Game Plan

There are 2 main issues right now: 1) VTACs and 2) breathing.

Last night he had one more VTAC requiring defib in the wee hours and today has had a few more small ones. I asked about the risk/reward of waiting on the AICD and his doc said that they are happening too often for that. So they are switching his meds to try to find something that keeps it in check other than sedation.

He did not do well at breathing today or yesterday, so the breathing tube is not coming out anytime soon. Every morning they do a breathing trial to assess whether he is ready to go off of the ventilator. He also has some gunk in his lungs (probably more pneumonia) that has been sent off for labs. This morning they actually turned up the ventilator to improve the O2 saturation in his blood because the gunk in his lungs is blocking oxygen absorption. They are giving him antibiotics for pneumonia and can target that more effectively when those results come back.

So, that's the physical stuff.

Earlier in the day when Daddy was still partially sedated, Julie & Jenny were playing parlor games to just give ourselves stuff to say so he could hear our voices. He was squeezing our hands, too.

This aft/evening Jenny & Julie have been trying to help Daddy communicate. They've been reducing his sedation and he's much more cognizant tonight than he was earlier today. The reason he is still on sedation is because every time they defib him they sedate him. Our previously successful methods of communication, like the letterboard, running thru the alphabet, writing, and tracing letters on our hands, have not been working today. The nurse has told us it wont be very fruitful for a couple of days, but we think it is less frustrating for Daddy if we let him try to communicate.

Today Jaron did laundry, went for a run, did personal (Ard) budgeting and started getting Daddy's finances organized for August.

Julie is planning to go to yoga tomorrow morning...

Just to recap, after he gets out of ICU he will start 3 weeks of rehab. After discharge we need to stay locally for 1 week before going to DC. We're still probably a week away from moving out of ICU, and at that point we still are looking at a month still in Steel Town.

Here is a picture of the readout from the LVAD.