As most of you are aware I am not much of a facebook poster but I truly believe that facebook was designed for the reason in which I am about to use it. I know that most people are aware that my husband Brian was involved in a serious accident on Saturday, June 8th and was flown to Iowa City via helicopter. He was dx with several broken ribs, a broken collar bone, 3 compression fx to his vertebra and a collapsed lung. A chest tube was inserted to help inflate the lung and he was fitted for a turtle shell brace for the back fx. He appeared to be doing so well that the chest tube was removed just a few days later. We were anticipating his hospital dismissal on Monday, June 17th. On this day the doctor was not pleased with the xray as he believed that the lung still had a small hole and was leaking air and fluid into the chest cavity. A CT scan confirmed this and another chest tube was inserted. This was a very painful experience which was done at bedside and I was able to observe. I have to say that once again he was my hero as he endured this like a champ. On Tuesday morning he was up and about when he began to feel short of breath and felt an increase in his pain. He went back to bed and after discussing with the doctors we all believed that the pain was because the chest tube was laying up against a broken rib causing pain with his turtle shell brace on. He rested that afternoon and was determined that I should go home for the night and get some rest. I agreed to do so after he took his evening walk and ate supper. He decided to get up and eat early so he ordered meatloaf and mashed potatoes (he thinks the food isn’t too bad lol). As he was eating he told me that something wasn’t quite right and he was beginning to feel real “funny”. The nurse called the doctor as his vitals were beginning to jump all over the place. After running some test and conferring with a couple of other doctors it was decided that Brian should be moved to a different floor so that he could have his breathing assisted with a bipap machine. He was then transferred. He has a fairly restful night. A physical therapist and a respiratory therapist came in to get him up and moving the next morning after the doctors had been in. He is very determined to keep as active as possible to prevent blood clots and help shorten his recovery time. During the process of rolling him to get his new fashionable turtle shell brace on, his stats began to tumble downward very quickly. The rapid response team was called and it was determined that he needed to be transferred to the ICU unit for closer observation and the possibility of being put on a ventilator. While Brian, Jamie and I were all a bit scared, we gathered ourselves and told each other that we would see each other again in a few minutes. During the transfer from 8th floor to 5th floor Brian stats tumbled down even further and it became urgent to place him on a ventilator. After several hours and several tests of which I cant even remember what all they were it was determined that Brian had a large blood clot in his pulmonary artery which was blocking blood flow into and out of the lungs. He also had a blood clot in his heart and several others in his lower extremities. It was then quickly decided that there was a need to put a mesh type screen into his large artery in his groin area to prevent any of the blood clots in his legs from moving into other areas of his body such as the heart, lungs and brain. At this point in time Jamie and I were told that he was very, very ill and in critical condition. I could write a novel of the things that were discussed and reasons they were determined to not be viable in treating Brian’s condition so I won’t even begin to tell these things. I would probably not get them all right anyway as things were happening so fast I couldn’t keep up. Wednesday night was a long night and his vitals (when I talk of vitals I am talking about blood pressure, heart rate and so many other things that I cant even begin to name them all but one of the critical ones is the blood gases which shows the oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood) continue to be on a backward slide and he was still in critical condition. Thursday they continued to monitor all of the “vitals” and things were not getting any better but they weren’t declining as quickly as before. We felt we were in a holding pattern. On Thursday evening they had said they didn’t want us to stimulate him too much as they had him sedated while on the ventilator. Anyone that knows Brian knows that he would not be a fan of something stuck down his throat and would be very restless. It was at this time that Brian went into some type of heart arrhythmia. I can not honestly say what it was as I was and still am very much overwhelmed at everything that is happening but Brian “crashed”. The crash team responded very quickly and over the next 2+ hours he was treated by approximately 20 medical professionals and was “shocked” 11 times. The care that he received was outstanding and I cannot thank them enough for all that they did during this time and all of the other time that we have been here and will be here. During the night Brian’s heart again decided to give us some scares and he was then “shocked” another 5 times. During the day today, June 21, 2013 his condition has improved somewhat but not enough to feel comfortable. He is still on the vent and hooked up to 12 iv leads. He is very, very sick. I am thanking everyone for their emails, texts, phone calls, prayers and anything else that you have done. I have not been able physically or emotionally to answer these therefore the reason for me using email and facebook to update and thank everyone. I continue to ask for your prayers as I know God listens and God is Good! So say a prayer for Brian, my rock, life long friend and partner but also remember our daughter Jamie. She has had to endure more over the past 6 months than most. She has been a rock for me during this time and I love her more than anything in this world. Thanks again. God listen to our prayers.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 04:59:48 +0000