John's having a pretty rough time right now. Yesterday afternoon they switched from the regular mask to a BiPap machine that has a tight fitting mask and forces oxygen into his lungs. That seemed to help, but he is still struggling to breathe. When his nurse had to take him off of it for less than a minute for him to take some pills, his oxygen saturation levels dropped very quickly. I spoke with her this morning and the good news is that he was on a 50% suppplement level on the machine when he started, and they have been able to turn that back to 40% and still keep his oxygen saturation levels where they want them. He is still struggling very hard to breathe, though, and she doesn't think that he got any sleep at all. She mentioned to him that she was going to take it off for a minute to take his pills and he shook his head no, that he didn't want to do that since breathing is so hard without it. They did take another chest xray this morning but the nurse didn't have the results of that yet. We still don't know if this is pneumonia, some other infection, or fluid in the chest cavity but whatever it is it sure is hard for him. They are doing a great job of monitoring him at least, and maybe today we will have some more improvement. They have put him on another antiobiotic in case it is an infection or pneumonia. They are going to have to figure out a way to get him some nutrition, though, as he really hasn't been able to take in anything except for a few sips of liquids since Sunday night. Not sure what the plan is for that either.
Please pray for improvement in his breathing, as this has been a real trial for him. We are trying to keep our visits with him to a minimum as he is so exhausted, just a few minutes at a time. Thanks for all of the support.
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I'm glad to hear that they're able to wean him off the O2 a bit. That's good news. I imagine he is exhausted, having to struggle with the breathing. But, I do take comfort in the thought that this is what those people do for a living, day in and day out, and they'll figure this out quickly. There are a hundred different ways to treat complications post-tx, and they will find John's solution. My prayers continue, as always, for the both of you!!! Love, Jo Ellen
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