The news from ICU

This week has been rough going for both Mom and Dad. The cultures from Dad's urine came back + for MRSA so that has meant big gun antibiotics and contact isolation- anyone who enters the room must gown and glove. He will continue on antibiotics for one more week then will be cultured when he has been off antibiotics for 2 weeks and again at 3 weeks. If he gets 2 negative tests he will be removed from isolation.

Also, Dad has been on food and fluid restrictions due to the aspiration pneumonia. He has only been allowed one spoonful of ice every 20 minutes- crazy-making for all involved!  Although, this restriction looks to be loosening a bit as Dad passed a swallow eval this morning and has been approved for thickened liquids and his ice chip allotment has been increased to 1/2 cup per hour. They will do a more thorough swallow eval next week to see if they can return him to food food. The speech therapist and mom have both noticed more mouth engagement so reading his lips is getting a bit easier ( as in no longer impossible).

Weaning continues to be a mixed report. They have started weaning him again but he is not pulling the big numbers like before. He managed about 5 hours on Thursday and Friday-with those hours being divided into 2 sessions during the day. The Head of Pulmonology, Dr Scott, said that Dad's phrenetic nerve- the nerve that innervates the diaphragm, is still not engaging and that its repair and return of use is a "waiting game".

Insurance approval is again a player. The initial reply from insurance is that he is not allowed to return to LTAC (meaning the Drake unit where he has been for the past 7 months) and an alternate facility must be found. Dr Scott said that it is common for insurance companies to initially take a "short term and negative first look at a patient" when making decisions. We continue to pray for God to place him in the best possible facility (right now we trust that that is Drake) and are trying our hardest to look backward at all of the times logistical details have been worked out to our amazement, instead of fretting about the future. Much easier said than done.