I just got word that dad is doing well enough to get out of ICU tonight! What does that mean? His staph infection is successfully being fought off by antibiotics, the swelling in his neck has gone down far enough to be able to swallow liquids again (food is still to come) and his temperature has remained at or below normal.

Many of you have asked for me to say hello, which I am happy to do. However, if you’d like to send him some love, here are a couple links:

• Facebook
• Email

Of course, you can leave a comment on this post and I’ll be sure to send him your messages. He would be encouraged by your thoughts and prayers.

Approximately 8:30am, Mom text messages me: Dad’s temperature has spiked; a new, resistant strain of bacteria has entered his body resulting in ICU isolation; suspect infection somewhere else in his body.

That…is not the way to start your day. Just when you think things are getting better, they took a turn for the worse…or so we thought.

For about an hour, our hopes were smashed only to learn that the isolation and new strain was a miscommunication between the nurse and doctor. While dad’s lung infection (pneumonia) had gotten slightly worse, the strain and isolation weren’t true. He was okay, and we were hopeful again.

The rest of the day saw dad becoming back to his old self. His sense of humor was back, his smiles were adorning his face again and he was ready to do the bills. THE BILLS? Yes, he wanted to do the bills.

His pain from the surgery and infection comes and goes but is made tolerable by the pain meds. He’s now on a number of strong antibiotics to fight the infection in his blood and will have to be on a heavy regiment of antibiotics, two times a day for the next six-to-eight weeks. Due to the neck surgery, he will be in a cervical collar for the next six weeks as well. Obviously, he’s not out of the weeds but he’s well on his way to recovery.

Thank you everybody for your love, prayers and support for our family during this time. I speak for us all when I say that we have felt your prayers. We couldn’t have made it without you. I will continue to post updates as new information becomes available.

Funny moment of the day: When dad was asked if his neck hurt, he said “I don’t know, prick my finger and I’ll let you know which one hurts more.”

For those of you who know my dad, he’s an extroverted, life-of-the-party kind of guy. He’s the kind of guy who makes an adventure out of anything, and everything. Best of all, he’s my dad.

A week ago, my mom called and said that dad was in a lot of unexplainable pain. The symptoms had gone beyond the typical headache, flu or common cold. This was downright uncomfortable, painful at every move and often times shrieking out because of something.This isn’t characteristic of my dad. I knew that something was wrong.

Tuesday (11/18/08), mom had had enough and they went to the ER to try and figure out what was going on. Through a series of tests, nothing showed up abnormal so they sent them home with some pain meds.

It didn’t work.

Thursday at 5am, mom and dad headed back to the hospital. Something was very wrong.

To make a long story short, my dad has had a PICC line in his body to help fight the prostate cancer he was diagnosed with back in April. That line introduced bacteria into his body that ended up in a full-on staph infection. Moreover, his neck had swollen to such a state that it was impossible to move his head without immense pain. Come to find out that the bacteria went to the weakest part of his body; a buldging disc in his neck that he’s apparently had for quite some time.

Saturday morning at 7am, dad went into surgery to remove the foreign abssesses and fluids that inflamed his neck and face. They also removed the disc that was causing the neck pain and bacteria attack, replaced it with a plastic spacer and titanium plates to hold it all together. We were told that if we didn’t do this surgery, dad could be paralyzed within 24-48 hours. Yikes.

Now that the neck had been taken care of, the next concern was if the bacteria had affected his heart. What we know today, is that so far, his heart seems to be doing just fine. We are thankful. Very thankful.

By Saturday night, dad pain was finally under control…after a week of pain so intense you couldn’t help but see it screaming in his eyes. Moreover, his temp had dropped from 102.7 at worst, to right around 100. While the fever is a good indicator of his body fighting, what we’ve been concerned with is whether or not the three different antibiotics would begin to fight off the bacteria that’s invaded his blood. The drop in temperature is the indicator that the drugs are indeed, working. Moreover, the blood cultures that were positive on Thursday are coming back negative. We are thankful. Very thankful.

This mornings report: his temp is 99 and while he’s super sleepy from the surgery yesterday and the pain meds, he seems to be on his way to recovery.

Staph infection isn’t something to mess around with. Had my parents not done something about this when they did, dad could have been paralyzed within days and at worst-case, dead.

Today, I am very grateful for God’s hand of protection over my dad. The road ahead is going to leave him in the hospital for about another week. Because of the severity of the infection, he will also undergo 4-8 weeks of strong antibiotic treatments. But, my dad is alive and well and one day closer to becoming the life of the party again.

Today, I celebrate my dads life. I’m glad that we get to keep living it together.