Prayers for My Hero

This is going to be as detailed as I can get in my exhausted, emotional state without being too much.

My brother, Jeffrey, has been in the hospital for eight days now.  As you may or may not know, Jeffrey is handicapped and has been through more trials in this life than anyone should have to endure.  Jeff has a smile that is contagious and a laugh that can make you lose your own breath in laughter.  He had a generalized seizure on Saturday the 13th while with our Mom and her husband.  They were shopping at W.al.mar.t and thankfully paramedics were shopping in that same store when 911 was called.  After they checked him, Mom decided to take Jeff to the ER of the hospital where she works.  They decided to admit him, and he's been there since.

In trying to determine the cause of the seizure, doctors found that Jeffrey has chronic mast.oiditis and fluid in his ears.  A lum.bar puncture was planned and happened last Tuesday (I think).  His proteins in his fluid were more than double of the high end of the normal range which is a sign of inflammation.  After infectious diseases ran a battery of tests on the spinal fluid, blood cultures & such, it was found that Jeff has no viral or bacterial issues that may have caused the seizures.  Therefore, a meni.ngial biopsy was then scheduled for last Thursday to determine the cause.  The surgery went extremely well & Jeff was scheduled to stay in the ICU for observation that night.  His poor head is bandaged like a nun's habit, but he was comfortable on pain meds and doing well.  Friday is went things went to crap.

The ICU doctor - who just so happened to be the doctor who saved Jeff's life twelve years ago when he was in the same hospital with a collapsed lung - was on the ICU floor when he noticed Jeff's oxygen didn't look good.  He determined that Jeffrey had an obstruction and within minutes, Jeff was sedated, his lungs suctioned for mucus, and placed on a ventilator.  He has been on it since (now over 48 hours).

Our hopes were that extubation would occur today, but when the respiratory team tried to wean him off the vent, Jeff's fragile lungs and body couldn't handle it.  They left him intubated, but even with the ventilator doing most of the work, Jeff's oxygen saturation was subpar.  Medical staffers finally got everything under control right around the time I got to the hospital.  When you have a mom that is a nurse, you follow her lead.  When things started going downhill, Mom got scared.  When I spoke with her by phone, I got scared.  Everyone got scared.  And we still are.

I know there are probably more details, but between working twelve hour days preparing to return to school tomorrow and worrying about Jeffrey, my world has been rocked.  I will ask for some specific prayers at this point, but general prayers for Jeff's healing will be gladly cherished as well.

Specifics:
Pray that Jeffrey can be extubated and his lungs will function independently.
Pray that biopsy results return with a cause of the seizure that can be easily treated.
Pray for my more than tired Mom who has spent all but a few hours one night in the hospital with Jeff.
Pray for the continued wisdom and caring of the medical staff caring for Jeff.
Pray for comfort and peace for our entire family and for all who love my brother (which is MANY).