Thursday, April 23

10am report: Just reached out to dad to say Good Morning and was lucky enough to catch Dr. Seidel as well. He said for the most part everything with dad is looking status quo. He does believe, however, that dad might still have a bleeding Ulcer as his hemoglobin levels are remaining low - just around 8. They are going to add Carafate, an anti ulcer medication. It works mainly in the lining of the stomach by sticking to ulcer sites and protecting them from acids, enzymes, and bile salts. Dad will take this in conjunction with Protonix, a medication which decreases the amount of acid produced in the stomach. Dr Seidel has been in touch with and is working in conjunction with dads cardiologist, Dr. Weissman. They have agreed to continue the Aspirin as that will help to balance and control any other cardiac/vascular issues that dad may already have. At this time, there is not talk of needing a blood transfusion. They are checking bowel movements for any indications of bleeding, however they feel that it might be microscopic and not easily seen by the human eye. Blood work was drawn this morning and results, inclusive of Hemoglobin levels, will come within a few hours. They will also do a COVID-19 test today with results back again, a few hours after. So even with this news, dad is in good spirits and said he will ‘Go with the Flow’. Great pun as blood flow is key with regard to Hemoglobin levels.

10.45am report: Just had a great zoom call with dad, mom and Felicia. Dad was so happy to have all his girls in one place…

2.15pm report: Just spoke to dad - good news and bad news.. Good News is that his hemoglobin is holding steady, yet don’t know numbers at this time, bad news is the he is still testing positive for COVID-19. They will test again on Monday and should he still test positive then, we will have a family meeting to discuss brining him home positive, with no home aid/PT support, or wait it out at Burke. In the meantime, he is working hard - walking, doing steps which he says are getting easier, sideways steps and squeezing a stress ball throughout the day. Besides being disappointed at test outcome - today is a good day.

9.15pm report: Dad just took the Carafate - and 2 minutes after his stomach went on fire - so much pain - he is waiting for a Dr. or Nurse to check in.. He was laying calmly and then it hit..

Sugar cookies with sprinkles for dad... wasn't able to tolerate them yet.