Greg Covid - Day 14 I kind of "talked" to Greg last night!

 I spoke with Greg's nurse, Julie, last night.  I really like her!  She's very sweet and easy to talk to.  Greg is doing OK, but they had to turn on norepinephrine for his blood pressure, because it was getting quite low.  They turned on around 5:30.  She said they can run a very low dose through a regular IV, but if you start running it higher, there is risk of damaging the vessel.  Doctors talked it over and decided to put a central line in again at around 7 p.m.  They will assess and make sure that he doesn’t need the norepinephrine any more before removing it.  Otherwise, no significant change today.  He vent is on PRVC mode, which allows for different settings, as opposed to spontaneous mode.  He was having a little more difficulty breathing, so they decided to keep him on this mode and increased sedation a little to help him relax more.  Right now his rate on the vent is 18 and his respiratory rate is 24-25, so he still breathing over the vent, but not in the 40’s. 

His temperature is still fluctuating, so he is still on Tylenol.  Currently at 102.4.  "We have seen a trend with covid patienst having very fluctuating temps.  It varies greatly."  They also turned the temperature down in his room to help keep him cool .  

Otherwise, things are all right.  It would be better if he didn’t need the blood pressure meds due to low blood pressure.   It’s still going to be a long process and he's going to have some ups and downs.  This is something that we see and sometimes the down will take several days of being down before he starts back up again.  It can really vary a lot.  Every patient is different. 

When I started talking to Julie about how hard it is to not be able to see him, or hold his hand, or even talk to him, she suggested that she could call me from Greg's room and prop the phone next to his ear so I could talk to him.  So, ten minutes later, she called me back and I spent 15 minutes talking to Greg, telling him how much I love him and how much we all need him to fight and get better, because we need him home, his kids need him home, the dogs (Mater especially) need him home.  I told him that there were hundreds and hundreds of people praying for him and that Jesus was sitting right there with him and breathing his life-giving breath into his lungs.  I don't know if he could hear me or not, but I'm praying he did.  As expected, I was a blubbering fool for most of the conversation. 

I spoke to Nurse Martin before church today and Greg was pretty much the same.  The vent is at 55%, which is not too bad.  He didn't really have much more to say.  

Today's picture is from when we hiked through the Dells of the Eau Claire a few years back, well probably about ten years back.   

Greg Covid - Day 12

 I spoke with Greg's nurse and doctor around 11:30 this morning.  The nurse didn't tell me too much, but said the doctor wanted to talk to me and the doctor was right there.  So of course, I'd rather talk to the doctor!  

Basically, he is doing quite stable from overnight to today.  He is on 60% oxygen and had no major fevers overnight, but his temp is still hanging right above 100.  He is still requiring the support on the vent, which requires sedation.  They tried to wind down the sedation today, but he was not very comfortable and was breathing fast on the vent, so they had to turn it back up.   They will try again tomorrow.   

With regard to the IVIG, they are going to contact his immunologist on Monday.  If there is no contraindication, they will restart it.  He is being given steroids to decrease his immune response and Covid in the later phase is a hyper-immune state, so we are trying to suppress the immunities here and protect the lungs.  "We don’t know what’s the benefit and harm because of the lack of research" which is why they want to speak with the immunologist.  This makes sense to me, so I don't mind waiting to see what the immunologist thinks.  If this is something that could help Greg, maybe it's also something that could help other people?    

In terms of delirium, he is not agitated today, which is good.  We will continue what we are doing and try to avoid any other complications being on the vent.  They did repeat cultures of his sputum to ensure there is no infection of the breathing tube.  Greg is already on Vancomycin, so he’s on good coverage.   He will call if anything changes, but Greg is pretty stable. 

So, it was a good night and a good day so far.  I plan on calling again after their 7 p.m. shift change, so probably around 8:30 or so.   I know they will call me if anything starts getting worse, so I'm pretty comfortable with things right now.  

I spent the day getting a lot of work done around the house.  First was a trip to the dump with this week's garbage, and some extra stuff that needed to be gone.  When I came home, I decided that while it was still nice outside, I'd get some outside work done and spent about 4-5 hours working out there.  Mom came over and washed the dishes that I had, which wasn't much, but still needed to get done.  I cleaned up the deck and got it ready for winter, putting the table umbrella away in the garage, tipping the table on it's side and moving it close to the garage, putting stuff away in the deck box, moving and covering Greg's grill and generally just cleaning stuff up and putting stuff away for winter.  I also cleaned a bunch of stuff up in the garage and did some work in the chicken coop, adding fresh bedding and scraping down their roosts, etc.  I also got some other stuff put away in mom's shed and took the trailer for the lawn mower and put it away for the winter behind mom's shed, under some heavy plastic.  

