Sunday Update For Ben

Ben was alert when I got to his room this morning. Dennis (his nurse) told me that they were still doing x-rays so he still has not changed Ben's NG Tube to a larger diameter one. He will do that when they are done with the x-rays. They don't want any of the Barium to get suctioned out of Ben's body so they have the NG Tube clamped right now. Dr. Manek came in early this morning and told again about them still doing x-rays. He said he had just spoken with the radiologist. They have noticed that the Barium they gave to Ben is moving extremely slow through Ben's digestive tract which is not normal. Doctor said that last time the test was inconclusive because the Barium had absorbed into his body and never did get completely through the digestive tract. To me that means that the doctor on the case at that time should have done the test again. Anyway because it is moving so slowly at this time, Dr. Manek feels this may indicate a small blockage somewhere in the lower digestive tract. The Barium has not yet reached the portion of Ben's intestine where the original surgery was done back on February 28th. The doctor is thinking that maybe the problem is in that location. He said he sees on the x-rays that the surgeon at Henry Mayo used a staple to put the two ends of the intestine back together where they had removed 12" of it. I also discussed with the doctor about the fact that I was told by a Kaiser surgeon when Ben was in ICU that Ben has gallstones. I researched gallstones/intestines on the Internet and saw where the stones can break loose and go into the intestines. This can create what is called a "Gallstone Ileus". Sometimes they are not seen on x-rays but can be found with ultrasounds. I asked Doctor Manek if maybe this could be the problem and he said it is a possibility. I told him that I really hate the fact that he will no longer be on Ben's case after Wednesday and he told me that he feels he is getting very close to a diagnosis and that he hopes he will have an answer before Wednesday. Hopefully he will. Ben fell asleep after the doctor left and remained asleep the rest of the time I was there. For some reason he was pretty tired today.