From Room 321--Henry Rogers

2004-04-07T08:53:00.000-05:00

This is the obituaturay that appeared today in the Rockford Register Star and the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Rogers, II, Henry G.

Henry G. Rogers, II, 54, 17209 Hwy 42, Two Rivers, died Monday, April 5, 2004, at Aurora Bay Care Medical Center, Green Bay. Henry was born April 25, 1949, in Fairmont, W.Va., son of Elizabeth Firth Rogers and the late Spaulding Rogers. He was raised in Rockford, Ill., graduating with the Class of 1967 from Rockford East High School. On Dec. 29, 2003, he married Kristen O’Neill in Wakefield, R.I. Henry was currently employed as a mechanical engineer with Megtec Systems of De Pere, Wis. Henry was an avid reader and author of many creative works. He was passionate about gardening, was an expert craftsman, and also enjoyed sailing, skiing, hiking and watching the stars. Henry enjoyed summers at Silver Lake, N.Y. and times spent at his cabin in Rockton, Ill.

Survivors include his wife, Kristen Rogers, Two Rivers; a daughter, Jenica Rogers, Potsdam, N.Y.; two stepdaughters, Grace and Margaret O’Neill, both of Two Rivers; his mother, Elizabeth Rogers, Wakefield, R.I.; two sisters, Molly (Paolo Bazzicalupo) Rogers, Naples, Italy; and Elizabeth Rogers, Au Sable Forks, N.Y.; a nephew, Enrico Bazzicalupo; a niece, Anna Bazzicalupo; in-laws, cousins, other relatives and friends.

The family will greet relatives and friends at The Pfeffer Funeral Home & Cremation Care Center, Manitowoc, from 5 p.m. Friday until the time of the memorial service. A Memorial Service will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, April 9, 2004, at The Pfeffer Funeral Home, Manitowoc. Cremation will take place with a private family committal service at a later date.

2004-04-05T20:44:00.000-05:00

Dear family, friends, loved ones, co-workers...

Today was a tragic day for all of us. Henry died this morning at 8:00 am. It was very similar to yesterday, Henry's blood pressure and heart stopped. He died very peacefully. The doctors said that they honestly had no idea why his heart stopped, that things had been progressing to their satisfaction. Unfortunately there was nothing left for the doctors to do for him.

In honoring Henry's wishes, he will be cremated and laid to rest in two places; at the cabin in his glorious garden and at the family plot at Sonci.

On Friday night, we will host a Remembrance Ceremony in Manitowac, WI. There will be visiting time from 5pm-7pm, and a service at 7.

Our Services will be held at: Pfeffer Funeral Home, 928 South 14th Street, Manitowac, WI 54220.

Obviously we are all deeply saddened by this profound loss. But I want to personally thank each and every one of you for the messages, thoughts, and prayers. There isn't anything that anyone can do for us at this point, but those upbeat messages meant so much to all of us while we were in the hospital.

Liza is here with me now, Betsy will arrive tomorrow, and Jenica will arrive later in the week.

I send you all lots of love. I am very grateful for every moment that Henry and I shared. He was certainly the love of my life. And I will cling to all the wonderful things he taught and shared with me.

Life will go forward...but it will never be the same.

Love,
Kristen

2004-04-04T20:36:00.000-05:00

Time: 9:22 pm, Eastern Standard Time

Basic Info: I'm no longer on hospital duty, but I thought I'd condense my conversation with Kristen, since I think I've got it straight in my head, and this might be helpful to you all, too.

