There are so many bad health issues around me. I'm glad I have scheduled all of my preventative procedures.
Update on my brother from his wife:
Last week the pulmonary team told me that, based on Mike's slow progress, they don’t expect him to ever come off the vent. I asked Mike if he wants to continue living like he is now and he shook his head no (who would?)
But, because he has made some progress I want to keep him on the vent until we are sure there will be no more progress. When I asked, the nurse practitioner told me that if a patient hasn’t been weaned in 3 months then the chances of them coming off the vent are very low. Given Mike's age, the damage to his lungs and him being immobile and so sick for almost 5 months … his chances aren’t good. After these discussions they changed his setting to spontaneous with pressure support. This means he breathes in on his own and the then the vent helps give him pressure to breathe out. Being on that was a step forward.
He did well on it for several days and then the Klebsiella pneumonia (common with people with ventilators) came back on Saturday so he’s back on antibiotics for that, sleeps a lot more and hasn’t been on Spontaneous. He did finally get the brain MRI done last week. It showed no abnormalities except for possible atrophy D/T being sick for so long. They told me that, even if he comes off the vent, he will never be back to his baseline physically. He moves his arms some, but otherwise, he's immobile. I know there are always exceptions so that’s why I want to give him enough time so that we know for sure.
I wish I had better news. Just wanted to let you know what’s going on. Love you all.
I hope she is listening to the doctors and medical teams. It seems time to let him go. She hasn't texted this past week so I'm not sure if he is still in the rehab facility or whether she got him moved to long term care (nursing home).
My next younger brother called yesterday to let me know his wife has breast cancer and severe panic attacks. She also had a 15 second seizure which so far has not been diagnosed for cause. She gets her second biopsy tomorrow and then learn how to proceed. She has already signed up for counseling. She just retired this summer.
Upstairs at the condo, my neighbor has stage 4 esophageal cancer. He has chosen radiation and chemotherapy but survival rate is small. He's the guy with the crazy girlfriend of 8 years and she talked him into putting her name on the Title to his condo.
Two young friends (with children) have been diagnosed with Covid.
I am paying attention to all of these health issues yet remaining positive. Tuesday I will start 2x week physical therapy to build up knee strength (so I don't cringe when I see stairs) and over all strength. Hopefully this will inspire me to exercise another two days a week.
This post is a little late as I have been spending a lot of time creating "thankful" posts each day for Facebook (JB Lockhart) and doing some research for Hunger Fighters. Did you know that Medicare may be going up 15%? And our "raise" will probably be 6%? Those who are surviving with Social Security only just never get a break. In addition, many households have received child tax benefits (my daughter gets $500/month) which end in December. Our food pantry is gearing up to serve more families.
I am so thankful Mr. Ralph worked until age 75 so that I reap the benefits of a large monthly deposit. We also participated in matching funds IRAs and he collected social security payments while working past age 70, which we put into savings/stock market.
Honestly, I am thankful for so much.
Sorry to hear about how all is proceeding with your brother. I worked with vent patients some helping wean them off the ventilator to be able to produce speech and to eat orally so have some idea of what your brother is encountering. I had hoped to read here he had progressed to a point when someone in my profession would be called in to aid his gains.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly are surrounded by people with medical issues so hope you keep your spirits up. Yes, when we take the time we can often realize we have much for which to be thankful. Glad you have the comfort of the security you have.
We are so lucky to have good health. This has caused a lot of conversation among his five siblings ... we do not want to be down and out that long. Without progress. If they want to boot me out of ICU with still so many things wrong with me, just unplug me. That is no kind of life.
DeleteI'm glad this is thankful month! How are you doing?
When my dad was rushed to the hospital after having been discovered unconscious on the floor--both a heart attack and stroke--his ex-wife, who had discovered him, agreed to him being ventilated before we could get to the hospital. I was the closest at two hours away. She agreed although Dad had impressed upon each of us after his first massive heart attack that he never wanted that done. I understand her decision, but then when Dad did not recover and was not conscious, we four siblings had to make the decision to remove him. We were fortunate that we all agreed, but it's still such a tough thing to do. I wish you, your sister-in-law, and others involved with his care didn't have to make it. I've made my wishes clear to my husband and my daughters, as has my husband, and we've got the documents to support those decisions.
ReplyDeleteHardest decision ever. I am fortunate to remind my family of my end of life wishes. If I get an uncurable condition, I'm not going through chemo and radiation. Pain relief and death with dignity (thank goodness I live in Oregon!)
DeleteIt doesn't sound like a good way to live... on a ventilator. It sounds to me like your sister-in-law is leaning towards having the vent removed and is preparing you all for the decision as she did confirm with her husband that he doesn't want to live as he is living now.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how a body can recover after five months on lying down, let along a feeding tube, a pace maker, a bedsore that had to have surgery, dialysis and a ventilator. But I guess people have been in comas for years and have fully recovered!
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