While I was working outside, our neighbors, Mike and Sue came over, having just found out what was happening with Greg, and asked if I needed any help with anything, which was very sweet.  Erica and Robby stopped over as well, which was nice, too. 

Erica also went to the store and bought a boatload of stuff from her, Robby, Abby, Aaron and Rachel to take to the nurses in the Covid ICU.  She got them things like Powerade, trail mix, hair ties, hand lotion, gum, mints, candy, chips, popcorn, hot cocoa packets, etc. and included a card thanking them for everything they're doing.  Seeing as she delivered that today, I probably will wait until later in the week to bring another box of goodies for them.  We really want them to know how much we appreciate everything they are doing, not just for Greg, but for all their patients!  They deserve it, and so much more!  

I've got dinner cooking right now, and it's actually the first real meal that I've cooked since Greg was admitted.  I just haven't been very hungry, and did not want to cook any sort of normal meal.  I made a stuffed chicken breast that I got at Tower Chicken in Milwaukee last year, (Greg is not a huge fan of them), and an acorn squash that I bought before Kris and Mike gave me a bunch of spaghetti squash and a baked potato.  Should be a nice meal.  I'm saving the steaks that are in the freezer for when Greg comes home, because he loves a nice thick medium rare steak more than anything!  

Please continue your prayers for Greg.  While he's doing well, we really need to see some improvements start happening.  I know, I know.  Baby steps.  But at least one baby step forward is something I really need to hear!  

Today's picture of Greg is another "selfie" that he took in the elevator at the Royal on the Park hotel we stayed at in Brisbane!  He's such a goof!   (Helpful hint:  click on the picture to see a bigger version!)

Take care, everyone.  Love, Peace and Prayers, 

Julie 

Greg Covid - Day 11

Kind of a long update because I spoke with hospital staff three times today.  Not because there was anything bad, but I was starting to slip into a bit of depression, and I just needed to be reassured that Greg was OK.

 I spoke with Greg's nurse, Maureen early this morning and she said that Greg had a good night and she didn’t make many changes to anything.  She had to go up a little bit on oxygen, from 50 to 60%.  His breathing didn’t change, but  his oxygen saturation was dropping, so they had to go up.  She was not sure why that happened.  His temp most of the night was between 100 and 100.4.  His sedation had been turned up, but she was able to turn it down and he was doing fine.  She said they may continue to reduce his sedation.   

Just after lunch, I spoke with Greg's nurse, Martin.  He said that Greg was having an OK day.    His vent was up to 70 when he got there, but it's now down to 60, and while we were talking, the respiratory therapist was there, and turned it down to 55%.  The took three cultures today, because Greg is still battling some sort of infection.  He had a central line because of the blood pressure meds, but I never knew that.  The took that central line out today and are just using two regular IVs.   Martin said they took it out just in case there’s an infection in the line.  He called it infection “risk mgmt.”.   Greg had a new chest x-ray taken this morning, and it's still pretty much the same as the last one.   Martin said that Greg is pretty comfortable looking and doesn’t seem to be working too hard to breathe.  Martin had him almost in a sitting-type position today and he seemed comfortable with that, too.  He also shaved him, which I thought was very nice.   

They also did an echocardiogram of his heart today and are looking at the valves to make sure there’s not an infected heart valve.   I don't have those results yet.   

At about 5 p.m., the doctor called me.   She asked me how I was doing, and I said I was doing kind of OK, but seeing as the doctors only call me when there's bad news, I was a bit worried.  She very quickly assured me that there was no bad news and she just wanted to update me on Greg.

Greg is stable.  He is not improving, but he is not getting worse, which is good.  He is not requiring more oxygen which is good.  We want to find the source of infection, which is why he’s on broad spectrum antibiotics.   The vent is on a more supportive mode at night, which means he's breathing more on his own.  They will continue to try to decrease support every day to see how he is doing, so basicaly, they want to wean a little bit more and more each day.   She said it's good news that he’s doing the same as yesterday and that it may take a little longer for him because of his diaphragm.  He has covid pneumonia, which also causes longer periods of intubation.  

