Pop is about the same today and his nurse said he had a good night. We are busily loading the van and the final “push” is on to “Get Outta Dodge” and head to the cottage on the South Channel. The next blog post will not be until this evening, live from Seven Mile Narrows. Hang in there Pop, you are the consummate tough ol’ bird!

Johanna and I went to visit Pop late tonight and his condition was unchanged. Although he is stable, he is still critical and appears to be completely exhausted. He has not been as responsive to our presence as he was a couple of days ago, but this is the way it goes for patients as sick as Pop is. We know the roller coaster car is still firmly on the tracks, but the ride is far from over. I want him to get better as quickly as possible, but came to the realization tonight that Pop will likely be in the ICU for quite some time as he regains his strength. I brought my iPod with me on tonight’s visit and asked his nurse Joanie if it would be ok to play him a tune or two. She said that would be a wonderful thing and beneficial for him. I hooked him up with the iPod ear buds and played “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel and “Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart for him. His eyes opened a little and I think he enjoyed the tunes.

Suzanne, Kiera, Kiera’s friend Erica, Ian, Elijah, and I will be heading to Parry Sound tomorrow morning. Saturday is Dominion Day, also known as Canada Day or Canadian Independence Day, and I plan to conduct the second round of water testing on Monday after the flurry of long weekend recreational activity abates. This is the optimal time to take water samples and will highlight the impact humans have on the fragile ecosystem of Georgian Bay Thirty Thousand Islands area. Pop would certainly approve. Given his stability, we are comfortable with heading north and will be just five hours away should anything happen. It seems to be a good time to take a break from things and I’m looking forward to getting back to our beloved South Channel. Mom will be staying at our home while we’re away and will keep us updated with Pop’s condition. This will give both her and Johanna some much needed quiet time to recharge their batteries.

Brenda Lind will be undergoing surgery tomorrow to repair her broken kneecap. As we sit by the fire at the cottage this weekend, I won’t be able to keep from occasionally thinking about Brenda’s now famous line “Watch it burn!”, which she uttered as one of Pop’s primo pieces of hardwood was thrown onto the campfire at the cottage. Pop has become a connoisseur of fine firewood and thinks that junky pine is the only wood suitable for an outside campfire which you roast marshmallows on. Although he is generally a good sport about all of us descending on his cottage and disturbing the tranquility of his island paradise, that time he really expressed his displeasure with us burning up his “good wood” for such folly. Later on, we all had a good laugh about that night (including Pop) and the tale has become that of family legend. Good luck Brenda with your surgery tomorrow.

Pop’s condition is mostly the same this afternoon. His ventilator settings are unchanged, with the PEEP still set at 16 and the FiO2 level at 40%. Pop’s heart rate is in the low 70s and his blood pressure is normal. His rash is coming back and he now has a new spot on his foot. The doctors suspect it may be a reaction to one of the other antibiotics they have given him and are considering stopping it altogether, since he may not seriously need it right now anyway. Pop underwent dialysis again this afternoon, but they were only able to remove 3.8 liters of excess fluid before the machine was whisked away because it was urgently needed for a crisis situation with another patient. Channel Man is still sailing in a thick fog bank and has not been awake much at all today. The dialysis treatment doesn’t help things because it makes him so tired. Rest up Pop!

And the roller coaster runs on…

Pop had a more difficult time breathing and staying saturated last night, so the doctors put him on an IV of Propofol, a short-acting intravenous anesthetic, to help calm things down. It seems to have done the trick, as they have discontinued the Propofol drip and he is resting comfortably and doing well this morning. The rash on his arm is starting to clear up and things are on track for another round of dialysis today. Yesterday, the nursing staff made a point of telling us that Pop is finally relatively stable after a couple of bumpy weeks. This is good news. Fight, Channel Man, fight!

Pop continues to do well today. However, he is exhausted from all the treatments and changes, especially the dialysis session yesterday. The nurses tell us that undergoing dialysis really zaps the energy out of you. During yesterday’s session they removed a whopping 4.9 liters of excess fluid, which weighs about 11 lbs. Pop’s weight last night after dialysis was 394 lbs and today he weighs in at a hefty 390 lbs. He started to display a rash on his arm today, but the doctors think it may be a reaction to erythromycin. Go Pop Go! You are one tough old bird, that’s for sure!

