Testing 1, 2, 3

A day full of medical tests at MUSC. I'm tired, worn out -- and I wasn't even the one being tested. The Dawg was "it."

He had a PET scan, which took about 2 1/2 hours, then an MRI. We won't know any results until at least late Tuesday.

Thanks for all of the calls, e-mails, prayers, well-wishes, etc.

Oh, the Braves lost today. That didn't help anything!

Improvement? Tests! Food!

Today seems to have been The Dawg's best day since he got out of the hospital. Yippee!!!!
He still gets very short of breath but he's taking his breathing treatments. We learned there is still some fluid in the lungs; there are procedures to remove the fluid, thank goodness.

Part of the shortness of breath may be due to his heart valve problems. He has appointment with one of the heart specialists on Tuesday, so we're hoping something can be done about that.
He had open heart surgery to replace the valve scheduled for May 19th; that was postponed when he was hospitalized with pneumonia.

The Dawg will have more tests on Thursday at MUSC. We'll be there about five or six hours, or so we've been told. These were ordered after medical appointments on Tuesday.

He received a phone call today with a special pre-testing diet. He has to have black coffee, bacon and eggs and nothing else for breakfast on Thursday AND the exact same thing tonight for supper. Isn't that a strange pre-test diet????

That means he can't eat what he had last night:

That bowl was slap full of ice cream!!!

Tuesday night was a good one for the Braves! Hurrah!

Tonight wasn't so good for the Braves, but at least they've won 2 out of 3 in this series. There's one more game against Pittsburg on Thursday.

Wednesday The Dawg is Driving!

Carroll is making progress and improving! Yippee!

Today he drove for the first time since he went into the hospital (unless he did some driving without telling anyone!) Thursday will be two weeks since he went into Summerville Medical Center.

Carroll said the driving didn't bother him at all. It's the walking that literally takes his breath away.

We don't know the results of any of the tests that were done last Friday. He has appointments with two of his doctors scheduled for next week. Maybe we'll know something then and let's hope it's good news!

Sunday Update

The Dawg is still quite weak, especially if he moves around.

Loads of folks asked about him at St. Luke's today.

Vic called him today and reminded him to use his home breathing treatment. He feels better after each one, at least for a while.

Yes, the Braves won again today -- that's three in a row against Toronto -- so he's in a good mood.

The Dawg played baseball -- and basketball, by the way - in his younger years. In fact, he played baseball in Europe for the Air Force.

He has mentioned a certain movie he wants to see, but we're not certain he has the strength to even go to a movie.

Lisa, Jake and Ben visited him tonight and brought boiled peanuts.

Since Monday is a holiday, we don't expect to find out the results of the tests done on Friday but we certainly are anxious about them.

First Day Out of the Hospital

During The Dawg's last two days in the hospital, he was just itching to get out. He had energy, he said; he felt better.

Well, he IS better, but he's also realizing that what felt like energy IN the hospital is not the same outside the hospital. He's still very weak, tires easily and is very short of breath. Just talking on the phone is a struggle.

He gets weaker just walking to the kitchen or lifting anything at all, which is why he needs to rest, relax and do nothing.

We went to the Waffle House today. Thank goodness, there was a parking spot right at the front door, but Carroll still got tired walking in.

He lost a lot of weight during his 9-day stay at Summerville Medical Center. Of course, a meal a day at the Waffle House like the one he had today will put the weight back on.

And, naturally, I'm not going to sit there and watch him eat without also eating, so I'll probably be gaining as well. It's the story of my life - at least for the last few years!

The Braves won last night, so that was a picker-upper for Carroll. It was a great game!!!



He misses all of the nice, attentive folks at the hospital, but there are two things he likes about being out: he can watch all of the Braves' games AND he doesn't have to wear that "dress" any more.

We have more pictures that were taken yesterday at the hospital. Most were taken while the wonderful folks were rolling him out of the room for tests or bringing him back in after those tests. The two chest x-rays were done in the room.

It's amazing how mobile such equipment is now. There is so much that can be done right in the room. Even the transesophageal echocardigram earlier this week was done in his room.

Day 8 in the Hospital Part 2

When I got to the hospital today, The Dawg was out of his hospital "dress" and in his regular clothes. No sheets on the bed and he was packed up. He was ready to go home. Dr. Bolster told him early this morning that he might be able to go home today, but that it would be up to Dr. Handshoe.


Here he is with Stephanie.

If you look closely in the above picture, you'll see a container of boiled peanuts next to The Dawg. His daughter-in-law, Edie, made them and brought them to him today. She also sent some on Sunday. Here's Edie:


Son, Vic, looks on as Stephanie checks Carroll, probably wiring him up to machine he took off when he got dressed.

Well, he's not going home today. More tests Friday morning; however, Dr. Handshoe has already said Carroll can go home Friday afternoon.

