Tuesday, July 21, 2009

One step forward & Two steps back ...

Atleast it's two steps back in the direction needed to get him better.

This morning, after they put that oxygen mask on, they decided to put Kameron BACK on the respirator. Crazy huh?

BUT ... as hard as it is to watch him with a tube down his throat and think of how miserable he must be, I know that this is something that needs to be done to get him better. That doesn't make it any easier though.
So ... what's going on? ...

Kameron's platelet counts are low. Platelets are what make our blood clot. So, when they pulled the tube out yesterday he started bleeding into his lungs. When the tube was in, there was pressure going into his lungs which would clear out all the little pockets on his lungs. When they pulled the tube out, that pressure wasn't there anymore so, the blood just filled up each of the pockets on his lungs. And since they have him on the respirator - they won't be giving him any medication to dry up the fluid.

So, what they are going to do is finish this IVIg treatment that they started on Sunday. The hope is that this will get his platelet count up so that they won't have the problem of bleeding into his lungs when they decide to extubate him again. Hopefully they will keep him on the respirator for several days just to be safe. They have actually talked about doing a traecheotomy (where the cut an incision in his neck and put the tube right through his neck) which would be better and safer for Kameron. When the respiratory tube is in his throat, it passes right by his vocal chords and the longer the tube is there, the more risk there is for damage to be made to his vocal chords. So, with the traech tube, it doesn't have that risk. The only issue with that surgery - is his platelets. They aren't sure if they can do a surgery with his platelet count as low as it is.
We will see what happens with all that.

Today they intubated him around 10am I think. It took him awhile to settle down. His body has had so much trauma lately that he was shaking pretty bad. Then, he was struggling for breath and wrote that he could hardly get any oxygen. His nurse just said he was anxious. but the machine kept setting off an alarm saying "high pressure".
Well, his normal nurse went to lunch so another nurse was covering. As soon as he came in - he saw that Kameron was chewing on his breathing tube!!!! It took him 2 minutes to fix it and as soon as he put something in his mouth to prevent him from biting down - all of his breathing stats stabalized. We were pretty annoyed that it took an hour (and a different nurse) for them to figure that out!!!
Now, he is resting good. They put him on a different sedative then he was on last time. They want to make sure he is able to get GOOD rest and not be awake at all. So, hopefully this medication does the trick.


I know Kameron is okay with this. He just wants to get better. I can tell how miserable he is and he just wants this all to be over. We all do too!!!


Until next update ... have a good one! :D

4 comments:

Spencer and Marlee said...

I Have been reading all the updates! Please keep them coming! He is in our prayers and we love you all!

Lindsey said...

Thanks for keeping all of us updated! I will keep praying for him!

Candace said...

Oh, Jami, this must be SO frustrating for you!!!! We are praying for Kameron and all of his family!

As a side note....whether you like it or not, you're getting good with all the medical lingo! :P

Ashley said...

I'm glad yo're keeping us updated. Helps me know what to pray for.

Hang in there, Kam is so lucky to have a wife who loves him so much and is doing her best to be the most loving and supportive wife he could ask for.

You're doing beautifully.

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