Dad has continued to feel weak and exhausted today. It's so hard to see him looking worn out and hear him complaining about being in pain all the time. (Dad's not usually the complaining type.) He's been so tired lately that he has no appetite and doesn't want to eat anything, although he seems to be thirsty all the time. Trying to persuade him to take a few spoonfuls of yogurt, Mum said, "It's not like you to lose your appetite." Dad just shook his head weakly and said, "But I'm in a bad way this time." It's heart rending to watch him like this. He keeps saying that his lungs, chest and back hurt (and having had pneumonia four or five times myself, I can see that some of the symptoms he describes are very typical of an acute lung infection.) Physiotherapists are helping him bring up loads of infected phlegm every day.
The doctors who told us last week that he had no hope of making it have been giving us a wide berth this week. I think Dad's amazing comeback has surprised everyone, but no one is really sure whether he's strong enough to sustain it. During the first two weeks, doctors spoke to us every day, so one of the hardest things about this past week is that we've seen Dad make a few steps of progress, then sink into fatigue, and no doctors have been coming any more to give us an update on how he's really doing.
Today we met one of the doctors who had been there four weeks ago when my Dad first checked in for his operation. Mum remembered him because he had been so kind to Kasey and had answered a lot of her questions about Papa's operation. He came up and introduced himself to us again, and then he said, "We thought that we were losing the war... but now he seems to be coming out of it." Our hearts leapt: this was the first time that any of the medical staff had given us any indication that they believed Dad might survive the things that had happened to him.
I asked the doctor about all the exhaustion and pain Dad has been experiencing - whether it was a bad sign or an indication that he was losing the battle with the underlying infection in his abdomen. He replied that it's normal for Dad to be so tired, and to be stiff and sore after all that he's been through at his age... but the blood tests and other indicators for organ recovery and healing are beginning to head in the right direction now. He still has a long haul ahead of him, but this doctor was hopeful that the antibiotics will continue to help him overcome the infections he's been battling.
As for us, we continue to pray with Dad every time we visit and we're trusting God to keep touching him with strength and healing too.
