I know I never update this, but it is much easier than trying to remember who I have told what.
Dennis was admitted to Utah Valley Hospital on Sunday July 3 with an attack of Pancreatitis. It came on suddenly and was one of the worst attacks I have seen him have. When this happens there isn't a lot that can be done, except to manage the pain and try to make him comfortable. Right now it is Wednesday and even though he has had a ton of pain meds he is still enduring alot of pain. He is given a double dose of Dilated(?) every 4 hours. At about 3 hours the pain kicks in. He is being pumped full of fluids to try to flush out the swelling that is in his system. The most important part right now is lots and lots of rest so that his body can heal. He can NOT have any food or water until his pancreas calms down which in the past has taken about 5 to 7 days. His white blood count is up so they have him on an antibiotic, and he is also on oxygen because his breathing is shallow to help ease the pain. Tuesday he had an ultrasound of his pancreas taken and there is definitely swelling. His numbers are amylase and lipase numbers are coming down but while the swelling is still there he is miserable. Unfortunately this is one of those illnesses that is very difficult to diagnose. He does not have any of the usual reasons for this to happen, such as, diabetes, gall stones (that was removed on the 2nd attack) and he is not an alcoholic. This leaves out all of the easy answers and we are now looking at Autoimmune Pancreatitis. The first test for this has come back negative, however there are still more tests to be done. His let arm IV just gave out this morning and he now has one in his right arm. If he has problems there they will probably do a PIC line. He had these on the last two stays.
This is the 4th time he has been hospitalized for this problem. The treatment for Pancreatitis is always the same, rest and no food or water to stimulate the organ. He still has a sense of humor and his biggest worry was that his guys at work got paid for last week, thanks to Tim, that happened!
He spends most of his time sleeping right now and can get up for bathroom breaks on his own. When I know more I will post again. Thanks for all your love and concern. Marlene