October 17th, 2007 by shahin

It is with a very heavy heart that I have to tell you that Shahin passed away at 5:04pm on October 16, at the age of 45.  He went very peacefully, with a lot of love surrounding him.  The void he left behind is beyond words.

He is survived by his son Christopher (20), daughter Noelle (17), and grand son Ryan Sirus (7 months).

He fought and fought hard, but his condition deteriorated so quickly in a 12 hour period that his doctors only gave him a 1% chance of survival.  Most of the evidence points to multiple strokes as a result of numerous clots being lodged in his brain, leaving him in a coma. 

The decision to pull life-support was left to the family, but the doctors were unanimous in their recommendation.  I hope and pray that none of you – especially if you are a mother – will ever be in a position to make a decision as difficult as the one my mother and the rest of us had to make.  Even knowing that the decision was absolutely the right one, it was one of the most difficult things we had to endure.

Viewing will be on Thursday, October 18, between 6:00 and 9:00pm and memorial services will be on Friday at 2:00pm.  

The funeral home information:

http://www.dignitymemorial.com/7370/LocalHome.aspx?id=home&LocNumbNLang=7370&LoadDefault=0

October 16th, 2007 by shahin

It’s 3:30am on Tuesday and I’m getting ready to head down to Oklahoma City again.  There seems to be a lot of uncertainty about what is happening or has happened to my brother over the last 24 hours. But one thing is for sure… he is very very sick.  I will update this blog this afternoon when I have some fresh facts.

October 15th, 2007 by shahin

We have had a major set-back as of about 6am this morning.  Details are a little fuzzy but the general consensus – pending further test results, etc. – is that Shahin has had a heart attack.  He quit breathing and was put back on the respirator.  His heart rate is not too far from the 200 range.  It has been fairly high for the passed five or six days, but not this high.  One of the enzyme tests is showing that it actually was a heart attack.  They have done a CT scan, a cardiogram, and some tests on his legs. 

The legs come into play because there is a chance he might have had a clot develop as a result of him having been in bed for so long, and the clot could have come loose and lodged itself in an artery.  The cardiogram is going to show if a heart attack indeed took place, and also how extensive the damagage is.  The cardiologist has not been around to reveal the result of the cardiogram.

Typically when someone has a heart attack he/she is put on blood thinners to eliminate any clots, etc. So we are not sure how they are going to handle this situation since Shahin is already got some issues with his blood platelets, etc.

As of right now his blood pressure is very low, he is running a fever, and he continues to be non-responsive.

I’m again asking you for your prayers.  It worked before and it WILL work again.

October 13th, 2007 by shahin

Shahin is in less pain today.  He had a bit of bleeding from his incision today, which the doctors cauterized (burnt) and he is doing fine.

They ended up having to put the tube that goes through his nose to his stomach to help pump out the build-up back in as he has been nauseous for the last few days.  Not a pleasant thing to have a tube shoved up your nose, but he tolerated it and is feeling better.  We are back to one tube in each nostril.

His white count is now up in the 8,000 range with the help of the Leukemia medication.  There is thought about stopping the administration of this drug tomorrow to see if he can maintain the count by himself.  Let’s hope he does.

He is also on a variety of antibiotics to make sure that if there are any infections, they being attacked.

He is completely off the ventilator and is breathing nicely by himself.  He can actually make some sounds with his mouth and make himself understood at times. 

His kidneys are still partially working and liver is doing OK too.

Daily score: 6

October 12th, 2007 by shahin

Shahin just came out of his surgery and he is doing just fine, except for a bit of nausia and pain, which is to be expected.  Wonderful news!

They put in 3 bridges instead of sutures (I personally have never heard of this), so there is no chance of rupture again.

His white cell count is up to the 3,000 range, which is another plus for the day.

He is still having a hard time maintaining his platelets, so he gets some on a daily basis.

Overall, he is doing well.  I’m hearing that his sense of humor is in full swing, which is a great sign of his mental strength being were it needs to be.  He is one heck of a fighter.  I can’t be any prouder to have him as a brother.  When I grow up (I’m a few days short of 50) I want to be just like Shahin!

His daily score: 6

October 11th, 2007 by shahin

Thank you all for all of the emails and cards wishing Shahin a happy birthday.  His room was decorated and cards and emails were read to him, drawing smiles, tears, and laughter out of him.  Made the day a little more bearable for all.