Why We Are Where We Are:
1. Henry had four major surgeries in a very difficult 36 hour period.
2. His heart is now repaired, and functioning at "normal" parameters, though his blood pressure is being supported with drugs since the sedation that allows him to rest depresses his blood pressure.
3. His lungs and brain are, as far as we can tell, unharmed by this experience.
4. However: His kidneys and liver and pancreas are working very hard, and are not keeping up with the level of toxins in his bloodstream.
5. His toxin level is due to the number of drugs Henry is receiving (and the damage done by the huge amount of blood he received), which his liver and kidneys are trying and failing to metabolize, but which are necessary to support his heart, lungs, and restful state.
6. This is also due to the sheer amount of trauma that his body was put through with regards to these surgeries -- secondary systems like the kidneys and liver are vulnerable to that trauma.
7. Dialysis can support the kidneys to a point.
8. However, the kidneys can only heal if the body has the caloric energy needed to do so available to it.
9. The doctors can only increase the amount of calories given to him in direct proportion to his body's ability to deal with those nutrients.
10. Since his liver and pancreas are involved in the trauma, his ability to deal with nutrients is impacted.
11. So, Henry is living in a fine, fine balance between feeding his systems, weaning him off the supporting medications which are a strain on his secondary systems, supporting his secondary systems as is necessary with medications and medical procedures, and allowing him to rest and heal.

And that is why everything is still so critical -- they could take him off sedation and off the ventilator, and his heart would beat, and his lungs would breathe, and his brain would talk -- but his kidneys and liver and digestive systems might fail, and at that point the medical support needed to keep them going might negatively impact his lungs and heart and brain. So they do this delicate dance of pulling this, adding that, lowering this, modifying that, all with the goal of getting him fully stable on his own.

But one mis-step -- and we've lived through several, barely, already -- can lead to his blood pressure dropping to a dangerously low level, or his liver enzymes spiking to a dangerously high place, or his blood ammonia levels rising...etcetera, and ad nauseum.

Our grasp of how the human body works is simultaneously very complicated and very primitive. I don't think I ever understood that so clearly as I do now.

Thank you all for all the love flowing in the direction of our family,

Jenica.

2004-04-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

Time: 8:16 pm

Basic Info: Henry is doing well....

...But...it was a very long day. Liza and I got up this morning and checked in. Henry was having periods of low blood pressure, but nothing that anyone was overly concerned about. Until it just bottomed out...and he needed a team of doctors and nurses to bring him back up again. After putting him on a different series of drugs and a device called a "pacer" (which is similar to a pacemaker, only it is administered from the outside of the body) he slowly made his way back into a good rhythm.

It was very scary for Liza and I. But after a long day of careful monitoring, lots of conversations with the doctors, and slight adjustments to iv drips, he seems good.

My conversation with Dr. Bhora was very reassuring. He said that the pressure drop was probably related to the fact that multiple systems in his body are still not functioning normally and that drains the body. The pressure drop was not related to his heart. His heart is fine. There were also lots of other problems ruled out through the day that made Liza and I ease up a bit. Still though, tonight we feel a bit edgy and tired.

He is holding strong though.

My sister, Karlyn and my mom came tonight with the girls in tow. The girls stopped up to kiss Henry and squeeze his hand. Then the nurse Peggy took them into another room where she put them on a heart monitor so they could see their heart beat up on the "tv" like Henry's. Then she printed out a copy so that they could take it home. It was cute. The girls go back to school tomorrow after being away on spring break, so our house hold will start slowly trying to return to some semblance of normal.

With my sister staying there with the girls I will have the freedom to come and go as I need, but I will try and be there for bedtime and morning. They need their mom afterall. And I need to see and touch them.

Today was a rough one, but they told me that there will be days like this. I just didn't think they would feel this rough. And yet I can still walk across the hall and hold Henry's hand and look into his eyes. No complaints here.

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement. It makes my day.

Love, Kristen

2004-04-03T14:37:00.000-06:00

Time: 2:13

Basic Info: Update from Liza

Hello to everyone! I feel so appreciative of your interest, concern, prayers, thoughts, as do all of Henry's family here and everywhere else. It's all very overwhelming and fatiguing to have so much going on and so little we who are not the medical people can do, and knowing there is so much support helps much. I came last Monday, so this is my 6th day. When I arrived Henry was in an induced coma, looking very grey, and with l2-l5 'lines' stuck in various places on his body. 2 days ago he opened his eyes and seemed to respond (eye-blinking), as you've been told. The last 2 days he has seemed to be pretty uncomfortable and having a hard time with the breathing they are having him do, in addition to the vent in his lungs. But the drs. and others assure us this is not a real set-back, just adjustment to trying to use his own organs rather than the machines. Many machines.

