The one where we have a rough night...

Again I'm sitting here on the wrong side of midnight, keeping vigil. Tonight he is resting well, finally comfortable. I am watching the monitors which tell me his vital signs. I have learned what every line, every abbreviation means and what the allowable deviations are. Currently, they are all looking good. But I'm waiting on the Doctor's call about lab results we just received. You see, last night was not so peaceful.

Last night was rough. His breathing was very labored. His oxygen sats were low. His heart rate was way above where it should be and he was complaining of pain in his back. The nurse was worried about a possible heart problem. She kept the vigil from her station (right outside his room, she can see everything from her window into his room). Around four AM I finally dozed off. I was awakened by a sound I couldn't place. It was wheezing. I got up and put my head closer to his mouth to listen. Sure enough, I heard the tell tale sound. Wheezing and I are old enemies. But I'd only once before heard him wheeze. I checked his forehead. Yep, running a fever. I poked my head out the door and conferred with the nurse. I suggested that perhaps the back pain was pleurisy. She took his temp. 101.6- not good. She called the doctor. They administered Tylenol in a most unconventional way. They also took blood and did a chest xray. The xray showed some possible lung congestion. He was switched to a broader spectrum antibiotic. That seems to be working.

Unfortunately, the labs told a story of their own. His hemoglobin had dropped overnight. Not in a severe range, but not good. The surgeon ordered a an abdominal ct scan. The scan showed that one of his adrenals had been nicked in the crash. It was still bleeding a bit. A urologist was called in. He wants to wait and see if the nick will clot on it's own so they don't need to do further surgery. He has labs drawn every six hours and reported to the doctor. His hemoglobin continues to drop. He is also now confined to bed. No more trying to get him up. He will be in ICU for several more days.

His arm was unwrapped today. I was mistaken on the sutures. They used surgical staples. 53 of them in his arm and shoulder. The palm of his left hand and fingers have regular sutures. Lots of them. The chest tube is bothering him. We found tons of new bruises today. The pain is still bad.

The midnight labs are back, the numbers are still dropping. A call to the doctor calls for a transfusion of blood. He sleeps on and for that I am thankful. I will explain when he wakes up.

I must give a special thank you to all of the doctors and nurses we have had. His surgeon is amazing and doesn't mind hugs. His nurses have been caring and compassionate and on top of things. The nursing supervisor for tonight rocks my socks. She got me a chair that actually lays down. I may get some sleep tonight after all. I'm going to include a couple of pictures of the truck he was in, so you can see how lucky he is to still be alive.







Thank you all,
♥Spot