His white cell count dropped to 1,900 yesterday.  As a result, he was put on medication typically reserved for leukemia  patients to help boost the white count.  As of this morning he was back to 2,100.  Still very low, but we are hoping that the medication will continue to increase the count.

A few days ago I wrote that his internal sutures had ruptured as a result of pressure build-up due to water retention in his abdominal cavity.  His doctor said that he no longer can wait to repair the opening and will be operating on him on Friday as he could see Shahin’s insides through the opening.  The good news is that he could visually see that the inflammation of the intestine had subsided significantly. A good sign that the CIDIFF infection is being controlled effectively.

His kidneys and liver are getting better and better every day.  Dialysis is only being done sporadically these days.  A very encouraging sign.

They have left the tracheotomy tube alone for now in case his condition gets worse.  

His daily score: 5.5 

October 9th, 2007 by shahin

Shahin’s white blood count is now down in the 2,000 range - 8,000 or so bellow normal.  This is not good, as it is indicative of another infection.  A serious one.  He is now back on 4 different types of antibiotics, as the doctors are not sure of the source and the type of the infection.  I don’t know the magic number, but I know there is a major concern amongst the doctors.

On a positive note, they are going to replace his tracheotomy tube with a smaller one which will allow him to easily cover it when he wants to speak.  It will be good to hear his voice again.

Shahin has lost a lot of weight and muscle mass.  The physiotherapists have started working on him to start getting him ready to start walking, etc.  He weighed around 140 pounds when I was in Oklahoma.  Down from the 180 range.  Hopefully he’ll be on his feet in no time, followed by being able to get some solid food in his stomach.  He’s been on the IV food for over a month now.  His stomach must be the size of a golf ball.

Daily score: 6

October 8th, 2007 by shahin

Shahin has been moved again to another room.  This room has a better view (his old room didn’t even have a window) and is a little larger, to hopefully accommodate a recliner (where my mom spends a LOT of time in).  His new room number is ICU #19.  Remember, you can send Shahin messages that will be printed and delivered to his room by hospital staff at: http://www.mercyok.net/email/mhc/default.asp.

Never thought I’d be happy to report a bowl movement and a little bit of urine!!!  There are certainly positive signs, and we are hoping for more. 

Outside of that, there really is very little news to report.  He is holding nicely in all areas.  Any improvements are certainly not visible to the naked eye.  They will probably be doing another scan soon to see if the walls of his intestine are normalizing with all the CDIFF-killer medication they are administering. 

Daily score: 6.5 

October 6th, 2007 by shahin

Two days and no real change.  All vitals are good, but we need some over-all improvement.  He was put back on his ventilator for a day, but as of today, he’s back to the on-and-off regiment.   He is still on once a ady dialysis for 3.5 hours, but even so, his blood platelets are not holding where they need to be.  A mstery to all, including his doctors.

There is no way Shahin will be out of ICU by his birthday.  It was wishfull thinking on my part to begin with.  I will happily take end of October at this point.

They have stopped the broad spectrum antibiotics, so the CDIFF is still beig attaked without a chance to multiply agian.

I’m so glad my mom is down there, as no matter how good the nurses are, they still tend to miss things, but mom is on top of things… Like bed sores, pools of blood, etc. that get missed by the nurses.

Shahin was moved to a room with a better view and away from the main enterance to this particular ICU unit.  His new room number is ICU#32. 

Remember, you can send him persoanl messages at http://www.mercyok.net/email/mhc/default.asp.  Just make sure you use the room number above.

Shahin’s daily score, holding at 6.5.

October 4th, 2007 by shahin

Another day full of pain for Shahin.  The pain was not due to gas build-up, it was liquid gathering in his abdominal area.  So much of it that some of the sutures from his operation tore and he leaked the liquid out through his incision.  The good news is that his pain has subsided quite a bit as a result of the rupture, but the fact that the suture(s) are broken and cannot be repaired given his condition is not the best of situations.

They had noticed a ‘shadow’ on his liver yesterday.  They took him into the OR yet again and placed a needle into his liver to check it out.  A risky proposal, again, due to his low blood platelets, but thank God it went well and they did not find anything wrong with the liver.

He is off the continuous dialysis and on 3.5 hours a day version.  This should help him retain more of the platelets, as dialysis does eat them up quickly.

