July 28, 2009

Gene had his first full day back at Kindred.

His respiration is not where he had hoped it would be and he has experienced some difficulty breathing today. He told Emily that he thought one of his lungs had stopped working. Dr. DeVersa ordered a CT scan to make sure that everything was OK.

Late this afternoon the report was in. They checked for pneumonia - he doesn't have it. They checked for blood clots - he doesn't have any. He does have one little area where the lung is not properly inflating. Apparently this is not uncommon and not necessarily of concern.

It's good that Kindred is so pro-active about his treatment. When he gets his strength back they will begin the hard work of vent weaning again. And the physical therapists and all the other staff who work so hard with him, were already checking in today to see when to get back to work on his therapies.

Emily and Joyce visited late this evening and found Gene was feeling much better. His color was better and he was in better spirits. His pressure sore is still not where it needs to be. The wound care doctor will look at it perhaps tomorrow.

Prayer requests:
Please pray for Gene's respiration to grow stronger and for his pressure sore to respond to the treatments and begin to heal. Pray for Emily to have the comfort of good sleep and strength to deal with the days and weeks ahead.