be taking this long. We both felt better just knowing this information. The doctor also said it could take up to 2 weeks for the increased dose of acid reflux medicine to take full effect. Alan also quit taking the iron pills yesterday.

Whatever the reason(s), he is feeling much better today and kept down last night's yogurt. Actually he can have another one now. It's been an hour since he took an acid reflux pill. I think we may have finally turned the corner on this thing! He feels good enough today that he said he might want to go with Patti and I to the movies this afternoon, even though we are planning to see a chick flick. Maybe he's delirious. Patti and I are going to see "Bridesmaid". I consider it research for Bryce and Jess' upcoming big event.

Thank you all for the concern you have shown for Alan. Your prayers, cards and messages have meant a lot to both of us.

May 13

I haven't written anything for a few days because it seemed to be getting pretty repetitive. Unfortunately, not much has changed. We were in ER yesterday morning because Alan needed to be hydrated. He still can not keep much down, so got dehydrated. Last night was a little better. He kept down a scrambled egg and some jello. This morning he had an Ensure and although he has kept it down so far, he has that uncomfortable acid stomach again, in spite of doubling his dose of acid reflux medication and taking a anti-nausea Rx given to us by the ER doc. Anyway, I have left 3 different strongly worded messages at the Vancouver Clinic this morning. We need some answers! It seems hard to believe he should really be feeling this miserable almost 2 weeks after getting out of the hospital.

May 10

Well today has been a little disappointing. After doing well with Cream of Wheat last night, Alan had some again this morning and had a "sour stomach" all day. Friends from church (Marshall and Angie Pendleton) brought us a delicious chicken dinner complete with salad and dessert. Alan did eat a little of it. Eric and I really enjoyed it. I think the Pendleton's could open a restaurant. The back story is that Marshall was raised in Anchorage and his parents are close friends of Alan's brother, David, and sister-in-law, Marilyn. It was so sweet of them to do all this for us. They barely know us, but I think we both feel a connection because of our family in Anchorage. Sometimes it is really a small world!

May 9

Alan actually ate a little real food today! It was only Cream of Wheat, but that's a start. Really his only complaint now is lack of energy. He just plays out quickly. It will take time to build up some blood and get his stamina back.

May 8

Hi Again,

Alan is better today. He felt up to going to church this morning. The switch to liquids (and small quantities of those) has helped with the nausea. He also slept well last night which helps everything. We spent a lot of time yesterday cleaning our bedroom and raising the head end of the bed and he feels that helped him to sleep better. We probably should have done it years ago since he suffers from acid reflux. I am referring to raising the bed, not the cleaning. We have done that occasionally in the past!

At church I ran into Michelle Johnson. She lost her husband about 8 months ago. It turns out his cause of death was a retro peritoneal bleed. He had been sick for several months, and was on Coumadin, so there was a little more of an explanation for it, but I still was stunned to hear his death certificate lists that as the cause.
We are so fortunate Alan's bleeding stopped on it's own. He didn't even require a transfusion, although he was close to it. It is such a rare condition and yet it afflicted two people from the same congregation less that a year apart.

My mom is bringing us dinner today for Mother's Day. My dad is on soft foods after having a tooth extracted two days ago and Alan is eating nothing, so I think Mom and I should have just gone out to dinner! I'm just glad to have my mother and my husband. That is all the Mother's Day I need, but as a bonus, Eric did cook breakfast for me.

Thanks again for the calls and cards and emails. Alan really does appreciate them.

May 7

Alan had a lot of nausea yesterday. We ended up calling the after hours GI doctor on call. He said to stop all solid food, and that seems to have helped. He is drinking Ensure and had been feeling quite a bit better, but just had another round of nausea. He thinks maybe he should not have drunk an entire bottle of Ensure at once. Keep those prayers coming. It appears this is going to be a long recovery.