Brother & Sister Time, Update for 9.5.11

Day 23 in the hospital, Day 18 in the ICU.

I spent several hours at the hospital today just hanging out with my brother.  I hadn't seen him since Thursday night, and I really missed him.  Thankfully Rick stayed at the hospital last night & Mom went home and slept for 13 hours straight.  It was her second night sleeping at home in over three weeks.  Sleeping in chairs (not reclining chairs) isn't the most restful, comfortable sleep for anyone.  However, being the awesome Mom she is, she refuses to leave the hospital.

Jeffrey looked good today and seems to prefer the trach to being intubated.  I don't blame him.  He was very interactive with me today, asking (signing) about his bag, his toy, work, and more.  I slathered lip stuff on his lips in hopes they will get some moisture.  I irritated him and wiped his face with a wet washcloth.  I charged his iPod.  Not much else I can do, unfortunately.  Jeff wanted to hold my hand almost the entire time I was there & I was more than happy to do it.  If I offered him my left hand, he pushed it away and grabbed for my right hand.  So maybe he's a little rotten now!  :)  After Mom got there, I became the evil sister and Jeff didn't want much to do with me.  Yes, rotten!

Since I had my left hand free, I sneaked a quick shot of this:

Obviously taken before Mom showed up and turned me to chopped liver.

Jeff will have a cat scan of his chest tomorrow to see if there are any other abnormalities or issues.  His left lung is still not fully inflating as it should be, and doctors want to see if they are missing anything.  Depending on what the scan shows, they may/may not start the weaning process to get him off the vent.  Jeff is not on any other medications other than an NG tube for nutrition (can't eat or drink yet) and a saline drip.  He did get some potassium through his picc line and after a percussion treatment and suction, he requested medicine and got one unit of morphine.

All in all, progress is very very very slow.  We'd love to just get him out of that bed and take him outside or give him a Coke to drink, but that can't happen until he can breathe on his own.  I just want him to be better, and we're all praying like crazy for that to happen.  Thanks for your continued prayers for my brother.  If you'd like to leave a note for Jeff and/or Mom in the comments, I will get it to them.