There would be no point in visitors, as he cannot see you or talk, and we just have no idea about other communications.He has incredible care, during any shoft at least 20 people are caring for him, not all at once of course, and he is connected to machines which show in the desk area so there is constant watching over him, especiallywhen the machines bleep. I just want to let everyone know he is getting marvelous care, but it will be a long haul (maybe another month in ICU0, and so you realize all over again what a critical and shocking series of events he's been through.

Kristen and Jenica have been wonderful, as I'm sure you must know, and J. has gone back now, I will be going Monday, Betsy will be coming Tuesday, and Kristen's sister will also be at their home so the children can come home and go to their schools. Kristen and Bets will be there too and commute, I gather. So that should work well. this is an amazing hospital and gives such wonderful care, also many facilities for families of patients. We are so fortunate that Henry is here.

I haven't been out of the hospital except for a couple of brief walks, so that lets you know that it's a terrific place. And I hate to leave, but the time has come, and I'll be back later on. Just thought I should thank you all and add my bit to this blog, although I know that Jen and Kristen have done a terrific job of information. Sending love and appreciation, Liza

2004-04-03T09:21:00.000-06:00

Time: 9:09 am

Basic Info: Henry is hating being on the ventilator

Henry's fiesty personality is starting to show throw all the sedation drugs. He is beginning to cough on the vent, which, as I am told is a good sign and one of the things that indicates he is preparing his body for breathing on its own. But when he coughs, the nurse has to suction out the stuff that is making him cough, and it is terribly uncomfotable.

So, Henry has taken to biting the tube so they cannot suction his lungs. He is asserting some level of control in this. I told him that we are working to get him off the vent, but that means that he has to cooperate with the nurses and he rasied his eyesbrows as if to say, "like hell I do."

The dialysis has removed about 12 liters of fluid that he gained....and his body is now responding to the huge vloume change (about a 30 pound difference in 3 days). How is his body reacting? With lower blood pressure (not anything like how low it was in the beginning), with the need to get insulin shots for his blood sugar, and they gave him a unit of blood this morning. Nothing unusual for Henry's condition.

Dr. Bhora came in last night and hung out with me a bit. He continues to remind me how many more weeks Henry could be living in room 321, but he also concedes that it is amazing that he is alive. Things I know, but continue to make an impression on me each time I hear them again.

So, today's mission is to increase his blood pressure. They are not sure if they need to have him do dialysis today, but I would be surprised if they didn't. I haven't checked his morning lab work to see how his numbers have held up through the night (the dialysis lowers the toxins in his blood, and if the kidneys do well the numbers stay low; if they struggle (as they are doing for Henry) the toxins increase and dialysis is needed to maintain low numbers. Without dialysis Henry's toxin levels would have forced his body to shut down days ago. So, I tend to favor dialysis on a daily basis.

I am feeling upbeat this morning. I know that things aren't going to be perfect, but I still get to hold his hand and rub his feet. I am amazed that it is April...that time on the outside world does exist. And I am thrilled that he has really survived 11 days of this. He amazes me.

More later. Love from Green Bay. Kristen

2004-04-02T15:09:00.000-06:00

Time: 2:54pm

Basic Info: Henry is doing about the same as yesterday.

I just came from his room where they are doing dialysis. His blood pressure was lower than usual today, but nothing that concerned anyone (except always me). He is still trying to breathe on his own and sometimes "over breathes" the ventilator, meaning that his capacity to breathe is improving.