I asked the doctor about giving Greg the antibodies of someone who had covid, and she said that they can only try the antibodies if they are not very sick.  Obviously, that's not Greg.  

I also spoke to the doctor about Greg's IVIG treatment.  That's the human immune globulin treatments that I give Greg every week.  It has kept him from getting sick for the last three years.  Immune Globulin comes from people who donate plasma.  Greg's infusions are, very simply, other people's antibodies to help keep him from getting sick because of his compromised immune system.   If Greg has an infection or something like that, wouldn't his IVIG infusions help fight that?  The doctor didn't seem to think so, because covid is a virus, but I'm pretty darn sure that anything that can possibly help boost his immune system can help him fight this horrible virus!  It's part of his normal medications, so he should receive it, just like all his other normal medications.  The doctor is going to speak with the rest of the team and see what they think.  As far as I'm concerned, if they can't provide me with a darn good reason as to why he should not receive his infusion, then he is going to get the infusion, whether they think it will help or not.   

It's now almost midnight and I've spoken to Greg's night nurse Julie.  He is still about the same.  His O2 is at 92%, which is good, and his blood pressure is still good.  So, while he is still the same, this is good news, because he's not getting worse or going backwards. 

Please continue your prayers for Greg!   

For tonight's picture, I'm posting one of the two of us together, kind of!  For years, when Greg would take video, if he walked past a mirror, he'd wave and say "hi."  He began doing that with still pictures too, and if he was looking at his shadow on the ground, he'd wave.  It became a running joke.  In the picture below, I am walking on the beach of the Coral Sea at night in Port Douglas.  It's a fuzzy picture because it's dark out and all he has is his cell phone, but you can clearly see his shadow waving!  Ha, ha!  

 

Greg Covid - Day 10 Steady as She Goes

 I spoke with Greg's nurse, Maureen, at around 5:15 this morning.  Greg had a good night.  She was able to get him off the blood pressure meds and he was off them all night.  They are gradually weaning him off sedation.  He is breathing good and at good rate.  He started moving/exploring, but not anything purposeful.  He is not following commands, but did open his eyes and look around.  Because he's moving around a bit, she put restraints on him just so he doesn’t accidentally grab an IV or remove a tube or something.  His temperature is down to 100, which is great!   He’s still at 50% on the vent and his oxygenation is at 92%.   He is still on some mild anesthesia meds, but less than he was on in the past.  Getting his temperature down helped him to breathe easier.  She gave him a bath and washed his hair.   

She said that they're giving him a lot of pressure (peep) normal is 5, he’s between 12 and 15 now.  They are giving him extra pressure to help ease his work of breathing.  She said that typically we look at extra peep between 5-8 to take people off the vent. 

I spoke to Greg's doctor around 1 p.m. today.  She said they are trying to wean him off anesthesia.   He’s on a support vent now, which means he is doing most of the breathing and the vent is merely “supporting” him. If he doesn’t take a breath in say 20 seconds, then the vent will breathe for him.  He is improving and seems to be doing good.  They are monitoring his breathing and maybe go down more on his medications.   Most of the time he’s doing his own breathing right now and he is breathing more than the machine.   They want to monitor it slowly as everything changes day to day.  They need to slowly wean him off so they don’t have to put him back on vent, as that can be dangerous.  

They are still treating for infection, as his sputum culture was positive for staph (but she said "not the bad kind").   He also had MRSA positive a few days back, but he has always tested positive for that before any surgeries or procedures.  Because of that, they have him on broad spectrum antibiotics. 

I spoke with his nurse again at about 6:15 tonight.  There were not a whole lot of changes today.  He is still on the support vent and is not on any blood pressure meds.  He is still requiring the same 50% oxygen level.  He responds to commands, but is still decently sedated.  If he has to work too hard to breathe, then his respiratory rate goes up and they have to turn the sedation up.   The goal to remove from the vent is for the vent to be at 35-40% and breathing at a controlled rate, awake and following commands.   Generally, they aim for 35-40% to get off vent and it requires breathing at a controlled rate, awake and following commands, etc. 

So, that is today's update.  He's doing a little better, which is what we need.  Remember, it's all baby steps.  Today was a baby step day and that's OK.   

Please, as always, continue your prayers for Greg.  Baby steps every day, or giant steps.  I'm OK with either one!  Pray that they are able to get rid of whatever infection he has and that they are able to wean him off the anesthesia so that he can breathe more on his own and won't need the assistance of the vent.  We are still in the midst of this battle, but we are winning!   

