Weekend and Monday

Jon had a really good weekend.  They are lowering his sedation very slowly.  Jon is starting to wake up again.  He is having muscle twitches and increased respirations.  Sunday after not getting much rest, they moved the sedation up a little so that he could rest.  He is having a periodic, low grade temperature. They are monitoring his blood cultures and sputum culture.  So far nothing has grown in the sputum.   Something has grown in one of his blood cultures so they are redoing them b/c if there is an infection it should be in both of them.  Sometimes containers or the central line may contain an infection but the person may not be sick.  They will find out so if he needs medicine they can treat him appropriately.  The doctor was pleased with Jon's recovery over the weekend.  The doctor on call told us Sunday that his xray was A LOT better than it had been. This is really good news and news we don't hear too often.  Jon has continued to do well and has handled coming off the sedation better today.  He is on 40% oxygen and having sats in the upper 90s.  The doctor said that he has been stable for a few days now and that is good...he was referring to his pulmonary status when he said that.  Jon still has a long way to go but he is MUCH better!  Please continue to pray for his recovery.

6/26/09

Jon had a good night last night. They were able to move him down to 45%. His sats are around 99-100 this morning. They have the paralytic off completely but it will take a while for it to get all of the way out of his system. They said that his x-ray may be a little better today. Jon's temperature was down as well as his white blood count. They are going to start lowering one of his sedatives today. Please continue to pray.

6/25/09

Jon's paralytic has been stoppped and he is starting to be able to move around. He is wrinkling his face and starting to move his feet. He has even opened his eyes. He is still on sedation medication so he is not alert at this point. They had to increase his oxygen to 60% during the night but they are being able to lower it slowly. The doctor said that they are not going to make any changes today. He also thought that Jon's x-ray looked better today. His ABGs were adequate so we would like for them to go up a little. Jon's white count is down today from yesterday. Yesterday it was up into the 11,000s. We need his white count to stay down. The doctor said that he still think that Jon is better. Praise the Lord!!

Every time we turn around...

God is here! He continues to answer our prayers. The doctor came in this morning and said that everything was better today. They are going to start taking the paralytic off today and see how Jon tolerates it. The doctor told Mom and Kem that he thinks we are headed in the right direction.

If you are someone that does not believe in the power of prayer, please let this be an example to you. I can tell you first hand that there is no explanation for why Jon has steadily gotten better other than God and His healing power. I believe that He has guided the doctors and medical staff to treat Jon. Time after time the treatments they have chosen for Jon usually/should not work and they do! When you can sit in a room filled with strange machines, beepers, buzzers, monitors, and see someone you love so dearly depending on them and still have a sense of peace and love fill your heart, you know that God is there. Please continue your prayers for Jon and Melinda. We send lots and love and thank yous to everyone.

6/23/09

Well, Jon does NOT have to have any chest tubes inserted. They did a CT scan and found that he did not have much fluid around his bad lung. The doctor was pleased to find this out. He said that tomorrow he may end up doing a bronchial scope. The doctor thinks that what they are seeing in the x-rays are mucus plugs and the old pneumonia. The mucus plugs can be removed in the scope. This is such good news that Jon does not have to have these tubes inserted... The doctor said that they will monitor his lungs closely and that our next step is to start removing the paralytic. Please keep praying for Jon that he continues to heal and does not have any new infections. Please pray for the doctors and medical staff to continue to treat Jon appropriately and to guide them in their treatment of Jon. Please pray for all of his friends and family to continue to have the strength to endure this storm. Please thank God for all of the wonderful blessings He has bestowed upon us and for all of the answered prayers:)

Sunday and Monday 6/20-21 and Tuesday morning

Sunday--Jon was able to be taken off the nitric oxide. They were able to do this fairly quickly and keep his sats up. While Jon has been on the rotorest bed his heart rate has been up. It has been about double what it should be. We are very thankful that he has been able to come off the nitric. Jon also stayed on his back the entire day:) They inserted a tube thing where his chest tube was to help the wound heal faster. It is like a little sponge that is attached to a vaccum.



