Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Update # 170

8 Years

"One Day More" from Les Mis (one of Jeff’s favorites) seemed to pop into my head this morning when the trial to wean Jeff from the ventilator went well but the fever again stopped the process. Twenty-four hours will be the next try.

And that persistent fever is still hanging around although it is a bit lower. The doctors have been trying to find a cause but have not yet found one. The arterial line was previously removed so maybe the IV line should also be taken out. A decision to insert a PICC line was made by 1:00 PM but we’re still waiting for that procedure. One doc came in at 6:00 PM thinking Jeff already had it so off he went to check on it. Still waiting. I must say we’ve never waited for anything this length of time – ever.

Jeff did experience 2 episodes of vomiting last evening about an hour and a half apart. Don’t worry – there is a mechanism to prevent anything from the stomach getting into the ventilator tube – Mom’s first question. The nurse said this was only some stomach juices. But to be sure nothing else was happening, x-rays were taken of the chest/abdomen. Results showed tube in place and nothing in abdomen.

A CT Scan of lungs and belly was taken this morning trying to find a possible cause of the fever. Results showed nothing and in fact showed improvement in the pneumonia.

Late this afternoon, Jeff’s hematocrit was low so he has already received 2 units of blood. The good news – since he had a CT Scan this AM, they know he is not bleeding in his chest or belly. They also did a venous doppler to make sure Jeff has no blood clots – all clear. So we’ll watch and see what the next blood count shows.

With this lower sedation in preparation of getting off the vent, Jeff has been awake a little more. Meridith and I have been able to talk a bit more with him. Jeff was able to listen to Dad speak to him over the phone – that produced raised eyebrows. The pulmonary doctor gave permission for Jeff’s leg exercises to resume. Meridith did a few at a time over several hours so Jeff wouldn’t be too worn out but you could tell it was work. One nurse was doing something and in conversation stated Jeff would be glad to have the tube out – big head shake yes!

So our prayers for the fever to break continue and that really nothing major is causing this low hematocrit. One day more? Let’s hope tomorrow is it. Thanks for your prayers and for the cards that keep arriving. We enjoy reading them now and Jeff will in the future.

love,

Marcia