Greg Covid - Day 7

Well, today's news is good and bad.  I spoke with Greg's nurse at about 7 a.m. today and Greg had some issues with his oxygenation overnight and his lungs were working too hard and his carbon dioxide levels were too high.  You may recall that yesterday I indicated that he did some of his own breathing, but only lasted about an hour.  Later on, because of the oxygenation issues, the vent had to go from 50 to 60 to 70, and then went back down to 50%.   His nurse (Michael) stated that this is not uncommon.  He is starting to wake up more, as they only have him on one sedative now.  He was moving his arms a bit and trying to open his eyes.  He is receiving nourishment via an Ng tube (nose to stomach), which he is tolerating (and having bowel movements!), which will give him more energy and calories and proteins to fight and get over this stressful period. 

At about 8:30 a.m., I spoke with his doctor.  I hadn't spoken to a doctor since Thursday or Friday, so while I appreciate everything the nurses are telling me, I really wanted to talk to the doctor, too.  She said that he has been having low oxygen episodes.  His O2 was in the low 90's.  They usually want it above 90 and he is staying borderline 90, 91, 92 with the vent.  The vent settings were pretty good until yesterday, and they thought they may have been able to extubate him in the next three or four days. 

This morning, his O2 stats dropped to the 70's on their own, so he had to go up to 100% oxygen on the vent.  They did a workup for infection, blood clots, a CT of his chest and CT of his legs.  She said his CT of the lungs doesn't look "terrible."  (English is not her first language, and I recall hearing the word terrible before, so I'm thinking this is just her way of saying it's not horrible, but it's not the greatest, either.)   She said that his oxygenation is just not the point that we are "relieved", meaning getting better and breathing on his own.  She said "we are not to that point yet."  I received another call from the doctor around 6 tonight, and the scans of his legs are not showing any clots, except a very old one.  So that is good news.  They still have him on a higher dose of blood thinners, just to be safe and prevent clots.  He has a slight fever, but that could be because his body is fighting an infection, either Covid or a bacterial infection.  His urinalysis is not back yet, and they won't have that until tomorrow.  The doctor said that "his markers tell us infection is improving and the bacterial pneumonia (that I didn't even realize he had) is getting better, but his lungs are not strong enough to have those volumes back for normal saturation levels."  

He is definitely doing better than they ever thought he would considering how sick he was when he was brought in and all his underlying issues.  They really didn't think he'd ever be able to breathe on his own, but again, that is partially based on what they know of other patients with issues like his.  What they didn't know was that they were dealing with Iron Man!  They are going to flip him on his stomach again overnight and she expects his oxygen and saturation levels to improve, like last time.  He was heading, and still is heading in the right direction, but things can always change, as Covid is very unpredictable.  She does still think that if he continues on the upswing like he was, they will be able to remove the vent in a few days.  

We need to continue to pray as hard as ever for Greg.  I know this is just a minor setback, and those are to be expected, but this is hitting me kind of hard, and I'm having a hard time dealing with this, even though it's not horrible news, and Greg is still on the upswing.  I just need to get my head in the right place.   In my heart, I know God is doing miraculous things for Greg and is healing him, but the devil keeps trying to dance in my head.  Every time I start to get this way, I just tell the devil to go away and start saying "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" over and over, and I start to feel better, because there's no room for the devil when Jesus is at home in my head and heart!  It didn't help that we got another letter from the SSS, which I'm not going to get into here or on Facebook, because I'm not going to waste one iota of energy on false accusations and an illiterate understanding of the law.  It does help that I'm back working, because it keeps my mind occupied, and I'm so busy right now, I hardly have time to think about anything but work when I'm at work, and that's a good thing!  Soon enough, Greg will be back here at home.  I know God is at work doing miraculous things for Greg.  

This picture is Greg at the Opera House in Sydney, Australia.  We were just getting started on our tour and all wore headphones so we could listen to the tour guide.  There were rehearsals going on in some of the various rooms, so we had to keep quiet and this was the best way to be able to listen to our guide. 

In case anyone is interested, I did find a place for all the dog poo in the "back 40" on our property!  LOL  And both nurses that I spoke with (Nicole and Michael) thanked me for the goodies I brought in yesterday.  I think, even when Greg is back home, we will do that at least monthly, as long as this horrible Covid is still happening.  We want them to know they are not forgotten and are appreciated! 

Mom and I were finally able to be tested this morning.  This was the first time I was ever tested, and they must have improved it a bit, as the swab was not shoved all the way up to my eyeballs!  LOL  It wasn't uncomfortable at all, so that was a relief.  We should get our results sometime tomorrow.  I'm wondering if I can be tested to see if I have the antibodies, because I had what I thought was bronchitis about three weeks ago, and a terrible head cold, but maybe I had a mild case of Covid?  If I have the antibodies, then we know I had it at some point.  I don't recall any other times that I was actually sick with something like that in the last two years.  

Kris and Mike B. were here today while I was working.  Kris visited with mom while Mike cut our grass and I was busy working.  Mike did a great job, as always!  I was planning on only working until 3:30, but ended up working until 4 to get some stuff completed, and I just missed them!  I was bummed I didn't have a chance to thank them in person!  It was very sweet of Kris to come with and spend some time with mom!  She really doesn't get many visitors, so that was a sweet treat for her!  They also left a bunch of home grown spaghetti squash (a favorite of ours!), a zucchini (going to make zucchini bread) and even some fresh raspberries!  How sweet was that!  Oh, and I also talked to our Pastor Joe last night about getting a small group together to help organize the garage and he is looking into that for me.  If anyone reading this wants to volunteer, I won't say no!  LOL

So that's about it for now.  Your prayers are much appreciated!  

Love, Peace and Prayers to all, 

Julie