Monday--Jon was able to be moved to a somewhat "normal" bed today. This bed still moves him from side to side but it looks like a regular bed. His sats were good all day. Jon's white count was down and his temperature was also down.

Tuesday--The doctor said that his bad lung looked worse today and his good lung looked better. They are going to take him for a CT scan this afternoon and possibly insert two tubes into his chest to help his bad lung. He has been able to be on 40% but they have recently had to up his oxygen to 50%. Please pray for the doctors and medical staff to make the best decisions for Jon's health care and recovery.

6/20/09

Jon has had a good day today. He is down to 12 on the nitric and his sats are between 93-95. His oxygen is on 40%. Jon continues to make progress and we are so thankful. It is always good to see him and tell him how much we love and care about him. We always tell him how many people are praying for him and how lucky he is. We are lucky too! We have so many people who care about all of us and pray for us each day. This is what has made all of the difference. Even when things are scary, the peace that only God can give is in our hearts. Please continue praying for Jon and Melinda's recovery, that the medical staff will have the knowledge to treat them appropriately, and that our families will remain strong and have peace. Remember to thank Him for all of the blessings He has already bestowed upon us...we are truly grateful! Let each member of your family know that they are special and how much you love them because you never know what the future may hold...each day that God gives us is truly a gift and we need to cherish it. Each small moment we have with Jon is a moment we are thankful for!

6/18 night and 6/19

Thursday night Jon did very well. They were able to lower the nitric to 18 and get his oxygen to 40%. His lung function number was up to 215 by Friday morning. Jon was doing very well. He has these times when he is just staying the same or even needing his oxygen increased and then within a short amount of time he really starts to do much better.

Friday Jon had a very busy day! They tested his chest tube to see if his lung would collapse if they removed it. His lung did not collapse and his numbers stayed good so they removed his chest tube. He had 5 x-rays. He had his central line replaced. He was also staying on his back for 3 hours and then tummy for 1 hour at a time. Jon's numbers stayed good all day. They moved his nitric down to 12. They are able to suction a lot of stuff out when he turns onto his tummy. Jon's numbers usually are staying in the upper 90's while he is on his tummy and the mid-lower 90's when he is on his back. By the end of the evening, they had to increase his nitric to 19 and increase his oxygen to 60%. He was doing well for a while so they decreased his oxygen to 50% for the night. This is a lot of activity for Jon and he handled it very well. In the past couple of weeks, Jon would not have been able to tolerate all of this activity. This morning (Saturday) Jon was doing well. His lung function test was in the 190's rather than the 200's. This is probably b/c he is on 50% oxygen rather than 40% like yesterday morning. It has been good for Jon to have this week of progress and no-little setbacks. Your prayers are still working! God is still working! Please continue to pray for all of us!

the beds

I have added pictures of the rotorest beds that Jon has been in at the bottom of the blog.

6/17-18

Jon has been doing about the same the past couple of days. His lung function (I am not sure that this is really what it is called) number has been a little lower the past couple of days but it is still in the same range. His temperature has stayed below 100 and I think his x-rays have been a little better. The doctor has made some changes on the bed. Jon is now staying on his back for 3 hours and his tummy for 1 hour. Through making this change they have had to increase his oxygen. They started out at 50 and it is down to 45%. Please keep the prayers up for Jon and Melinda. It may be hard for everyone who is not witnessing the answered prayers in person to see how they are truly being answered, but believe me they are and it is amazing! We truly appreciate the love and support from everyone!