Here is Dr. Handshoe giving him the news:

He'll have fluid drawn off his lungs tomorrow to testing to determine what kind of fluid it is and what's causing it. There will also be biopsies.

Cancer has not been ruled out but Dr. Handshoe said the spot on the upper right lung didn't look like cancer, although, as he mentioned, cancer can look different some times. There's also a possibility of "bird fancier's lung disease." There are probably other possibilities as well. We should know more after tomorrow's tests are read, which probably won't be until Tuesday since Monday is a holiday.

Everybody at Summerville Medical Center has been wonderful, but The Dawg still wants to go home.

Here's another one of the nice people. She's Jenny, and she shares Carroll's last name. She's a Smith.

Thank goodness, the Braves are playing tonight on a channel Carroll can get in the hospital room.

Day 7 in the Hospital Part 1

Today the Dawg had a CAT scan which took about 30 minutes. This wasn't until late afternoon, so we won't know the results until sometime tomorrow probably. A bronchoscopy might be done on Friday.

Carroll has still been somewhat nauseated today. He's still doing the breathing treatments, getting three antibiotics through IV and taking other medicines.

But, he seems to be feeling better today than he did yesterday - and a lot better than he did on Monday. Whether this is because of time and medication or because the Braves won last night is anyone's guess!

And, then again, it might be because Mary Meynardie from St. Luke's came in earlier and had devotions with him.

Day 6 in the Hospital Part 2

Yippee! At some point tonight, The Dawg started feeling better. He's still on antibiotics, insulin, breathing treatments and several other medications.

All afternoon, he felt nauseous and was in pain. He didn't want to eat (except he was in the mood for peanut butter and thought he could handle that!) He hurt too much to talk and was too nauseated to sit up.

In the early evening - around 7:30-ish - he started feeling better. We aren't certain why.

Maybe the pain medicine kicked in, maybe the anti-nausea medicine kicked in and maybe the medicine that made him groggy for the TEE procedure early in the day finally wore off.

We both believe, though, he started feeling better while Pastor Bob Holley was there. Carroll really enjoys those visits from Bob Holley.

Not to take away from Bob, but it was right after his visit that Carroll learned the Braves were leading in the game against the Rockies. That certainly didn't hurt anything!

And, then again, maybe he perked up because he knew I was leaving after about nine hours of being there and bugging him!

You know the old saying: Some people make others happy by their arrival - and some by their leaving!

Day 6 in the Hospital Part 1 - Good News

Carroll had the transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) today and the report is good. Dr. Coker said there is no vegetation on the other valve.

Team members look almost TOO happy to be starting this process, don't they?

There's still some infection in the lungs, based on yesterday's tests, so he's still on antibiotics. There's also a yeast infection in his mouth.

He has his cell phone and is able to receive calls on that, although he gets very winded while talking.

The Dawg has had some nice visitors this morning. Danny Seay came by, as did Ruben Grooms. Carroll's son, Vic, was at the hospital before, during and after the TEE. I wasn't in the room when Danny & Ruben stopped in, so I didn't get photos of them. Vic is pictured below.

Pat Gerwig, who works at Summerville Medical Center and who goes to church at St. Luke's, came by shortly after the procedure. Wanda Garris called to check on The Dawg today. She and Carroll worked together at the shipyard a "few" years ago. Wanda was stuck talking to me because Carroll had just been given the medicines to make him groggy for the procedure.

Courtney, his granddaughter, came by last night after I left. He enjoyed her visit also.

Day 5 in the Hospital Part I

These beautiful flowers were one of the arrangements at St. Luke's yesterday. How nice that Carroll was the recipient of one of the vases!

Carroll has been nauseated today and he had a headache. He finally asked for medicine for both - instead of trying to "grin and bear it." Well, actually, he wasn't doing a whole lot of grinning.

It seems there's a new infection in his mouth because all of the antibiotics they've been giving him have been so strong that they've also killed off the "good" bacteria.

Tuesday morning, The Dawg will have a transesophageal echocardiogram. Here's the info I found on the Internet from the Cleveland Clinic:

During the transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) test, an ultrasound transducer (which produces high frequency sound waves) provides pictures of the heart's valves and chambers and helps the physician evaluate the pumping action of the heart.
The ultrasound transducer is positioned on an endoscope (a long, thin, flexible instrument about 1/2 inch in diameter). The endoscope is placed into your mouth and passed into your esophagus (the "food pipe" leading from your mouth into your stomach) to provide a close look at your heart's valves and chambers without interference from the ribs or lungs.
TEE is often combined with Doppler ultrasound and color Doppler to evaluate blood flow across the heart’s valves. TEE is often used when the results from standard echo studies were not sufficient or when your doctor wants a closer look at your heart.

Dr. Coker says this will take about 15 minutes. It is not for treatment but rather for evaluation purposes. There's a chance there is something wrong with another valve (the aortic valve is the one that he's to have replaced during open heart surgery once he gets well.)