My Sweet Brother

The email from my mom earlier today:

Title: Progress

Drs. Q (pulmonary) & M (neurosurgeon) have been by. Dr. Q says there has been improvement but left lung is still full of fluid so in a few minutes he is going to do another bronchoscopy (tube down to the lungs to clean them out) and more treatment/observation. Don't expect extubation today but moving in the right direction. In the last 24 hrs, meds & treatment have pulled off 6 liters of fluids which helps get rid of secretions. Jeff's color is better & he is mostly resting due to drugs. He is not in any distress, vital signs are great & heart rhythm is great. Dr. M is just waiting for extubation now.

You can't imagine how your prayers, thoughts, support have held us all. If ever you need us or the strength you have given us, we want to be there for you as well. Wishing each of you a great day and great health. Again thank you & love to all.  ~ Jeff's Family

:)

It still shakes me to my core that we could've lost him on Sunday.  Ugh.  After six liters of fluid being pulled yesterday, another two liters were pulled from his body today.  Holy crap.  Can you imagine????  I went by the hospital after work and was happy to see that Jeffrey looks much better than he did Sunday.  When I got there, I took Jeffrey's hand, kissed it and told him I was there.  He immediately signed, "bye-bye."  I told him as soon as he got better that we would go bye-bye.  Neurological intact?  CHECK.

I told my mom and Rick to go downstairs and get some dinner while I hung out with my lil brudder.  We interacted most of the time they were gone, but Jeff did not open his eyes due to the sedation he is still receiving.  We talked about his bag (those of you who know Jeffrey at all know about that damn bag), a large teddy bear the caretakers from his home & work brought him, and talked about bye-bye, medicine and the bag again.  He reached for his face, so I released his restraints.  Jeffrey touched the ventilator tube and straps across his face.  I told him all of that was to help him feel better and they'd be gone soon.  Before he had the chance to try and pull it all, I clipped the restraints back down.  He isn't FULLY restrained, but enough to where he can't do any damage.

Jeff did cough a few times which set off alarms. Thankfully, I was aware of this but it's hard to stay calm when you see red alarms flashing, hear loud alarms beeping, and look at the hero of your life turning red in the face.  Add to that the nun's habit looking bandaging on his head, about six to eight bags of IV stuff with their pumps, a huge machine pumping air into his lungs, compression sleeves connected to air tubes on his legs, a simple blood pressure cuff, the numbers on every single monitor, and all the sounds & smells of an ICU . . . it can be just a tad scary.

The sweetest part of my alone time with Jeffrey was when I handed him his "toy" (teddy bear).  I signed toy and told him aloud that he had a toy.  We felt the soft fabric fur, touched his eyes and nose, and then - instinctively - Jeff started to pet the bear and stroke its fur.  He has the sweetest heart, and that made me love him even more than I thought was possible.

We hope for extubation tomorrow or Thursday and pray that Jeff's lungs and body can handle it.  We are all ready to have our man back, and that would be a big step.  Today was the first time I felt like my brother might survive this, and I'm going to ride that feeling as long as I can.

Keep fighting, Jeffrey.  You have so much love to give you strength and prayers from SO MANY that are letting God know we love you, too.  Thanks - as always - for your prayers.