6/16/09

Jon had a good night. Before our parents left last night, they had to raise Jon's oxygen to 50% or 55%. This happened after he had been on his back. Throughout the night they were able to get his oxygen back down to 40%. The nurse also noticed that Jon's sedation was not working as well as it should. He was moving his lips and his heart rate was going up. She explained to him that his Mom and Dad were sleeping and that they would be back in the morning. She also told him that he was being given medicine to keep him from moving and not to worry. When she talked to him his heart rate went down. She called the doctor and told him about the sedation and they switched it so that he would be more sedated. We also found out this morning that his lung function number is 202!!! We would be in the 400's. The 200's show that his ARDS is less active. They want him to be in the 300's. This is such progress from last week. When he went in on Wednessday, he was at a 60. We are so thankful for all of his progress. Please remember to thank God for all of his blessings that He so graciously gives us and continue to pray for Jon and Melinda's recovery. Thanks again for all of your support and prayers...it has made all of the difference.

6/14/09

Jon has had a good day today. He has been on 40% oxygen and the nitric is on 20. They decided to not make any more changes to that today and work on getting him more used to staying on his back. He was on his back for a while today and they had to increase the oxygen to 50% for a minute but were able to bring it back down. The doctor told Mom that he was a little better today. We also learned that he has a staph infection and psuedomonious (not sure how to spell it) around the chest tube. The infectious disease doctor came in today and they are going to switch his antibiotics to treat it. Overall, Jon has had a good weekend. Please continue your prayers. It is so inspiring to see God answering prayers and what a support system Jon and our family has. So often we don't give God the credit for the "things" that happen in our life. In our situation, we have no one else to give credit to...He is truly guiding the medical staff, healing Jon, and giving us strength and so much more.

6/13/09 EVENING

Tonight when they had Jon on his back, his O2 levels dropped. He had a hard time recovering when he was turned back onto his tummy. They increased his oxygen to 60% and turned the nitric back up to 20. They also noticed that his input and output levels of fluids were not staying the same. He was taking in more fluid than he was putting back out. The doctor thinks that this is because of his chest tube and is not too concerned with it but ordered an x-ray to double check. Preliminary results of the x-ray showed no change from this morning. This would indicate that the fluid is not gathering around his lungs.

Remember to say thank you

Sorry I haven't been able to update...I was at a conference and the didn't have internet in my room. Last time I posted I said that Jon's oxygen was at 50%...They had tried to get it to 50% and ended up having to move him back to 55%. On Friday they were able to get him down to 45%. He has tolerate this well. The doctor said that things were all about the same, but 3 different nurses told us that he was better. On Saturday, they moved his nitric from 19 down to 10. He has tolerated this so far. They were also able to leave him on his back for one hour without having to increase his oxygen. This is an improvement. They also told us that they have a scale to assess lung function...when Jon moved to Baptist he was at a 60, today he was a 196 and at 200 people are no longer in ARDS!!! They also told us that they thought his x-ray from today looked better. Please remember to give thanks for the many blessings and answered prayers. Please continue to pray. It seems like every time things seem to be improving prayer volume may go down and we have a setback...anyway, we appreciate all the prayers and please keep praying for Jon's recovery.

What a week!

Tuesday the respiratory therapist continued to lower Jon's oxygen. When the RT came on duty, Jon's oxygen was at 80% and he was doing well. She continued to lower it to 50% and his numbers began to go down. He struggled all day with his oxygen sats. They finally turned it up to 100%. On Tuesday, his x-ray looked a little better. His ABGs were good (I think)...his numbers were steady all night. The doctor all tried to begin moving the bed again. Jon did not tolerate this so they had to stop. Wednesday morning, his numbers began to go down into the lower 90's. At this point, they decided to move him to Baptist ICU. Moves are hard on patients. It made me nervous...Anyway, he made the move fine. They moved him b/c Baptist has more resources than Select. Jon still has the same doctors seeing him. They put Jon on a new bed. It turns him completely over onto his tummy. He stays like this for 3 hours and then he turns to his back for 1 hour. This is not going to be pretty. It will cause his face, eyes, and lips to swell. He will also have a lot of secretions drain from him. This may not look good, but it is good for his lungs. They also started him on the nitric oxide. He was not requiring this, but the doctor thought it might help him faster. After they started the nitric they were hoping for one of his numbers to go up at least by 10 points. It went up over 100 points!!!! Also, his respirations went down from 20-25 breaths per minute to around 12. (We breathe about 15.) They were able to move his oxygen down much more quickly. By late last night, he was down to 50%. This is a much safer oxygen level. His ABGs are adequate now. Today (Thursday), they think that Jon may have fluid in his body cavity so they did a CAT scan. If he does, they will insert a tube to drain it. They have not found any new infections. The doctor thought that Jon's x-ray may have looked a little worse today, but he does not know why so they are checking everything out. Overall, they are happy with the progress Jon has made since yesterday. He is still VERY sick! Please continue to pray for him and the medical staff. It is so apparent to us that God is working each and every day! Jon has continued to respond to treatments that people do not normally respond to or sometimes they do not respond to them. God is directing the medical team and is healing Jon. I pray that He continues to do so. Jon is such a precious person to all of us. I keep thinking about how he makes each of us feel when he is around. Somehow, he seems to always make us smile:) As always, lots of prayers!