I met with the surgeon that will do the tracheotomy and put in the feeding tube. I don't like the idea of either one of those things, but I do know that they are necessary and will make Henry more comfortable. The surgery is scheduled for Tuesday at noon. He will do much better once he gets off the ventilator and certainly will be much more comfortable. I will look forward to seeing him more comfortable.

His chest inscion is healing, his inscions on his legs (from where they harvested veins) are healing, his swelling continues to go down from the dialysis. Small, but important things.

I dropped Jenica off at the airport so that she could get a break from this place and get back to her real life. Henry would not want her waiting around here. I am so lucky that I have had this special and terrifying time with her. Yesterday afternoon the two of us took off in his truck and drove around at dusk. It was a clear day, so we drove to the lake and walked on the beach (this is 1/2 mile from our house). We brought rocks back to the room for him and we saw the most amazing sunset. Henry and I have spent so many Saturday afternoons riding around in the truck chasing the sun and talking non-stop. It was great to get out of here and do that.

Not much new news, but I expect that it will be this way for awhile. Like I said earlier, "I'm digging in my heels!"

2004-04-02T06:52:00.000-06:00

Time: 6:39am

Basic Info: Henry is resting peacefully, and so I am I (mostly)

Yesterday was one of the hardest days for me; right up there with last Thursday when they called the code blue. But as Jenica pointed out, there is nothing worse -- just that mentally I had different hopes for where we would be by this time.
But it wonderful to see the progress that he is making and how much more like Henry he looks every day.

The hardest thing about this whole ordeal is NOT dealing with all the medical related things that Jenica and I make decisions about; it is watching him in pain. It is heartbreaking...and I think that is why yesterday sent me over the edge. He was awake for about 24 hours and trying to breathe on his own, and really, really tired. You could see it in his eveybrows.

But, by the end of the evening, he had fallen into a deep sleep. A sleep where you could see on his heart monitor that he was dreaming (there is a rhythm that indicates dreams). And at one point he woke up briefly, and tried to smile at me. I asked him if he wanted me to stay, and he blinked his eyes and squeezed my hand. So, I stayed next to him, and I knew that he was trying to talk....and I could tell that he was mouthing "I love you." I'll take that any day. It is enough to last another week of this hell.

So, the rollercoaster ride was always something that as a kid I liked. I first went on a ride at Great America when I was ten. I just have to get used to this. Sarah, my favorite nurse, said, "Kristen, there will be days you get bad news. This is the way it is going to be...good days and bad days."

I am digging in my heels and starting to understand how long "long haul" really is going to mean.

Thanks for all the comments, I love reading them. Even when I don't have time to run in and write a message, I often run in and read comments. So, keep them coming! It brightens my day so very, very much.

Love to everyone from 321.
Kristen

2004-04-01T14:29:00.000-06:00

Time: 2:20 pm

Basic Info: One of those days that makes you understand "long haul".

A roller coaster of a day. Nothing went wrong today, per se, but it didn't necessarily go right. They were continuing to wean Henry off his ventilator, but, after some progress and some setbacks, it became clear to the nurses that he doesn't have the strength for that yet; they need to increase his caloric intake, first, to give him the energy to do the work they're asking of him.

So he's back to relying on the vent more rather than less, so he can rebuild some strength to try again. Also, they've put him back on some sedation in hopes that it will allow him to rest -- to no one's surprise, he wants to be awake all the time, and aware of what's going on around him. But that won't help him heal, so sedation it is. This particular sedative is also an amnesiac, so he won't remember the days he's on it. I say, good. The less of this nightmare he recalls, the better.

The surgeons are discussing with Kristen the various options available as ways of moving forward, from a temporary tracheotomy (to get Henry off the ventilator, which has some unpleasant side effects the longer he's on it) to a feeding tube in the torso rather than the nose. They, and we, are still cautiously optimistic; none of the current setbacks are unusual or unexpected. They're the predictable side effects of what was essentially four open heart surgeries in a 36 hour period. So be it.

