Joye's Update 7/16/08

Andrew had sort of a hard day today. It began with a headache last night that would just not go away . . . even throughout the night and early morning. He woke up very tired this morning, but still began his wean and he also got up in his chair early as well. He had physical therapy at 10am and then I met him at his tetra topics class (tetra stands for tetraplegia which is essentially what he has . . . also known as quadriplegia). The moment I saw him I knew by the look in his eyes that he was not pushing enough C02 out. His eyes get very glassy and you can tell he's just not tracking very well. I immediately took him out of class and got him back to his room to have his respiratory therapist check his numbers. His C02 level was very high, but he wanted to keep going on his wean for a while longer. We went to an electronics meeting where they showed us all the electronic gadgets available for Andrew. He will be able to turn on and off the TV, turn channels, open and close the front door, turn on a light or a fan, and even use the telephone. It's amazing what they have. By the time we were finished with all of that, Andrew was beyond tired so I took him back to his room to get him back into bed. His lung doctor examined him and decided to put him back on the vent for the rest of the day to give him a chance to relax those breathing muscles. She said the biggest reason patients begin to hold on to C02 is simply muscle fatigue, so we shouldn't look on this as a failure or a sett back, but rather a necessary activity that needs to happen every once in a while. She felt certain he'd be much better tomorrow. I'm sure the rest will do him good and he'll be ready to begin again tomorrow. Due to the circumstances we weren't able to study another healing scripture today . . . but I'm sure we'll be able to continue tomorrow. Please pray for Andrew to regain strength and resume his weaning regimen. Good Night and God Bless. Joye