Jim Is At Rest
My sweet, beloved Jimmy died on January 5th at 9:30 pm |
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Jan 8
Dec 24
Day 34 In ICU
Jimmy had to get more support from the ventilator tonight because he was exhausted from trying to breathe on his own today. This morning Physical Therapy tried to get him into a chair but had to put him back to bed after 1 minute. He just could not sit up and they could tell his breathing was a struggle. He had a few better days that I wrote you about but last night and today have been bad. I told him that the doctors say his new lung is working good and that all of his numbers are good and that he will be feeling better soon, but today he shook his head no. I'm so worried. He suffered a long time before the transplant and now since the transplant his suffering continues. He is so sick and weak and he needs strength to fight this. The nurse told me that Jimmy has lost 23 pounds since his surgery. Please pray that he will get new strength and that his breathing will be easy very soon. Thank you for your prayers. Love, Sandy Hope you all have a Merry Christmas |
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Dec 20
Couldn't Do It
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The nurses worked at trying to get Jimmy off the ventilator this morning but had to stop because he could not breathe. The critical care doctor came in and told me that because of all Jimmy has been through he is just not ready to come off the ventilator at this time. He wants to move slow with this and wait another week before trying again. I could hear another doctor speaking up saying that it needs to be sooner than a week so I don't know which one will make the final decision. They are to meet in the morning with other doctors and decide the best plan. They got Jimmy up again today in the chair for an hour and they plan to do that twice tomorrow. He is so weak. Hopefully, he will soon start regaining some strength. Your prayers will help.
Thank you for all the get well wishes.
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Dec 19
A Miracle Has Happened
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When we got to the ICU this morning we found Jimmy sitting in a chair, staring at the television, holding a remote and changing channels. We were so surprised and happy to see him up. The other times the nurses have had him in a chair this past month I had to help support his head but today he was strong enough to hold his head up. He has lost a lot of weight and is very weak but he has been breathing on his own again all day today. The doctor told me that he wants the nurses to help him get off the ventilator tomorrow. He is much more relaxed now so hopefully he will be able to do this. He needs to take that big step tomorrow so please send prayers up that he will succeed. Your prayers have helped bring him a long way this week. A miracle has happened! Just 5 days ago the doctors did not think he would make it through the night and today he was sitting up and flipping through the tv channels in hopes he could find a race to watch. Thank you for your prayers.
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Dec 18
NO SIGNS OF REJECTION
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The nurse told me Jimmy had a restful night and was doing well this morning. He breathed 100% on his own for 2 hours and was doing so good but then had to be sedated because the doctor decided to do a bronchoscope. The doc told me the lung and surrounding areas looked healthy and appeared to be healing well. He did not see any signs of rejection which was great news. The sedation kept Jimmy asleep for the rest of the day so he was not able to breathe on his own after that. Let's pray that tomorrow he will be strong enough to resume breathing on his own for the next few days and will be able to be weaned from the ventilator the first of next week. He had one chest drainage tube removed today and they told me the other one may be able to be removed tomorrow. With the large tubes out he should feel more comfortable. He has had so much pain with all of this but rarely complains. He's tough! Tomorrow 'Saturday' will be one month since his transplant. Your prayers are helping.
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Dec 18
Still Struggling
Not a good day. Jimmy had anxiety problems last night and this morning so they had to sedate him to help him rest. The medicine they gave him has had him asleep for 20 hours and he was still asleep when I left tonight. The nurse said they are trying to find medicines to use on him that will not affect him like this but they have not hit up on the right one just yet. I was so in hopes of him breathing on his own today and tomorrow so he could have a chance at getting off the ventilator this weekend, but looks like that will not happen. Maybe it will work out for the first of the week. He's trying so hard. It seems he is caught up in a vicious circle. Please pray that soon he will be breathing well.
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Dec 18
Critical Condition
Jimmy's condition now is more critical than it was immediately following his transplant surgery. He looked so good and was so alert most of Sunday but he took a turn for the worse Sunday night. The doctor called and told me that his heart had stopped beating many times Sunday night and that it was urgent that he get a pacemaker. The cardiology team was called in and a pacemaker was put in. Later that day the doctor called me with horrible news. He told me Jimmy had started hemorrhaging and they could not tell where the blood was coming from or where it was going but his hemoglobin was down to 4. They rushed him down to have a CT scan and that showed the bleed was coming from the abdomen. They started blood and gave him 10 units Monday night. They said a clot had formed in the area that had been bleeding so they are going to watch it and hope that it will not break loose because if it does he will need emergency surgery. They think the blood thinners are what caused the rupture. He has developed a blood clot in his left arm so the blood thinners were being given to help dissolve it. He is in a lot of pain since the hemorrhage. He now has the ventilator breathing for him 100%. The doctor suggested that our sons be called. David and Scott got here last night and are with me. Please - please pray that he will be healed.Comments [0]
Dec 11
Please remember him in your prayers.
Love, Sandy
Another tough day
Today was another rough day for Jimmy. His fever was back this morning and he has felt miserable all day. He had problems with agitation again and was given medicine to help him relax. The nurse just checked his temperature and it is down to normal, thank goodness. He is sleeping now and I'm hoping he will have a restful night and a better day tomorrow.Please remember him in your prayers.
Love, Sandy
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Dec 10
Looking a bit better today
Jimmy was more awake and alert today than he has been. He has had no temperature at all today so the antibiotics that were started yesterday must be helping. The infectious disease doctor told me not all the reports are back yet but so far nothing bad has showed up. The transplant surgeon told me they decided not to have the Hematologist thoroughly check Jimmy out. The surgeon thinks he knows which medicine has caused the anemia and has discontinued it. He has started medicine to help boost his white blood cells and he said blood tests scheduled to be done tomorrow will tell him if his plan of treatment is working. He said the first thing the 'blood' doctor would want to do would be a bone marrow test and he nor I want that done if the reports show his treatment is working. I really appreciate him trying to spare Jimmy of any unnecessary discomfort. All doctors that came in today told him how good he looked and he did. Everyone was commenting on his pleasant smile. Seeing him like he was yesterday really scared me but today I feel encouraged that before long we'll see Jimmy back to his old self.
God is listening. Your prayers are being answered. Thank you.
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Dec 9
More tests needed...
Jimmy needs lots of prayers tonight. He had a temperature when I got to the hospital this morning - a little over 101 and his blood pressure was low. The doctors ordered all kinds of tests to see what could be causing the fever and started him on antibiotics. They said he could have picked up an infection from the trachea tube or from the pic line. Also, his blood tests show anemia and he had to have more blood today. The surgeon said the problem is not coming from the lung so now they are starting lots of tests to find out what is causing the anemia. I think the doctor was thinking out loud when I heard him mumble the immune suppressant drugs could have caused bone marrow problems. I pray that is not what is going on and whatever it turns out to be, I hope it can be easily fixed. He has been through so much and doesn't need anything else. The results of the blood and cultures that were taken today will be back in 24 to 48 hours. His fever came down this afternoon and his blood pressure was back to normal. He was awake this afternoon and is in no pain. He sleeps right through most of the doctors exams and tests so he probably does not realize there is a problem. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day for him. Will keep you posted.
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