So we're all rather weary today. Again, nothing went wrong, but it didn't really go the way we hoped it would. This process isn't always going to be days full of good news and forward progress; sometimes you stop for a while, and wait. And that's hard.

As always, thank you for all your kind thoughts.

2004-04-01T01:15:00.000-06:00

Time: 12;:50 am

Basic Info: Henry is still awake but his blood pressure is high...

...which could be to the fact that I was in with him and holding his hand and stroking his forehead. It is har to know. The nurse on duty tonight, Jamie, said that he was fine until I got there. Oh. Good. Blame the wife. No, seriously, when he is happy his blood pressure goes up. So I walked away to see if that was really the case and yes, indeed, it was.

Henry did have one minor procedure today. The doctors put a "port" in his upper right chest for the kidney dialysis. He will need it probably long tern as he recovers. Long term could mean one week, one month, or one year.

His liver enzymes were also high tonight and they are treating that with medication.

He is breathing almost all on his own at this point. Which encourages me...I hope that he can get off the ventilator so he can start asserting what it is that he needs/wants. And I imagine that it would make him far more comfortable.

I am going back to his room at the moment. My plan is to sleep in the recliner in his room so that I can be close to him. The girls will be coming here tomorrow, so we are all looking forward to that. Especially me; I miss having a normal family life with all of us, but that can wait. Tomorrow will be just perfect for where we are in this whole ordeal.

Now I should get some sleep. The hospital let me join their fitness center for free as a stress reliever for me, and I plan on using it tomorrow.

Good night from room 321. I pray and hope that tomorrow is another turning-point. And as I write that I think that it has been a week already. *whew*

What a long time to be here; I can only imagine what Henry must be thinking and feeling and I wish there was a way that I could shelter that from him at this moment.

But I will hold his hand and kiss his forehead. And hope that his blood pressure doesn't go to far up.

G'night everyone

Kristen

2004-03-31T17:23:00.000-06:00

Time: 5:23 pm

Basic Info: Not much new today. H started his physical therapy, which is very very mild at this point, just gentle joint stretching and a little massage to keep his body supple as best they can. Bed rest is hard on a person.

He's down to 3 drugs on drip (and morphine!), which is a minor miracle. Today's project, aside from dialysis (which is now an everyday thing), was to slowly decrease the amount of ventilator support he was on. Every two hours or so they would reduce the ventilator by another 2 breaths per minute, letting him fill in the rest on his own. He's doing brilliantly, so, to quote Dr. Bohra, "Depending on how his mental status continues to improve, we'll take him off the ventilator in 24 or 48 hours." Henry is still working on metabolizing the remainder of the 6 days of sedative he was on, plus he's fighting to communicate through a morphine haze (which I think is a good thing. Less pain = good).

Also, for the first four or five days, Henry's surgeons, Dr. Roitstein (the head of cardiac surgery) and Dr. Bohra (Roitstein's partner) were very intent on seeing how Henry was doing, checking in almost constantly. And now they have patients they spend more time with, because there are patients who are more critical than H is. Minor miracles, baby steps forward.

So we're in a pretty stable holding pattern; the doctors and nurses are pleased and impressed by how well he's doing. So are we. Fingers crossed that each new day will bring equally good news.

2004-03-31T07:07:00.000-06:00

Time: 7:00 am

Basic Info: Not much has changed; Henry is sleeping

Yesterday was one of the first days that he was really awake...he had been allowed to wake up for five minutes here and there, but yesterday they took him off the sedation drug and he spent 12 hours awake. Which, as Dr. Bhora said, "I'm not surprised that he doesn't want to sleep anymore, he has been asleep for a week."

This morning as I checked in with the nurse, she informed me that they will start lowering the dosages AGAIN!!!! So, hopefully we can start thinking about getting him off the ventilator within the next 48 hours.

The medical professionals always say, "We hope ______ in the next 48hours." So that is how we measure our lifespan here in the hospital.