Pop continues his journey down the road to recovery and is doing well today. The PEEP setting on the ventilator is down to 16 and his O2 saturation is still stable. His nurse will be stopping his IV of the sedative Ativan this morning and delivering the small dose he is still on via a feeding tube. His eyes are open and he is awake, but he’s still in a very deep fog.

Pop continues to get a bit better tonight. His heart rate is 65 and his blood pressure is strong. His respiratory function is improving, so they lowered the PEEP setting on the ventilator to 18 and his blood oxygen saturation is maintaining at a robust 99%. He looks comfortable, but exhausted, and is not as responsive as earlier today and obviously wants to sleep. We are all very encouraged by his progress today. Fight, Channel Man, fight!

Another medical tragedy has befallen friends and family today. Brenda Lind, one of Johanna’s dearest friends and a close friend of the Topping family, fell and seriously broke her patella today and is now one of the walking (or not walking) wounded. Brenda has been a constant supporter of Channel Man Stan and our family during this difficult time and has been a regular at the hospital. Her presence there will be missed (until she shows up there on crutches sometime, that is). Our prayers go out to Brenda for a speedy recovery.

I wanted to say one other thing in relation to Kiera’s high school graduation. Before Pop got sick, he strongly expressed to Mom that he wanted to buy Kiera something for her graduation that she would have forever and that would be a keepsake remembrance given from them in celebration of her accomplishment. Mom had other ideas, but Pop won out and bought her a pair of beautiful aquamarine and diamond earrings, which Mom presented to her at her luncheon on graduation day. This is so typical of Pop. Channel Man has good taste in jewelry, and Kiera was delighted with her gift and cherishes them.

Goodnight Pop. Goodnight World. Goodnight Moon.

Pop is steadily improving and the roller coaster ride is a bit smoother today. However, we remain cautiously optimistic because the nature of roller coasters is to lull you into a false sense of security, and then scare the bejesus out of you.

I just got back from the hospital where Pop is undergoing dialysis and things are going well. He is awake. Yes, awake! He is still in quite a foggy state, but his eyes are open and he can move them, and he is responsive to people around him and can respond somewhat to questions by blinking his eyes. His blood pressure and respiratory function are good, and his intestinal tract is unstoppable at this point (at least I’m sure that’s what his nurse thinks!). The doctors will be aiming at removing 4.5 liters of fluid during his treatment and will clean his blood again as well, as there is a full schedule of ICU dialysis patients lined up for tomorrow. The current plan is to skip treatment for Pop tomorrow to give someone else a turn. He currently weighs in at a hefty 404 lbs, but will probably be about 10 lbs lighter than that about three hours from now if the dialysis treatment goes as planned.

Channel Man Stan is still slowly trekking down the path to recovery this morning. I spoke with Wendy, his nurse today, and she said he had an uneventful night and that they had slightly lowered the settings on his ventilator because he was doing so well. His intestinal function is moving along (pun intended), and he will be getting an abdominal x-ray later this morning to take a closer look. Wendy also said she discontinued infusing him with Fentanyl, the narcotic pain reliever he was receiving, and that he should become even more alert by mid afternoon. This is the first time since he was at the Hospital in Hornell that he has not been receiving it, and that is a very encouraging sign. We’ll know more about the treatment plan for today later this morning after the doctors have consulted and completed their rounds. The ride goes on.

Sounder is doing better this morning and continues to improve as well. He isn’t quite as zippy as usual, but seems to still be on the mend like his owner.

Pop’s condition is still improving tonight. Pam, his nurse on the overnight shift, spoke with me at length about his condition and said the doctors and staff feel upbeat about his recent improvements. His vital signs are all good and his heart rate is in the mid to high 50s tonight. The dialysis treatment today was successful at removing four liters of excess fluid and he tolerated it well without the help of norepinephrine. He now weighs about 410 lbs, but his weight is on its way back down again as the fluid comes off his body. Pop opened his eyes for me several times this evening, but wasn’t as responsive as he had been this afternoon. I asked him to blink twice in response to a question and he seemed to make an effort, but he may have been too tired to be able (or want) to make it happen. Pam said he frequently opens his eyes when the nursing staff is moving him around and sometimes he grimaces like he is getting annoyed at what they are doing. That’s Pop! Rest up, Channel Man. See you tomorrow!