6/8/09

The doctor said that Jon's bad lung was better today and the other side (left I think) has pneumonia in it. This pneumonia is sensitive to the antibiotic he is on. They have his oxygen down to 90% and Jon is hitting 100. Please continue to pray for Jon's continued recovery. Also, please continue to pray for Melinda. She is making gains each day. She also has pneumonia and needs our prayers.

What a Weekend!!

Saturday morning Jon's oxygen level began to go down. The doctor said to raise his oxygen to 70%. When we visited with the doctor he explained to us the severity of Jon's condition and that his lungs were very sick. He told us about A.R.D.S. and that he needs to get rid of whatever is causing the A.R.D.S to act up. We needed to be able to "keep him alive" long enough for his lungs to heal. Jon's numbers looked good for a while. As the day progressed his oxygen sats were going down. They had the oxygen on the ventilator up to 100%. They were trying everything that they could possibly try and nothing was working. Jon's sats got down to 71. They took x-rays, drew ABGs (Arterial Blood Gas), put him on antibiotics, put him on blood pressure medicine...they were doing everything that they could think of to help Jon. The doctor bluntly told us that if Jon continued down this path that they were not going to be able to save him. The doctor was not finding a reason for Jon's decline. Jon's blood pressure was going down; his temperature was going down, and his oxygen sats were going down...We were SO scared. The doctor wanted to move Jon to Baptist but told us that he would not be able to survive the transport so it was better for Jon to remain at Select Specialty Hospital. We knew that if something happened to Jon that it was God's will. It is hard to accept sometmes that God's will may not be your will. We continued to pray continuously. We talked to Jon and told him to keep fighting. A little later in the evening (around 8:30) the doctor came in and actually lowered Jon's PEEP. This is not something that patients usually like or tolerate. Jon responded favorably to this. From this point Jon's oxygen began to rise. Within minutes it was in the 80's, by around 2:30 it was consistently about 90, by 6:00 it was 94 or above, and by last night it was above 97. The doctor told RT to begin weaning him off the oxygen but if his sats got below 95 to go back up. She put him at 90% and he tolerated it well. They were messing with him and it went to 94 for a couple of seconds and she moved it back up to 100%. (She was a little nervous) Jon had a good night Sunday night and his ABGs were good this morning and we were told that they showed that his lungs were functioning better. We will see what the x-ray and doctor have to say. It is only because of God's will that Jon is with us...we don't know his plan for any of us, but we must be willing to accept whatever he has in store for us. It doesn't mean that the human in us is going to "like" it or that our "selfishness" won't sometimes come out, but we can try. We are so thankful for so many things. We are surrounded by so many blessings in this life, we just have to remember that and give thanks appropriately...We are so grateful that God has answered our prayers. We are also thankful to everyone who has stopped to pray for Jon and our family. Everyone's prayers mean more to us than you will probably ever know.