Jenica and I have gotten very close to the drs., nurses, the woman who does Henry's kidney dialysis, and other random strangers that wander around the hospital. Tonight some of the drs and nurses and us are going out for a beer to celebrate his progress. They too are very concerned and invested in Henry and this is the hardest that they have had to work in a very, very long time.

Today there is nothing planned, no planned procedures....only to see if Henry can withstand the withdrawal of his iv drips.

We'll write more as the day moves forward......

Love, Kristen

2004-03-30T17:53:00.000-06:00

Time: 5:40

Basic Info: Critically Stable....

is the way that the nurses and doctors are referring to Henry's condition. He is still very serious and although things constantly seem to improve, there is still a reality to this hell that we are living in.

Grace (8) and Margaret (5) came to visit today. Today is day seven and the last time that either one of our girls saw us was in the ER in Two Rivers last Wednesday morning at 5am. It was wonderful for all of us to be together again. The girls were quiet as they looked at all the machines and "wounds" on their dad, but then they warmed up to holding his hand, kissing his forehead, and talking to him. It was great. Henry for the first time tried to smile, and had tears running down his face. It was an amazing scene for Jenica, me, the girls, Henry and Liza.

At the moment Henry is still getting his daily dialysis, so the numbers won't be in until the morning. As Dr. Bhora said, "Right now his heart is fine, but we are in defensive mode when it comes to all the other organs." So, on one hand, I sigh in relief, on the other I wait on pins and needles.

But I want to thank everyone for all the love and support. I am tired and exhausted, but knowing that there are prayers and well-wishes and everything else all over the country makes it bearable for me and the rest of our immediate family. The Rogers women are strong...and I feel very lucky to be a part of this family.

There are literally tons of networks working all over to make sure that people are kept abreast of Henry's status. There is his employer, Megtec and all the guys that he works with there and in the past with Enkel, there is my employer, the Gamaliel Foundation, our families, friends, and people that just know Henry from some event in his life history. I am grateful for all the stories that I have heard about this amazing man, and even more grateful that he wanted to marry me. I feel very lucky.

Jenica and I have each other and draw on each other for love, support, a shoulder to cry on, someone to help provide some levity when things get too serious. And having Liza here is great...and I am very much looking forward to Betsy's arrival next week.

So thanks to everyone. We love you all. We are lucky that Henry has all of you to love him.

Kristen

2004-03-30T11:47:00.000-06:00

Time: 11:37 am

Basic Info: So far so good.

Kristen and I have been receiving reports from various people who are spreading information for us. We appreciate all the love and support that's being sent our way. I've just activated a means for anyone reading this to comment, to leave us messages, here on this weblog. Just click on the "leave us a message" link, or, if you're not the first, it will say "messages so far". We may or may not reply, but know that we will be reading them.

Last night Henry had the hiccups. Imagine what that would mean for you if you had a very new chest incision and broken sternum... Yeah. So we asked Chuck the Nurse to give him as much morphine as we could, figuring that'd be what he'd want/like, and encouraged him to sleep.

Henry was off his sedation this morning, very responsive, squeezing our hands and using our new "two blinks means yes" code to communicate. Very positive sign. I asked him if he wanted me to rub his feet, and he blinked twice, vehemently. Figures. He always did like that...taught me how to do it "right" as soon as I was old enough to have enough strength in my hands. So that's what I spend a lot of time doing, while Kristen holds his hand and talks to him.

On the up side, his heart functions are actually "normal", and they have begun to remove various tubes, lines, and feeds from his body, though he still has more than a dozen in-ports right now. On the down side, he still needs dialysis every day to assist his liver and kidneys, and there is some concern about the state of his lungs after a week on a ventilator, but neither of those issues, while serious, is immediately life-threatening. We hope that he will respond quickly and well to the treatments the doctors will be trying. His heart remains stable, so now we're in triage-mode trying to support his other organ systems as he heals.

