Progress!

He is doing well. The deal is this...he is really sick. He has a severe case of a severe disease but he continues to make progress every day. Baby steps. Small baby steps but always forward, so we are grateful and proud of him! Very, very grateful and hopeful. Keep sending those prayers, sending positive vibes, crossing fingers and toes - it's all good and he and we appreciate it all!

My hope is that all of us will take turns posting or commenting and that he will enjoy reading it when he is all better and we can laugh about this. We are hoping are that those of you who can't visit (and really shouldn't while he is in ICU) will be able to use this to send your comments and good wishes.

The condensed back story...

He went into the hospital on Tueday evening, April 15th with sever stomach pains. Mom drove him and we all got a call in the a.m. - you know the call - everything is fine and Dad will be okay.
Ew, he was okay yesterday, why are you telling me he is okay?! Weird.
Looking back it was the "Dad is on the roof" call., but we didn't know it at the time. (You only get that line if you know the cat is on the roof joke - ask someone) Still thinking routine gall bladder surgery, not too worried. He had a gallstone that blocked his bile duct. Little did we know how much damage that did. He was in a lot of pain and had little to say the first 2 days in the hospital - then nothing. He went to ICU in the middle ofthe night - selfishly glad I wasn't on that shift. My shift, I had a panzoratti and a glass of wine. The next night - not so good. Mike got the call from from Mom that he went from bad to a little badder. Still , we were encouraged by the fact that he was getting excellent care and supervision.

We are very happy with the care he is getting in the hospital. He is in Virtua in Marlton and all of Mike's neighbors and friends seem to be his doctors - go, Todd! This is a blessing! Also, thanks to Hassan and other family and friends who can shed some light and help us feel informed and just a little bit in control. He is in ICU and his nurse only has one other patient so it is as one on one care as you could hope for. They are very smart and willing to share info. This is very good. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has been through this experience! It is unnerving and humbling to say the least.

Things to be very grateful for...and believe me I am keeping a list....
My brothers and their wives and fiances are super, super, super. My dad would be sooo proud of them. They are on top of everything. So in control, and smart and funny to boot! I secretly think the nurses are in love with the boys. Wait till Jeffrey comes up and then when they get a good look at my dad...? Woohoo! They got the luck of the draw.

Right now he still has he breathing tube in but today he breathed on his own most of the day. This is great news! His lungs got some exercise and "soon" they will take the tube out. We will celebrate this! It looks really uncomfortable but they won't take it out until they feel confident that they won't have to put it back in. Could be tomorrow?

Please do what you do when you want something good to happen.. me, I'll be praying and I hope you will too, but feel free to cross your fingers, send good vibes, think good thoughts, burn some incense...whatever works for you! We will post as often as we can.

Please leave a comment for my dad - a positive note, a question..anything you like. He will love it and we love you for it.

Thank you all for your support and good wishes.

Love,
The Porreca Family
Lee, Michelle, Bob, Mike, Lauri, Jeff, Andy, Amy, Danielle, Bobby, Christian, Carly and Allie xo!