“Status Update on Dave”

Last night another status email was sent about Dave's condition. He didn't have a heart attack, thankfully, but his heart has been weakened by the extra work resulting from a collapsed lung. The hospital did a culture and they now know exactly which bacteria caused the pneumonia, and are actively treating it. He's still in the ICU, and his condition is "guarded" (quoting the doctor), but they feel much more positive about his recovery than they did yesterday at this time.

In a response to the first message about Dave's condition, Greg Pierce said:

Ouch. I honestly don't understand what the medical, or lifestyle, ramifications of such a procedure could be...but none that are vaguely positive come to mind.

All we know about the ramifications of not having a stomach, so far, is that he can only eat extremely tiny meals (literally, one or two bites), but he must eat constantly. The stomach has been replaced with a piece of a (his?) large intestine (at least, that's what we were told), which will eventually stretch out and allow him to eat slightly more, but that will take some time. Also, it's not clear if he'll ever feel hungry again, because his stomach isn't there to report that feeling of emptiness to his brain.

I'll be sure to report more details on this when they're available, as I'm sure you're all as fascinated with the subject as I am. :-)