The current prognosis is that if all goes as well as it possibly could, he will be in the ICU for another two to three weeks, followed by six to eight weeks of regular hospital stay. Once he is discharged, months of rehabilitation will follow.

But we're thrilled to be able to even think about rehabilitation.

2004-03-29T14:21:00.000-06:00

Time: 2:13 pm, Monday

Basic Info: A good day, so far.

Kristen and I got up early (to a gorgeous sunrise and the first sunny day since this began) and went down to say good morning to Henry. At about 8:30, he was off to the OR to have his (we hope) final surgical procedure, which closed his chest incision permanently. Translated into normal-people English, that means that the surgeons feel that he is strong enough and stable enough that they won't need to clean up or otherwise manipulate his surgical site any further. That's great news. And, my grandmother arrived around 10, and it's lovely to have her here. I don't know that it's any easier on her (or anyone) to see the reality of what Henry is going through, but it's good for me to know she's here, and ok.

So now he's back in his room, watched over by mother and wife, while daughter goes to take a nap very soon.

In terms of life support progress, he is receiving lower amounts of the nitrous gas that's been supporting the right side of his heart. He is on fewer blood-pressure supporting medications, and is holding his own. He is also currently receiving dialysis (until at least 3, maybe 4 pm -- Liza and I were talking about the Great Depression, and I wasn't paying attention to when they started it) to clean his blood (and thus spare his kidneys) and to remove 2 liters of fluid from his blood (which makes him look less puffy, and eases movement for him).

Henry still is a very sick man; there's no guarantees in this game. But he's doing well, fighting hard, and surviving, hour after hour. Dr. Bohra, one of his surgeons, told me that his heart functions are back to a real "normal", and now the battle is to continue reducing life support, and is a fight for his kidneys, but reiterated that kidneys can be easily supported, long-term, with dialysis, until they recover.

We feel good today.

2004-03-28T22:58:00.000-06:00

Time: Late Sunday night, 10:52

Basic Info: Again, another stable day.

Henry had three hours of dialysis which his body likes. He wakes now at regular intervals and follows commands--move your right hand, sqeeze our hands, wiggle your toes, blink you eyes. We don't want him to be awake for too long because of the pain, but he is understanding that we are there and he hears us.

Tomorrow Liza (Henry's mother) is coming. Jenica is still here for awhile. Betsy will come soon as well. What I know is that the Rogers women are damn strong.

Things continue to be optimistic, but frightening. Henry still is hooked up to so many machines that is doesn't seem possible.

Each day is a "wait and see" day...but things are imporving.

We keep hoping that it does.....

more later from the ICU....

2004-03-27T14:22:00.000-06:00

Time: 2:16 pm

Basic Info: Stable (ish)

Today has been another good day, good being relative to "extremely critical."

The heart still looks good, as does the blood pressure. However, that said, we've moved on to examining other systems, and his liver and kidneys are taking a hit from the trauma of the surgery and recovery process. So this morning was spent on dialysis, which he is responding to very well. The doctors and nurses are pleased, and hopeful. I think we saw some real smiles for the first time today. Everyone is admiring his fighting style, because he's holding his own with really scary odds.

However, Henry is still very very critical, and is still in the induced coma state. He's also still on the ventilator, though they are now feeling he's strong enough that they are beginning to tweak that.

We're cautiously optimistic, but things are still very shaky. They seem to be looking up, though.

A few business notes: All your calls and well-wishes are much appreciated. Right now, however, visitation is limited to immediate family only, with no exceptions, due to the number of nurses and level of care that Henry needs. Also, there is no room in his current ICU room for flowers, though they do brighten the nurses' stand considerably. If you want to send flowers or other physical well-wishes, I would recommend that you wait until we have brighter news about Henry's coma, so that he can appreciate them, as well.

Keep us in your thoughts.

Jenica.

