The results of Tuesday's ultrasound and biopsy showed a blockage or restriction in Dan's hepatic artery, so they did an angioplasty yesterday, a catheterization going through the hepatic artery, then inserting a balloon to open the artery (similar to how they do it for the heart). The results were complicated and the surgeon said they have not seen such a complicated case before, and if you know Dan, this is not at all surprising.
1- Dan's hepatic artery, the one that delivers blood to the liver, was not getting enough blood so the liver was not getting enough blood, which could be causing the tiredness and confusion. The artery that supplies blood to the hepatic artery also supplies blood to the spleen - think of a V in the road. Turns out there wasn't a blockage in the hepatic artery, but the speen artery had greatly enlarged and was getting all the blood, this happened in the last few days and they don't know why. So to help the liver, they blocked the speen's artery so all the blood will flow to the liver, this leaves the spleen essentially "dead" and it may have to be removed at some time. The spleen fights certain infections, but they have immunizations they can give Dan for this.
2- There is a restriction in Dan's bile duct and the plan is to insert a stent via endoscopy sometime today depending on how Dan is doing.
3- The dye used in the angioplasty harms the kidneys, and his kidneys are not functioning well anyway, so they gave him medication during and after the procedure, but they may have to do a few days of dialysis to help the kidneys along and get rid of the fluids he still has.
We just got a call this morning that Dan's heart rate started racing again, so I'm headed up to Mayo now. They did move him back to the Intermediate Care pod on the same floor. I will blog more when I get more info, but for the meantime, please pray. Actually I know you are praying all along, but if you could pray specifically for these new complications, we would be grateful.
More later....
Debbie
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4 comments:
Hi guys, praying specifically for these parts of Dan's body. Know this up and down time is hard...praying God will continue to enable you to stay with Him right where you are and trust His love for you. Love you, Susan
Dear Debbie,
Hang in there!! We all know Dan is a fighter and he has Jesus on his side. I am praying and so is my Sunday school. Your love is felt around the world and is poored back out on to you. Thank you for keeping us up dated. Sorry I am not much of a writer. Gina Mravak
Dan and your family are being lifted up and carried through this time
Hang in there my friend. We love you sooooooo much....J and R
We will definitely be praying specifically. We see such a tiny part in this intricate design God has for each one of us.
The Jarretts
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