Doug Oler Updates: Sunday, August 22, Day 9 at Home

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Sunday, August 22, Day 9 at Home

Dad didn't attend all of his early morning meetings, but was in his office at the church by 8:00 a.m. and didn't make it back home until 3:00 p.m. It was a very long day, but he was doing what he felt he needed to and that gave him an extra boost of energy.

His appetite was even a little better this afternoon, and he is now in his favorite recliner, taking a nap. We are so thankful for these little steps of improvement...they are actually big steps and we are so excited to see him back doing some of the things he enjoys doing. He loves the ward members, and was so worried about them during the past two weeks...he doesn't remember much before that. Once again, thank you to so many family members, and dear friends for your love, support, and prayers.

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How it Began

Saturday July 24 started as another typical day for Dad. He worked out in the orchard all morning spraying the trees and preparing them for harvest. After working in the heat all day he decided to take the jet skis out to Willard Bay to make sure they were working so the family could take them to Bear Lake. While out at the lake an accident occurred, in which Dad was critically injured. A boat that happened to be close by took Dad to the marina and the EMT’s were called. When the ambulance arrived they decided to transport Dad to the Brigham City Hospital. After doing an x-ray, blood tests and CAT scans they learned that Dad had some internal bleeding and the decision was made to call life flight to transport him to McKay Dee Hospital. A few family members were there and before he was transported Doug was given a blessing.

While en route to McKay Dee, Dad’s blood pressure dropped drastically and the nurses had to give him two units of blood. Upon arrival at McKay the doctors acted quickly and he was in surgery right away to stop the bleeding. After the surgery the Surgeon came and talked to the family. His first words were, “You can all breathe and relax, he is going to be okay.” He told us that Doug had broken six ribs (two of which had two breaks) on his right side, which lacerated his liver and punctured a small hole in his lung. Dad was blessed to not have any other organs damaged! The bleeding had been stopped and the doctor told us Dad would just need a lot of time to heal. The doctor also mentioned he needed to go back in Monday morning to remove the packs around the liver that were placed to stop the bleeding. To help him breathe after the surgery, Dad was placed on a ventilator but during the early morning hours of Sunday the 25^th they removed it. The doctor also inserted a chest tube to prevent his lung from collapsing.

On Sunday Dad was able to talk and actually recalled the accident happening. Other than being in a lot of pain he was doing quite well, which we were grateful for. Late Sunday night, however, he was having difficulty breathing and they decided to put him back on the ventilator. The broken ribs make it extremely difficult to breathe because the pain can be excruciating.

Monday morning Dad went back in for surgery to have the packs removed from around his liver. The bleeding had stopped so the doctor was very pleased about that aspect of the surgery. As is the case with a lot of injuries and surgeries, the third day seems to be the hardest, and it was no exception for Dad. Since the trauma he experienced was so great, his body actually went into a state called “inflammatory response”. The doctor was quite concerned that this could lead to other complications (kidney failure, etc.). The family prayed and fasted on Monday with the ward members joining in that evening. The family is very grateful for all the prayers and faith of the ward members and friends! Although Monday was a long day and Dad’s situation wasn’t as good as hoped for, we all had the faith that Dad would not experience the things the doctor was concerned about. He continued to be on the ventilator throughout the day with the nurses and doctors in the ICU taking good care of him.

Tuesday we were glad to hear that Dad’s liver and kidneys were doing well. It is truly a miracle how his body responded and we know that Heavenly Father is looking over him!