Today's picture of Greg is at the Australia Zoo (the Steve Irwin family's zoo), sitting and visiting with a kangaroo!  It was a very warm day, and it was good to sit in the shade for a bit!  

 

 

 

Greg Covid - Day 9 THE BATTLE IS ON!!!!

I posted earlier today about the good night that Greg had and how well he was doing at 6:30 this morning.  Well, I got a call from the doctor during my lunch that wasn't very good news.  

She said that he is on his back now and saturation-wise he is doing well.  However, they were talking about adjusting the vent setting and letting him breathe on his own and reducing the amount of sedation more because he had been doing so well, but then he started having issues with his lungs not matching the vent rhythm, so they had to increase his sedation and change the settings on the vent and are not going to be decreasing it right now.  She said:

We don’t want his own lungs to go in a rhythm that is not matched to the vent settings and his breathing is not in sync with the vent.   Saturation is not a problem right now.  This can get better all of a sudden or it can get worse.  It is hard to tell.  He is breathing really good on his back right now and saturation is 96%.  They are adjusting the vent according to his system and will know more tomorrow.  Respiratory therapy is there and assigned to him and is managing the settings on the vent.  He started good, but things are fluctuating.  Right now, she can’t say that the trend is going good.  

In addition, his blood pressure was running high this morning, in the 170, 190’s and when they gave him meds to lower his blood pressured, it dropped into the 80's.  She said that it is common, when a patient spends a long time in the ICU, to become sensitive to medication.  They are trying to find a balance with his blood pressure meds to keep it steady, but it is a fine line.   It seems the doctors only call when the situation is dire.  

At the same time that Greg was having these problems, I was speaking with the Chaplain at Marshfield Clinic Hospital about visiting Greg and praying with Greg.  We talked about Greg's health history and what a fighter he is and how God has saved him so many times.  He was going to be visiting with Greg and praying with him and said he would tell him how much I love him and need him to get better and come home and that God was breathing His life into his lungs and was going to heal him. 

Now, when I say the battle is on, I'm not saying just Greg's health battle but an actual spiritual battle!  I don't know where you are in your walk with Christ, but I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the devil was trying his hardest today!  Little did he know that Jesus would be right there shoving him off Greg just like when He entered the Temple and drove out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice and knocking over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves!  (Matthew 21:12).  I was having dark thoughts all day and must have said Jesus' name 500 times today!  I could feel it in my bones that something was happening and I was NOT wrong!  

Normally I don't call Greg's nurse until later, but I just couldn't wait and called around 4:15.  I spoke with Nicole who told me that she found a level of blood pressure meds that is working good for Greg!  She also said that he is on a setting on the vent where Greg is doing a lot of the work and can kind of control how often he’s breathing, which is giving his lungs some good exercise!  He is doing most of the work and the vent is just doing a back-up for him and giving him a little extra support.  He looks more comfortable than earlier today and his oxygenation is good. He’s doing WAY better than earlier today!  And he really had them concerned earlier!  

She said they were worried because his blood pressure was all over the place and he looked like he was uncomfortable and he was breathing very hard.  They are not planning on proning him tonight unless oxygen starts dropping.  He is still running a fever and nothing seems to be bringing it down.  She is using ice packs, giving him Tylenol and putting cold water in his feeding tube.  They have not been able to find a cooling blanket in the entire hospital.  She is not sure if they don't have any or they are all being used.  She did reiterate that fever is not uncommon with Covid and that patients do run pretty high fevers. 

I'll be calling his nurse again before I go to bed, and I'm not sure if I'll update tonight or not.  

No one can tell me that there's not a huge spiritual battle happening here!  Everything that happened today was much to coincidental!  This proves that your prayer are working!   Please continue to pray for Greg, that God continues to breathe His life into Greg's lungs, that his blood pressure stays regulated and that he is able to breathe more and more on his own.  Please also pray for the doctors and nurses and respiratory therapists are given the knowledge they need to continue to bring Greg out of this!  Please also give thanks for everything God is doing for Greg.  

This picture of Greg is on the sailboat when we were getting ready to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.  At the time of year we were there (late November), it is jellyfish season, and everyone who snorkels has to wear a "stinger suit" to protect us from jellyfish stings.  It's certainly not the most fashionable suit in the world, but hey it works!  I have more embarrassing pictures of him attempting to put the suit on, but I thought I'd spare him (and you) those pics!  Ha, ha!  