His white count is now too far bellow normal.  It’s in the 5000 range.  What does not make sense to me is that they are saying it’s due to yet another infection.  Back to detective work again.  The only way to address an unknown infection is to administer a broad spectrum antibiotic.  Let’s just hope that this does not open up the opportunities to the CDIFF virus.

Most of you know Shahin and know that he is a very compassionate, loving and caring person.  To reinforce what you know already, he mouthed the words “I’m sorry” to my mom, probably because he saw the anguish my mom was in due to his pains and condition and feeling bad about what she is going through.  If nothing else, I hope this serves as motivation for him to want to get better, faster.  I am a firm believer in the power of mind over matter.

No score change as his overall condition is still pretty steady.

October 3rd, 2007 by shahin

Shahin had a tough day today.  The speech therapist gave him some ice and grape juice to see if he could swallow.  Some of this fluid ended up in his lungs, causing him a lot of discomfort.  Tomorrow, they will take him into an x-ray environment and give him some die colored fluid to see if they can trace the flow of it.  Probably another day of discomfort for him.

They did remove the tube that was used to pump out the contents of his stomach.  So there is one less tube going in through his nose.  This is good as it does indicate that he is passing the fluids in his stomach through the intestine.

Shahin was going to be taken for a walk today, but they postponed it till tomorrow as he was being punished enough.  I’m not sure if he can tolerate a walk given his very weak muscle conditioning.  He has been bed-ridden for over 3 weeks, and the saying “if you don’t use it you’ll loose it” goes, the muscle mass has certainly not been used.  He still has a hard time controlling his arm movements, let alone support his own weight on his feet.

Talking about his weight, he weighs in at about 140 pounds; about 40 pounds less than what he weighed before going into the hospital.  If I’m not mistaken, the colon does weigh about 20 pounds.  

His heart rate is still fairly high.  In the 110 to 120 range.  All other vitals are holding steady.

His score for the day… Holding at 6.5.

October 2nd, 2007 by shahin

There is good news and not so good news.  Shahin’s white blood cell count is in the 6,000 ranges.  That is fantastic news.  Furthermore, there seems to be no longer an obstruction between his stomach and his intestine, so there is a good chance that one of the tubes (the one going into his stomach to pump out what cannot be passed through) out within the next day or so.

The not so good news is that the cat-scan revealed that the walls of his intestine are still inflamed and thickened.  Not the worst of news given all other positive signs, but we would have liked to have seen a bit of normalcy by now.  What this means is that the medication being administered in three different ways will continue for the foreseeable future.

Overall, his awareness and sense of humor is well honed, and all his other vitals are holding steady (except his heart rate, which was up to 120 range most of the day).

Daily score: holding at 6.5.

October 2nd, 2007 by shahin

Shahin’s white blood cell count is in the 12,000 range, which is normal.  This is the thrid day that he’s been in the normal range.  The CDIFF virus is on the run but it can’t hide.

They brought in a specical bed for Shahin yesterday to allow him to sit up for a while.  The transfer process from one bed to another was a painful one but he did manage OK. 

As of Last night, his own kidneys had not started working, but we are still hopeful.

Although Shahin claims he has passed gas, there has been no witnesses (kind of like getting a hole-in-one in golf - you have to have a witness!).  So, everyone has their sense of hearing and smell turned on to the highest settings!

We are still looking good for the complete removal of his breathing tube very soon.  There is a chance that they will just block the hole in his throat today so that he will start breathing through his nose and mouth.  If he manages OK, then we will probably see the hole permenantly closed in the next couple of days.

Another cat-scan will probably take place soon to check on the swelling and the over-all health of his bowels.  Not sure when that’ll be yet. 

We’ll keep him at 6.5 for his daily score until someone witnesses gas being passed. 

October 1st, 2007 by shahin

Shahin was taken off the continuous dialysis machine today for a period of 24 hours to give his kidneys a chance to wake up.  He will be put on the regular dialysis machine starting tomorrow, where he will only be on the machine a few times a week.  

He is breathing on his own for longer and longer periods of time.  Typically they put him back on the ventilator at nights to give him a break.  But, we are still hoping for his complete independence off the machine by the end of this week.

No rumbles yet either!  But his whilte cell count is holding steady.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have him out of the ICU by his 45th birthday (October 10th)?!  It may be a bit optimistic, but let’s hope and pray so.