Pop’s condition is back to being very tenuous tonight. The colonoscopy procedure to relieve some of the excess pressure in his intestines was unsuccessful this afternoon, and his abdomen is still very distended. Mom, Johanna, and I spoke with the gastroenterologist right after the procedure. He said they will start trying to treat this with drugs, turning him on alternate sides on a regular basis, and doing other small things to help relieve the pressure. However, his concern is that Pop could end up with a perforation in his intestine, which would be deadly.

One of the things the doctors are doing to treat Pop’s current condition is to decrease the sedation and pain medication he is under. This evening, that had the uplifting effect having him move and open his eyes in direct response to our being there. Johanna and Mom both saw him open his eyes briefly as they were talking to him, and I saw some eye movement when I was interacting with him in the room. We are confident that he is somewhat aware of what is going on and that his eye movements are a result of the combination of lower sedation and external stimuli, like our visits and being regularly moved from side to side and back again. Pop’s heart rate is dangerously low and his blood pressure is being kept elevated with the help of norepinephrine, but he is still hanging in there. Fight, Channel Man, fight!

Once again, congratulations Kiera! Your Grandpa would be proud.