I never liked riding roller coasters; however, I do like watching kids climb a tree. There are risks doing either activity, but most normal thinking people will not try to do both at the same time.....
The decision to NOT give Lee a Dialysis treatment yesterday turned out differently than expected.
To make a long list of (fist-clenching, nail-biting, blood pressure-raising) events throughout the day short, the bottom line is, by the time they decided to start the dialysis treatment, the treatment line was booked, and Lee had to wait until Saturday after 1300. The two hours prior to 1300 were filled with various examples of the events from the first sentence.
Up until all the dipping number trends began (about 1845 Friday), Lee was stable and steady, and then..........
and then, .......
and then, ........
It took an x-ray (taken at noon Saturday) to verify what a couple of the folks were thinking: all of his airways are clear, nothing is clogged, his blood is doing well, yet his saturation levels were tanking. Must be......
Turns out his lungs were slowly filling with fluid, and the extra time since his last dialysis (Wed) was enough to put him into an uncomfortable position. The extra work for Lee to breath created a small panic attack mode, and so they had to give Lee a sedative in order for him to relax enough to let the machine do its work, and get his body caught up with the rest of the program.
At the time dialysis started, his ventilator numbers were raised to get his body back into "good air" mode, and to make sure his numbers got back to normal. Once the results of today's Dialysis treatment have been establish, they will begin to wean him back off the extra ventilator support. He has come so far so quickly, this is a step or two in reverse out of dozens forward. Just trying to get things back into balance before getting back on the tracks.
On another note; When Lee is awake, he is aware of many things, but he is just not able to respond in a fashion that adults can understand. If you know a child learning to speak, bring the baby along, as that may be the best way to translate. Seems all of the adults in the room have lost the ability to read lips...hand gestures are still a piece of cake, but he can only move his left hand a certain distance; not very useful for the polite emphasis he wants to convey.
For those of you who really like a challenge, take your turn at the little picture board. There is a consensus that the evil powers have finally found a device that the visiting engineers can not crack. Bring a 6-year old along to solve this puzzle.
Also, when you enter the room, try not to be noticeably disappointed that Nanette is not here (no big sighs, grunts or rolling eyes). In order for her to work for five days in a row, without food, water, bathing and my tender loving touch, we have to send her home to plug back into the sensory deprivation tank. (Okay, she does have to pick up dog poop first.) If it is not entirely obvious who else is in the room, I will be the strikingly handsome NOT-NAKED Ogre sitting in the darkened corner, keeping track of your every move with my fake tapping noise on the glowing red device in my lap.
(Note, Lee was secretly jealous of my fancy facial hair, so we did find a pay-stub to the shaving nurse with the note, "Thanks for making me look so good.....Now it will be Gregg's turn to be jealous."
Eternal Vigilance
שבח יהוה
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