Dad was transferred out of the ICU today, he seems to have completely warded off his infections and his blood pressure is stable. We met a new GI doctor today whom we all like very much, and they preformed another endoscopy to look inside his stomach again, but the time the doctor wanted to also look at his lower stomach and small intestine, and was able to maneuver the scope farther down his stomach and discovered that the valve connecting his stomach and small intestines is swollen almost completely shut.

After all the tests to rule out a blockage, we have found a blockage.

The swelling is probably a result of the radiation treatments, and although this explains a lot he may still have gastropareses and need treatment for that as well. In the meantime, we are meeting with some surgeons tomorrow to discuss putting a feeding tube into his small intestine area and also inserting a tube into his stomach so he can drain the contents of his stomach and avoid nausea and vomiting.

Whew. It was an eventful day. Visitors are welcome again, now that we are back on the fifth floor. His room number is 526, and thank you everyone for all your support! We read the guestbook and comments to dad whenever we can, and it always puts a smile on his face. It means so much to us all to have this kind of support, and it lifts our hearts to see him smiling.