LR Update - 3/9/10

It's been a few days since I've had both the time and energy (at the same time) to post something, so here we go. I'll try to keep it brief, but you know me!

My last post was Saturday night, when we weren't able to go see him all day. Loren and Carolyn were there and Jared, April and Angela (known hereafter as JA&A) were on their way. They wanted to come earlier in the day, but April couldn't find anyone to work her shift, so they didn't leave Utah until after 10:00 PM that night. Kids these days!

On Sunday morning, Loren and Carolyn and family left to go home. Jill and Jared's Sacrament Meeting starts at 2 PM, so we thought we would go see LR before church. Rhonda and Dad left for the hospital and I got ready for church and followed them. It was pouring rain all day, which made everything more complicated. So much for fixing your hair for church!

When I got inside I saw that JA&A had finally arrived after driving all night. They had been there for a couple of hours but couldn't find anyone to help them get in to see their dad. Rhonda's cell phone hasn't been working very well and some nurses wouldn't let her take it into LR's ICU room with her, so contacting her can be difficult. We took our turns going in to see him (remember, only two at a time, and you have to get all suited up first). The doctor said that they might try to let him start waking up on Monday, so that was good news. I was sad that we were leaving Monday morning, but he probably doesn't need a lot of excitement when he first opens his eyes anyway.

We figured we needed 45 minutes to get to church, but just when we were getting ready to leave, one of the doctors showed up, this time the kidney specialist. He said that LR's kidney function has continued to improve, which is good. Then we had just started out the door again when the couple from LR and Rhonda's ward who were bringing her car to her showed up. Of course we had to stop and talk to them for a few minutes. We were finally rushing out into the rain with about 20 minutes until church time when we got on the freeway and found it at a standstill. A major pileup had occurred, three wrecked cars probably 100 feet off the freeway and one on its roof. After creeping along the freeway for a half hour, we dropped JA&A at Jill and Jared's place to get some rest and made it to church for the last half hour of Sacrament Meeting. Well, we tried to get there on time! I hope not partaking of the sacrament didn't cancel out our fast! (JK)

After the meetings we went back to Jill and Jared's place to cook dinner, and eat it, and relax a bit. Rhonda and I decided to go back to hospital to get her car (we had left it there when we left for church) and so I could see him once more before I have to leave town the next day. We didn't bother calling for permission, we just showed up! We found out the night before what happens when you ask for permission! LR looked pretty much the same as he did that morning. His blood pressure numbers looked really strange to Rhonda and I. They were in the range of 85/75. (85 over 75), and the top number would occasionally drop below 80, and an alarm would start beeping. No one else seemed worried, though. Finally when we were leaving we talked to the nurse on duty, and she said it was from the heavy sedation he was under. She said that they had to increase the dosage to keep him calm. We sure hoped it was okay.

On Monday morning, JA&A left for home before I got up. A few hours later, Dad and I got on the road for home, too. Rhonda told me that when she got to the hospital Monday morning, the plans for bringing LR out of the sedation were canceled. One of his lungs had partially collapsed. The doctor said that they would have to wait and see if it didn't re-inflate itself. Not a happy prospect! I guess these things are like that ... two steps forward, one step back.

When I called Rhonda this morning, though, they had just stopped the sedation and it was wakey wakey time! As I spoke to her, he opened his eyes. I called again this afternoon, and she said that he had been basically fading in and out of consciousness all day. This morning the oxygen they were giving him was at 35 percent. Twice today they tried to get him to breathe on his own, but he couldn't do it. He still had the ventilator down his throat so he couldn't talk, and a few times his throat got clogged, but he motioned to Rhonda that he couldn't breathe, so they cleared him out. His blood oxygen level dropped a bit after the breathing-on-your-own fun was over, so they had to boost his oxygen back up to 40 percent. They will try again tomorrow, and when he can manage it, they will take out the ventilator.

LR's blood pressure has been a little higher than it should be while he's been off the sedation, but I'm sure he's feeling a lot of stress over his situation.

Another thing -- Rhonda said that when she told him I had been there, his blood pressure took a little jump. Good news or bad?! Happiness or dread? :-)

I've already decided that I'm going back to see him. I can't this weekend because Jill is going to be here (Jacob's spring break) but I definitely must go back and see how high I can get his blood pressure going! (Just kidding!)

That's it for now. Many, many thanks to all the friends and family for your fasting and prayers.