My brother-in-law, Tom has been battling an infection in his heel for months. He had surgery and antibiotics and it seemed to be getting better. But now the Dr.'s are saying they may have to amputate the foot because the bone is dead. Please pray that he will be able to keep his foot or that he will have the strength to cope with the loss of his foot. Please pray for my sister Barb and nephew Shaun as well.

Thank you in advance.

Got it!!!!

Please let us know what happens

Courage

Stan

I'll be praying too for Tom and your family.

The Dr. feels they will only have to remove the dead portion of bone, not the whole foot. They will see the surgeon next week who will make the decision on what needs to be done.

Thanks for your prayers.

Tom was supposed to see the Surgeon on Monday, but woke up sick. My sister ended up sending him to the hospital by ambulance where they discovered he now has pneumonia. He of course, missed his appointment with the surgeon and will have to wait until later in the month to see him.

Please continue to pray for him. He is very discouraged.

Thanks.

Will pray and have prayed.

I do pray he will not have to lose his foot, that he will still be able to walk after this surgery, and that the Lord will both heal his pneumonia AND give him a fresh glimpse of His love and care to encourage and strengthen Tom. Discouragement is the real killer here ... no doubt about it. We can face anything if we are not discouraged. Please dear Father in heaven, encourage Tom. Send people to be with him who will lift his spirits and lighten his load. Chase away the darkness that threatens to settle upon him, Lord. Give him clarity of thought, give him hope, Lord, give him Yourself. Amen.

I will pray for your family,

Norman

Tom was taken to the hospital by ambulance again on Friday because he was experiencing severe abdominal pain and vomiting.
The dr thinks he has pancreatitis (?) but is running tests to confirm it.
My sister says this has been happening off and on for 3 weeks, but he refused to go see the dr about it. Fortunately, the nurse who was visiting to tend to his foot, came during an attack and insisted he go to the hospital.
His appt with the foot surgeon is tomorrow. Please continue to pray for Tom and my sister Barb.

It does sound a lot like pancreatitis, or gallbladder. My husband suffered from severe abdominal pain and vomiting which would come in waves, off and on, until his insides were so infected it became constant.

One of the best things he did was have the endoscopy's done to find the problem and have his gallbladder removed.

Ask about gallbladder disease, ulcers, h. pylorii infection, and diverticulitis. All of those should be looked at, depending on where the pain is located in his abdomen. Upper right, just under the ribs is where the gallbladder and pancreas live.

Clio

Quote:

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Upper right, just under the ribs is where the gallbladder and pancreas live.

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Not trying to be nitpicky, Clio, but the pancreas is more central to left of the abdomen, behind and below the stomach. The gall bladder is as you describe it. I make the point only to explain why pancreatic pain may not be perceived in that area.

And I too will be praying for Tom.

Not being a doc, I'm glad that's all I got wrong!

Just wanted to make sure they knew there are some other right questions in addition to the tests suggested. Oh, if I had only known how to ask the right questions early on for Mike.

It never hurts to check things out....

Clio

I think your list was a good one. In other climates than Alaska, I would also ask about Giardia infection.

As consistently as Mike winds up in the "rarest of the rare" column, maybe I should ask about Giardia infection also!

Thanks Nan!

I will pray.

Thanks everyone for your prayers. Tom was improving and went home for a few days, but then he got worse again and had another ambulance ride. He was so weak, he couldn't move to get out of bed and was in alot of pain.

Barb says she is not letting them send him home until they find out what is wrong. So far they have done a scope of his stomach, an MRI, a CT scan and lots of blood work with more tests planned for Monday. He is anemic(?)and low in potassium. Barb says he seems disoriented and mostly just sleeps. He has lost so much weight over the last year, he only weighs about 100 lbs.

Please continue to pray for them.

shall continue to pray.

Naomi

Some good news and some bad news.

Tom is getting better. They found that the infection had spread to his abdomen and after a week of antibiotics, he is doing much better. He is getting up and around on his crutches, his appetite has returned and he is feeling very upbeat. They will still have to operate on his foot and they have also discovered 2 herniated discs in his back which will have to be operated on as well.

My sister Barb had an accident at work, fell and broke her arm. She had to have a steel plate put in to repair the damage. She is also in hospital, but not the same one as Tom. She will have her arm in a sling for 6 weeks.

Thank you for your prayers.

Praying!