Love, Peace and Prayers to all!  

Julie and Iron Man!  

Greg Covid - Day 9 Quick Update

Quick update while on my lunch.  I spoke with Greg's nurse at about 6:30 this morning and he had a good night.  She said that He did good. She had just turned him on his back and they are hoping he can maintain his oxygenation.   He was at 97-98% all night, which is great.   His  P02 was 99% (amount of oxygen in his blood).  Yesterday, it had dropped down to 50% once they put him on his back.  But, that doesn’t mean he won’t do good today.  His vent was at 65% and was left at that setting all night.  His eyes look a little swollen but that will go down now that he’s on his back. His vital organs look good and he is peeing.  His electrolytes also look good.  His blood sugars are slightly high, but that’s kind of normal and is probably because of steroids he’s being given.  He’s not getting Remdesivir any more, as that's only a five or six day treatment (she couldn't remember exactly how long).  So that's all great news from overnight. I am hopeful that Greg can maintain his oxygenation levels while on his back, as that will be a huge step forward and what we really need him to be able to accomplish!  

While speaking with Greg's brother, Gary this morning, somehow it got brought up about a pastor from the hospital system visiting Greg, seeing as our own Pastor Joe is not allowed.  I called Pastoral Services at the hospital and YES, they are allowed to go and pray with the Covid patients and he is going to go visit with Greg!  I am so happy that someone can go there and pray with him, and hold his hand and let him know he's not alone and that we're all fighting for him and tell him how much I love him!  

I truly believe that we are in a huge spiritual battle here.  The devil is trying to get in my head more and more today and I can just feel something happening.  This is a battle for Greg and we WILL win, because we have God on our side!  And we all know if God is for us, who can be against us?!!!!!   

Please continue your prayers for Greg.  Pray that he is able to keep his oxygenation level up while he is on his back and that he has a great day!  It's still baby steps, but steps forward are steps forward!  

I will post another update tonight after I talk to his day nurse.  I'll be calling her around 6 tonight and will post an update then.  In the meantime, keep those prayers coming!!!!!  

Love, Peace and Prayers, 

Julie

Just to keep the pictures going, here's one of Greg outside the airport in Cairns, Australia 

Greg Covid - Day 8

Today makes one week since Greg was taken by ambulance to the hospital and I was told he had Covid and was being sent to the ICU.  He actually had a pretty good night.  The "proned" him, which simply means they flipped him on his stomach, because he did so well that way the other night.  He did very well again last night.  His lungs sound clear and his Profusion Ventilation Ratio went from 78 to 166, which means the amount of oxygen his lungs are providing to his body is significant.  His nurse, Kegan, said that this was significant!   

He is spiking a fever and went up to 102.4 and they are not sure what is causing the fever, as all the tests are coming back negative.  It could just be his body's response to fighting the Covid.  He is being kept on high dose antibiotics, just in case there is something they're not finding.  His vent was at 60%, but he thought that with the increase of oxygen in his blood, they may turn that down.  

He is initiating and helping with own breathing.  With the paralytic being off, he is doing a lot of the work on his own.  The vent is assisting, but he’s able to initiate some of his own breaths.  He has a long way to go, but everything looks better than yesterday!   He does wake up a bit and notices that the nurses and staff are in there when they're flipping him, and then falls back into a contented sleep pattern when they're done. 

I spoke with his night nurse for a little bit at 7:30 today, but she really didn't have much information.  Because shift change is at 7, she was still reviewing all his information and getting situated to take care of him overnight.  She did say his vent was at 65%, so a little higher than this morning, but still not bad.  He was on his back, but they were going to prone him again, as he did so much better that way. She said that his oxygenation after being on his back during the day dropped from 78% to 56%, so that's why they decided to prone him again for the night.  He's not getting worse, so that's good.  Baby steps.  We need to remember that these are baby steps.  

I'm doing OK, I guess.  Work is crazy busy and I am being pulled in a million different directions, so it's hard to get as much done as I usually do.  Other than that, nothing really happening here.   

Here's a selfie Greg took when we were on a sailboat heading to the Low Isles portion of the Great Barrier Reef outside of Port Douglas to go snorkeling!  

Please continue to pray for Greg and for his lungs.  That they continue to improve and he is able to breathe more and more on his own.  Pray that his fever goes down and his vital organs remain in good shape and they are able to remove him from the vent in the next couple days.   

Love, Peace and Prayers, 

Julie