Update from Leeanne Lewis

Hi Everyone,

Today was an extremely ugly day that could have been a lot worse. Most of you know that Doug went into respiratory failure while having dialysis early this AM - only a few hours after I left him at 6 AM. They put a ventilator tube down his throat immediately and rushed him into surgery. The doctors performed a new procedure using a very slim gizmo to find the source of where his liver was bleeding AFTER injecting dye into him. They found the source, which coincidentally was the site of his liver biopsy and plugged it with a special foam. Afterwards they installed a drainage tube in his upper abdomen to relieve the area of the accumulated blood that they had been transfusing into him. By doing this it allowed his lungs to return to their proper position and he could breathe. Doug is currently in ICU in a chemically induced coma on a ventilator (to give his lungs a break from the trauma they've been going through since last Saturday). This happened almost without warning and we are fortunate that they were able to figure out the problem instantly. The doctors are pleased with their handy work and are optimistic about his recovery. He is stabile and looks wonderful (compared to the past several days). His skin is normal now in color and is warm instead of cold and clammy. I was told even though he couldn't respond to me that he could hear everything I or anyone else was saying so I told him he was doing great and that everyone loves and wants him to get better soon. A tear rolled down his cheek. He will not remember any of this when they bring him out of it. Please don't come visit yet he's far from out of the woods. As I said he is in ICU and visiting hours are strict and limited. There is no point since he is not in any condition to talk. The plan is to continue dialysis and plasmaphersis throughout the night and after 24 hours bring him out of his fugue to assess his mental state. If he is coherent enough they will remove the ventilator and let him breathe on his own. Everyone is cautious and with good reason. In a few days they will begin a new regiment of chemo. Hopefully this one will work better than the last two. Thank you all again for your prayers, emails and phone calls.
I'll try to keep everyone updated as I learn more.

Leeanne