August 4, 2009

Emily visited with Gene this morning and found him to be having a good morning.

His vent settings remain at pressure 6 and supplementary oxygen 30% - these are considered very low settings and mean that he is not on a rate any more. The ventilator is not breathing for him any more. The pressure is pressurized air that he gets when he takes a breath. The supplementary oxygen he receives is not a great deal above normal sea level air which is around 21%. So he is making great progress with the ventilator. He seems to be breathing comfortably at these settings. It is very hard work for him when they lower his settings, and it is great progress when he is able to be comfortable at a lower setting.

This morning he sat on the side of his bed with support for 17 minutes. He had his feet on the floor. Physical therapy is trying to have him sit up every day except weekends lengthening the time with each trial. He also had electrodes on his legs for muscle stimulation for about 45 minutes. Gene has movement in his ankles, but at this time cannot lift his leg up from a sitting position.

He is on an air mattress which changes pressure point periodically, this should help greatly with his pressure wound. His body position is also being changed every two hours with a wedge, although as described previously this is a delicate balance since it sometimes causes his oxygen saturation level to go down and he has to have the wedge removed.

Dr. Bryce, the wound doctor, came in this morning and indicated that his wound will need to have debriding again in the next few days. It is very important to keep dead skin from accumulating on the wound, since it can prevent healing and only healthy skin can heal. Dr. Bryce has let the family know that pressure wounds often get worse before they get better. The procedure should be able to be done with a local anesthesia there at Kindred.

When Emily visited with Gene this evening she found him to be in good spirits. His ventilator settings remained at 6 pressure and 30 oxygen for the second day. She read some to him from his Master Gardener newsletter, and assured that the nurses attended to him.


Prayer requests
Please pray for Gene's strength to continue to improve, for his respiration to grow stronger every day, and for his body to have the resources to heal the pressure wound that he has. Pray for Gene's children, grandchildren and Emily to have peace of mind.