devriesj - My dad has pancreatitus...

I started this thread for those of you who have been so kind in caring and asking about my dad. Thank you for your kind thoughts, words and prayers. It means so much. You all are like another family to me. I suppose, by way of some sort of introduction I should tell you that his name is Bob, and he's 69 yrs. old. He's in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in a hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Well, it's been a l-o-n-g week. He went into the hospital ER Monday night, April 24? (I think). I haven't been watching dates too well as you can imagine. After much pinching, poking and prodding (and by that I mean testing) the docs diagnosed him with pancreatitus, which is an inflammation or swelling of the pancreas. It's very serious. (He's hooked up to so many IV's!)
It has thrown many other things in his body off as well. For example: His blood sugar was a 'world record' 1,250! (normal is about 50 - 100) That alone could/should have killed him. His potassium and other eloctrolyte levels are also off. To make matters worse, he has an atrial fibrulation, meaning the atrial chambers of his heart are out of sinus (normal) rhythm. It's not a heart murmure, more like a flutter although words escape me as to how to describe it exactly.
He's been on a ventilator (breathing machine) since Tuesday night, and had two separate operations to remove blood clots from each of his lower legs. He's had a couple of stable yet critical days (meaning he's still in critical condition, but his levels (sugar, potassium, insulin...) are getting better and nothing else has gone wrong.
Today he had a low-grade fever (101*), but otherwise he's the same as yesterday. Thanks again for your concern. It helps a bit to write...