Dr. Daniel on Monday

Hi All -
We saw Jon Daniel on Monday and he decided to wait two more weeks for the fluid to drain out of Rick's lung areas and abdomen and evaluate then. Rick has lost about 10 lbs. since last Monday - quite a weight loss plan - all fluid. He is feeling MUCH better although still short of breath when he tries to walk and that pesky dry cough keeps him awake at night.

Dr. Daniel told us that the CT with contrast showed that Rick's stomach was very large and he suspected that the pyloric valve might be narrowing again. (Remember Boston - the pyloris was closed and Rick had a very extended ilius?) So he asked Rick to see a gastroenterologist (we see Dr. Hurtado next Thursday) because he might need to have a balloon stretch the pyloris again. When they took the lung, they also took some nerves that might be involved in the constriction of the stomach, pyloris. I can't remember the names of the nerves.

He sees a cardiologist in two weeks and a pulmonologist this Thursday. I'm sure everyone will tinker with his meds and we can only hope their medical advice compliments each other. All this scheduling, medical information gathering, and visiting with doctors seems to absorb most of our time, but we really feel so lucky that we have all these specialists who can support Rick's recovery...and we are also grateful for good insurance.