Greg Covid - Day 16 -- Tracheostomy Surgery Tomorrow!

I spoke with Greg's nurse early this morning and he had a good night.  HIs temperature was hovering right around 101.  She changed his vent settings and he seemed to tolerate it a little better.   His peep was down to 8, which was good.  The vent is at 60% and on CPAP mode again.  He seems to be doing a lot better with that.    

I spoke with his doctor around 1:15 p.m., but after about a minute or so of conversation, suddenly I heard a lot of commotion in the background and I heard someone say "he coded."  Then Greg's doctor said "he coded?"  He then told me that there was an emergency and he had to go and would call me back.  He called back about 25 minutes later and let me tell you that those were the LONGEST 25 minutes of my life!   I was trying to work and pray that it wasn't Greg, and that if it was that he'd be OK, and if it wasn't that whoever it was would be OK.    When the doctor called me back I immediately asked if it was Greg and he said no, and then I asked if the person who did was OK and he said yes, he is OK.  So, praise God that everyone was OK after that scare!   

His surgery has been rescheduled for 10:45 a.m., and I will be at the hospital to speak with the doctor when the surgery is done.  Unfortunately, I was told today that Greg cannot be tested again for Covid until 20 days from first diagnosis, so he can't be tested again until Monday, which means that I will not be able to see him tomorrow.   I'm pretty bummed about that, but there is nothing I can do about it.  

The next news the doctor gave me was that they have decided NOT to give Greg the PEG (feeding) tube tomorrow.  I asked why and he said that they believe Greg will be able to recover enough to eat on his own at this point without needing a feeding tube!  I was a little leery, so I asked him point blank:  "or, does it mean that you don't think he'll make it, so why bother with the feeding tube?"  He immediately assured me that if they didn't think he was going to make it, they wouldn't even do the trach."  So, that is good news!  All the prayers are working!  

I'm starting to look at long-term care facilities, and there are a few in the Colby-Abbotsford area that are in-network with our insurance, so I'll start doing some investigating and impromptu visits so I can get him in the best facility possible when the time comes.  

So, that's the update for today.  Greg is holding steady and I'm praying that once he's got the trach he'll really start turning around.  He doesn't like the vent and "fights" it when they try to turn the anesthesia down, and doesn't breathe properly and his blood pressure goes up, so with the trach, he'll be a lot more comfortable, and they'll be able to reduce his anesthesia and he'll start getting better and better!  

Today's picture of Greg is one that just cracks me up!  This is one from an old photo album, so I had to take a picture of it with my cell phone.  It wasn't the best quality to begin with, but it's still a pretty awesome pic! 

Before we were married (I think about 1985 or so), we were tent camping in one of Wisconsin's beautiful State Parks (I don't remember which one).  Greg always had really bad allergies prior to his transplant (thanks, Tommy for not having allergies!) and if you know Greg, you know that to this day, he always has a farmer hankie with him.  At the time of this pic, Greg and I were playing frisbee, and his hankie was getting, uhm, shall we say ucky, so he tied it on the power line thingee to dry out and would walk over there to blow his nose whenever he needed to!  He's such a goofball!  Is it any wonder I fell in love with him?  

Please continue your prayers for Greg!  Please pray that his surgery goes well tomorrow, without any complications.  Pray for a good night for him tonight, and pray that his fever comes down.