Ronnie (aka, Count, Buck) Buckingham is out of the hospital

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Count was hospitalized on 8/27/11, after he passed a gall stone that caused Acute Pancreatis. His gall bladder was removed on 8/31/11, but instead of getting better, he got worse. He has not eaten solid foods since he was first admitted. He is not in pain, thank God, but in order for the pancreas to settle down, it has to be starved.

He is being fed intraveniously through a PICC line in his vein that he carries around in a small suitecarse. Home Health Care nurses are coming to the house to change his "feed bag" and teach him how to do it himself.

All of the nurses and doctors say it just takes time for the pancreas to settle down and heal itself. It could be weeks or months. He is very happy to be out of the hospital and back home. I'm sorry if I wasn't able to respond to any emails during this time, but I've been with him at the hospital.

I will be going back to work tomorrow and he will be busy with visiting nurses, doctor appointments and tests. He will have time now, to read your emails and would love to hear from everyone.

Please keep him in your prayers for a "speedy" recovery.

Best wishes from a really tired wife.
Nancy
You can e-mail Nancy and Count at nannyb749@sbcglobal.net or better yet give him a call after 26 Sept.11 on his Cell phone 210-462-6481 or Home phone 210-213-2684.

[Joe Reed]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery from this point!!

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Keep praying for Ronnie aka ( Buck, Count) Buckingham>>>>Ronnie started running a fever yesterday of 103, so I took him to Methodist ER around 4:00. They ran tons of tests and decided to admit him for possible infection. The blood cultures confirmed that he had a blood infection, due to the PICC line in his arm used to feed him. They removed the PICC line this morning after giving him IV antibiotics. The doctor decided not to reinsert a PICC line in the other arm, since the infection is still there. They will give him more IV antibiotics and he will eat a soft diet of soup, jello, etc., until he can try to graduate to a more substantial diet.

He's trying his best, but couldn't keep his lunch down. They are giving him Tylenol for the fever and he got a shot for nausea, also. He was able to keep chicken noodle soup and jello down tonight (this from the man that always cleans his plate and what I have left on mine). I think he's been dreaming about cheeseburgers.

So, this is round 3 and I pray to God, there will be no round 4. Please keep praying that he gets well quickly and comes back home in the next couple of days. And thank you all for the uplifting messages and good wishes. He really appreciates them, as do I.

We will be celebrating our 44th Anniversary on October 21, so he has to be here, even if he's just eating chicken noodle soup.

Nancy

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Good News!
I brought Ronnie home from the hospital last Thursday. They removed his PICC line and decided not to put another one in. He had a blood infection and the doctor decided it came from the PICC line. He was put on a high power IV antibiotic and after about 48 hours, his fever was gone. He started eating by mouth again, since the PICC line was removed.

He is taking oral antibiotics and continues to eat a soft diet. He feels pretty good and has been more active, although, by afternoon, he gets tired. He has to go to a different doctor every day next week (Holy Cow!). Thankfully, he is able to drive himself.

Thank you to everyone that sent out prayers and good wishes for him. Please keep up the good work, because it sure is helping.

Nancy