August 26, 2009

Gene had a good night and a good day today. For most of the day his pressure support has been set at 6 and his oxygen was at 25 which is very close to the level of oxygen in normal air. Emily reports that he is working a little harder at 6 than at 8 but he still seems very comfortable. The doctors have consistently said that getting him weaned from the ventilator will have positive consequences for all his other medical conditions. One of the respiratory therapists told Emily today that they had a very aggressive protocol to try to wean Gene from the vent in a week or two.

Lynn was able to visit with him in the morning before being banned from the Kindred facility for a couple of weeks at least, and found him to be in good spirits and very comfortable. She talked to him about the importance of being weaned from the vent and asked him to work hard on the breathing. He said, "I work hard every day".

Gene had another round of antibiotics after the last debriding procedure when his temp and white blood counts went up a bit. And of course, one of the side effects of large doses of antibiotics is yeast infections. In the last few days, Gene has been dealing with that and has been given medication.

Emily was at the hospital for a good length of time in the morning. Later in the day she went to the grocery store. It may be the first time in a long time she's had an opportunity to go shopping. When she got home she went and got the mail and discovered that she was so tired that she had a short nap. I think the accumulation of everything is catching up with her. She went back to the hospital to tell Dad goodnite and helped get Dad turned.

Joyce is planning to come down tomorrow to be with Emily for a day or so. Gene so enjoys visits from family; it will be a real boost to him.

Prayer Requests
Pray for Gene's respiration to continue to grow stronger every day, for his body to marshal the resources it needs for healing, and for Emily to have peace and strength.