6/5/09

Today has been an up and down day. The doctor said that Jon's xray looked a little better maybe. Jon's white count was up a little. His temp is down still. His heart rate is good. Jon's blood pressure is a little high but the doctor said that he'd rather it was a little high rather than low. The doctor said that he thought that Jon was better and going to continue to get better. It is just going to be a long recovery for his lungs. Another doctor (either rehab or pt) came by and said that the doctor had asked him to stop by. He said that he would be helping stimulate Jon's brain when he was ready. When the nurse changed Jon's sheets and gown today, she had him reclined. When she sat him up, his oxygen went down. It finally was coming up about an hour later and we discovered that his bed was reclined too much. The nurse sat him up and the monitors all went off. Jon's oxygen went down to about 88-92. They were having a lot of trouble getting it up. As we were sitting there watching everything, we noticed that Jon began to move his head and mouth. It made us wonder b/c he was on paralytic. We stopped the nurse and she said that he was dreaming. Jon continued to move. We talked to her again. She called in RT. It looked like Jon was trying to breathe through his mouth. They took off the vent and used the bag to try to dislodge a mucus plug. They didn't get it but did get it moved. The put the vent back on. They figured out that the paralytic medication was not getting to Jon in the proper amount at least for a brief time and it was allowing him to move. They got it corrected...They have also been in contact w/ the doctor on call. He said to move the oxygen to 70% and do a blood gas and then call him. The RT/nurse figured out that a tube on the vent was loose and that the pressure on the vent was wrong. Hopefully, with all of these things corrected, Jon's oxygen level will increase. It is so stressful to see Jon go through these ups and downs. I have gotten up and gone to the waiting room several times today...Please continue to pray for Jon to have a speedy, healthy recovery. It is remarkable, no matter your situation, be thankful for what God has given to you because as you look around, you will find that you have been given many blessings. Never count anything out when you have God on your side:)

6/4/09

Last night around 10 the nurse was giving Jon a bath and changing his sheets. They had Jon flat for about 30 minutes. When they sat him back up, his oxygen went down to about 87 and was not going up. They increased the oxygen to 70% and it still didn't go up. The doctor was next door getting a new patient situated so when he was finished he decided to do a bronchial scope. The doctor was able to get a lot of stuff out of Jon's lungs. After the procedure they had Jon's oxygen at 100%. By this morning his oxygen was already down to 50%. Jon's x-ray looked a little better today. Jon's white count was up a little bit today. The infectious disease doctor is also monitoring some of Jon's mucus. Some bacteria has grown on it, but everyone has bacteria so they are waiting to see if it turns into anything else. They also got Jon a vibrating bed. It vibrates and rotates. They will be able to use this for Jon's respiratory treatments. Jon's condition seems to change sometimes with his position. Jon's body fluid level is at 12. The normal level is 8-10. They are giving Jon medicine to help with this. Continue to pray for Jon's recovery. He is still very sick and has a long road ahead of him, but we have faith that he will continue to get stronger each day.

6/3/09

Jon has had a good day. His temperature is down to around 99. His oxygen level is good as well as his heart rate and blood pressure. His blood gasses were in the 90s today. Yesterday they were in the 60s. His xray was better. The doctor said that he was pleases with the change in the xray and that he is optimistic. Jon's white count is in the normal range now. God is once again answering our prayers one by one. The doctor wants Jon completely sedated and paralyzed today so that it allows his lungs to heal faster and he doesn't try to over breathe. When he is more aware his respirations go up. Earlier this morning he was less sedated and he raised his eye brow when I told him that I was here for the day. When I told his nurse that he was that aware and raising his eye brow at me he raised it again so I told Jon that I was going to sit down so that he would rest and get better. Please continue to pray for Jon's continued healing. He needs strength. We appreciate everyone's continued support and prayers.

PRAY! PRAY!PRAY!

Jon is very, very sick. The ARDS (Acute Respiratry Distress Syndrome--this is what Jon had earlier when he was so sick) and pneumonia are both affecting his lungs. The x-ray from today looked worse than yesterdays. Yesterday, there was only a small spot at the bottom of his right lung. Today, both lungs are cloudy. They have him completely sedated and paralyzed so that he is not breathing at all on his own. They want the ventilator to do all of the work. They do not want Jon to be coughing or anything. This is a VERY serious situation. The doctor told Mom that he is very concerned and that the next 24 hours are very important!

