Day Four

James had an eventful night, keeping Trisha his nurse, on her toes.  He sat up in his bed twice (which he shouldn't be doing) and opened his eyes for the first time since Saturday afternoon.  The nurses had a good laugh because him sitting up happened to match the exact time our new president was named.  We've agreed it was in protest to the news.  The day has been spent trying to find the right balance of medication to keep James nice and calm.  The balance has been tricky because some of the medication sedated him a little too well causing his pressures to drop.  When they lighten the doses it causes him to be too alert and he becomes very agitated.

They did another chest X-ray late this morning and while they were prepping to take the film he had the longest episode of alertness and agitation.  He actually ended up vageling (sudden loss of consciousness). He was alert with his eyes open, for much longer than times before, but also looked terribly frightened.  They made some additional adjustments to his medications to continue keeping him as comfortable and quiet as possible.  He seems to be going from zero to one hundred with no warnings.

The chest X-ray continued to show fluid on his lungs and they want to see that fluid go down considerably before removing the ventilator.  He was given some additional diuretics and sedation, since the new plan for removal looks like Friday. They are continuing his chest PT in hopes of getting his lungs a little less sticky.

Today has been nothing less than adventurous and full of movement from Mr. James.  His nurses Michelle and Brenden have been working overtime keeping James safe and calm. We've got our nurse Yaz back tonight.  She took great care of James on Sunday night.  Its great when we have someone working with him that's familiar with who he is and what his personality is like.

I'm hoping for a calm night so he can get some rest along with some progress for tommorow.  They began a feeding tube for him tonight, so I'm hoping that might help with some of the agitation he was experiencing.

More tomorrow and thank you everyone for your support!  We are beyond grateful.