2004-03-26T18:45:00.000-06:00

Time: 6:41 pm

Basic Info: Stable (ish)

Things have been going well today. The tests and ecocarisogram revealed that the heart muscle is improving with the drug that they are giving it. The surgical repairs all look good; everything is holding and taking the blood flow well.

Henry is still in an induced coma and probably will continue to remain that way for several more days, but things are progressing, even if slowly and one step at a time.

I feel cautiously optimisitc, but still very much holding my breath.

He's fighting hard. Who ever thought he would do any different?

We expect a quiet night, just letting him rest and watching his rythms. Things still need to improve, but today things have been on the upswing.

More tomorrow.

2004-03-26T09:51:00.000-06:00

Time: 9:45am (48 hours from when actual surgery began)

Basic Info: Henry is mostly is still very critical, but things are vey gradually improving.

This morning at about 6:30 Jenica and I went down to Henry's room and said "good morning." He woke up--he grabed out for us, he opened his eyes and he was trying to move. He is still intubated, so obviously he could not speak, but he knows we are here. He is still on full life support.

At the moment he is having a procedure that will check the status of his chest cavity. They are looking at the repairs, the blood flow, and checking the function of the right side of his heart. He is expected to be back in an hour, and then will continue to be heavily sedated for the remainder of the day. We don't expect (or want) him trying to wake up or move. He needs to be still and let the body do what it needs to.

Jenica and I are greatful, but still know there is a very long way to go. Keep thinking about us.

Kristen

2004-03-26T01:19:00.000-06:00

<strong>1 am, Friday Morning

I can't stand the idea of people trying to reach me/us without getting though. So, I ("I" being Kristen Rogers, Henry's wife)wanted to make a place where there could be public information put out. I will do my best to keep this updated, as much as possible.

Background:
Tuesday evening at about 10pm Henry started complaining about jaw pain, he said it felt like his molars were aching. He had been recovering from a sinus infection, so we chalked it up to that. He took advil. As the night progressed he started feeling worse, and finally at about 4 am we left for the ER. He said he was having some chest pain, but didn't think it was severe enough to be a heartattack. The ER did and EKG immediately; no heart attack. There was a tremendous amount of relief, but yet the chest pain was still there.

A catscan revealed that the aorta had split from the top of his heart all the way down to past his kidneys. His life was in immediate danger. They transported him from a Manitowac Hospital to Green Bay where a team of surgeons took him into the OR immediately. The day was long. Surgery lasted until about 8pm and there were complications; other problems that required surgeons to reconstruct the valves, aorta, and arteries around the heart. He had coded twice; both times after they had stiched him back up. But in the end he was stable. At least stable for the night.

Today was ups and downs. He is still in critical condition. He is hooked up to many manchines, he is intubated, he is still getting blood and platelets, but more or less, he is ok. Every hour is important. The heart muscle needs to recover quite a bit and they need to keep adjusting the balance of all the medications that are sustaining his life. For now, all the sewing that they did to his aorta and valves is looking good and holding.

Grace and Margaret, "our girls" are doing fine. They are staying with family in Milwaukee. This would be way too much for them to handle. Grace just turned 8 last week and Margaret is 5.

Jenica, his daughter, is here with me. And other family is in contact every several hours. There isn't much that anyone can do. Right now the only visitors allowed in the room are JP and myself. If you want to visit, please wait until things progress. I would hate for you to come here and then not be able to see him.

We are a strong group. And we are holding up very well.

The doctors are amazing; he has the best possible care in Green Bay and some of the best surgeons in the state.
We are at Aurora Bay Center Medical Clinic in Green Bay. They are asking that people not call the ICU for information becasue of privacy restitrictions and nurses and doctors need to be attending 100% to him.

You can call me---my cell phone is 920-362-1511. I won't promise I will answer. I can't promise I will call back immediately, but I will do my best.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts, prayers, friendship and love. He knows that you are all with him in spirit.

Kristen

(more when I know what comes next)

But Henry is a fighter, anyone who has ever met him knows that. I think that it is fabulous that he is still alive right now.