What we have to be thankful for: A nurse told Mom that they had seen lungs in worse shape and those people ended up fine. Also, Jon's white count is down today. They do have some room to make changes in his ventilator. It is set at 40% oxygen and the PEEP is at 10 so they have room to go if they need to. Before, the ventilator was at 100% oxygen, at least 15-20 on the PEEP, he had the ossilating ventilator, and nitric oxide...we are still better now than we were then...

PLEASE PRAY FOR JON AND THE DOCTORS AND NURSES TO KNOW HOW TO TREAT HIM APPROPRIATELY. WE ARE VERY WORRIED, YET VERY FULL OF FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE PRAY FOR JON! I CAN'T ASK IT ENOUGH TIMES.

Last night

Jon had a good night. His vitals were all good. His temperature was actually down to normal for a few hours during the night. Jon's respiration and heart rate did go up when they were taking his blood. They had to do this in an arterie and this is supposed to be painful. Not very much is draining from Jon's chest tube which is a good sign. I feel so repetitive but I also feel so strongly...prayer and God's will has gotten us this far--Please continue to pray for Jon.

6/1/09

The infectious disease doctor came today and said that Jon's white count was a little lower. They are pretty sure that he has pneumonia, but if he is not better in a day or two they will do a scope and see what is in his lungs. He might have a mucus plug in his right lung?? If he does, they will clean it out when they do the scope. His fever is down to around 100. They are keeping his antibiotic the same. They also told us that the small "cough" like things he was doing is actually not a cough at all; it is a bronchial spasm. They have Jon very sedated in order to allow him to rest and heal. They do not want him coughing or fighting much. It is also helping to keep his respiration rate down and his heart rate down. Please say an extra prayer or two for Jon (and the rest of our family) tonight or whenever you read this. Jon needs extra strength. He needs to fight this infection and have healthy lungs again. Thanks for all of your support. It means so much to us all...

This weekend

Late Saturday afternoon Jon was moved back to ICU at Specialty. He ended up with a collapsed lung and pneumonia. They have taken cultures to see if there is anything else going on. They also put Jon back on the ventilator and on light sedation. The sedative that they chose is a short acting sedative so it will not have to be weaned. They also inserted a chest tube. Once they had Jon settled in ICU he looked MUCH better. He was really having a hard time Saturday. They started him at 100% oxygen on the vent but by late evening they had it down to 60%. When we went back Sunday morning he was at 40%. His fever was down to about 101. The doctor was pleased with his breathing and said to turn the vent to pressure support which means that Jon is breathing on his own and the vent is only a back-up in case Jon doesn't breathe. The doctor said that he wished that his fever was gone. They also consulted with an infectious disease doctor to decide on the appropriate antibiotic. Jon had a really good day on Sunday. Although he was on a sedative, he was still awake for parts of the day. When we would talk to him, the "dazed" look seemed to be gone from his eyes. It was so good to see him this way. The doctor told us that Jon needs a period of medical stability--a period of time where he does not have an elevated heart rate, bp, respiration rate, pneumonia, etc...--so that he can focus on the neuro side of Jon's recovery. About 4 am on Monday, Jon woke up and was lightly feeling of the tubes around his neck. The nurse told him that he could feel of them but not to pull on them. She also told Jon that Mom and Dad would be back in a little while that they were sleeping. Near this time Jon's heart rate and respiration rate went up...(we think maybe he got nervous b/c Jon really doesn't like to be at the hospital) so they put him back on ventilator support and gave him some more sedation. Pray for a quick recovery from this minor set back, a time of medical stability for Jon and that the doctors and nurses have the knowledge to treat Jon in the best possible manner. Also, please pray that we can all continue to have strength. Prayer is such a powerful tool.