Dad's Gall Bladder

Dad went to the VA hospital in SLC on Wednesday for a consult with the surgeons regarding his gall bladder. On Thursday the GI folks decided to do another ERCP (see previous post) to check for any more stones and possibly take out the stint that they put in back in February. Well, there were some more stones and some "sludge" in his bile duct. I talked to him shortly after the procedure and he said that this one didn't go as smoothly as the first. He was hoarse and a little incoherent from the anesthesia and intubation. Apparently he ended up with an infection after that and his temp was spiking to 104 degrees, so they had him on high grade antibiotics and hadn't transferred him back to the VA (they did the procedure at Univ of Utah Medical Center). I spoke with him on Friday, and the docs told him there was a possibility of them taking the gall bladder that day. Nope. The didn't. Also they put in a PICC line to administer the antiobiotics he's on...Cipro...Remember that stuff? It's what they gave to folks that were infected with the Anthrax virus a few years ago. So you know that's some potent crap. But he's in good spirits and I could hear him joking with the nurses while I was on the phone with him. Talked to him briefly yesterday as his cell was losing it's charge and his charger was at the VA while he was still at the U. He said they told him "maybe today". Nope!

I think he's back at the VA today as he told me he had his charger now. (I forgot to ask where he was) They want to keep him through this next week to keep an eye on him and get the infection totally cleared so they can go in and do the surgery.

I did a little research on gallstones and the causes. I don't feel like transposing it into my own words and since I am against plagiarism here's an informative link I found on the subject:

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec10/ch140/ch140b.html

My mom had her gall bladder out when I was little. Apparently it's common to get gallstones during pregnancy. Momma, sorry for giving you gallstones! I thought we only gave you gray hairs!!!

I will continue to update as I get more info. Please keep Dad in your thoughts and prayers :)