M
mrsgeek
Update from Kathy his wife:
The good news: the heart is still doing fantastic. Cardiac ouput is great. Blood pressure is great. Echo looks great. Fantastic, superb, etc.!
The bad news: He is still in the ICU on the respirator!
He still has fluid in the lungs. Apparently, his radiation treatments 22 years ago damaged the lymphotic drainage system. There is no treatment for this, it just takes more time to drain and we have to wait for Johnny to accomplish this.
They cannot take the tube out because his pulmonary pressures are too high. When they tried to wean him off nitric oxide, the pul. pressure shot up 30 points today. They are telling me that due to this high pressure, he has less ability to oxygenate his tissues and drain his lungs. If they take him off now, his lungs will fill up, he could get pneumonia, and they would have to just put him right back on. This problem coupled with the lung drainage problem is a very large problem indeed.
He will be on the respirator for the weekend. On Monday, they are calling in the head of the Pulmonary division, Dr. Ralph. They have a treatment for just such a situation but it is a drastic step, and has side effects, but will get him off of the respirator. It is called Flolan (sp?). Only Dr. Ralph can approve it. It is delivered by pump, and it is something they can send him home with! They are hoping that by Monday that he won't need it.
The good news to this issue: they say that because of this valve surgery, they caught the pulmonary hypertention early so that they can prevent ARDS (Acute Repiratory Distress Syndrome). Other than these instruments that are inserted into his neck right now, there is no way to detect this problem. So most never find out until it is too late and can lead to the need for lung transplants.
This is the positive side I must cling to!
The good news: the heart is still doing fantastic. Cardiac ouput is great. Blood pressure is great. Echo looks great. Fantastic, superb, etc.!
The bad news: He is still in the ICU on the respirator!
He still has fluid in the lungs. Apparently, his radiation treatments 22 years ago damaged the lymphotic drainage system. There is no treatment for this, it just takes more time to drain and we have to wait for Johnny to accomplish this.
They cannot take the tube out because his pulmonary pressures are too high. When they tried to wean him off nitric oxide, the pul. pressure shot up 30 points today. They are telling me that due to this high pressure, he has less ability to oxygenate his tissues and drain his lungs. If they take him off now, his lungs will fill up, he could get pneumonia, and they would have to just put him right back on. This problem coupled with the lung drainage problem is a very large problem indeed.
He will be on the respirator for the weekend. On Monday, they are calling in the head of the Pulmonary division, Dr. Ralph. They have a treatment for just such a situation but it is a drastic step, and has side effects, but will get him off of the respirator. It is called Flolan (sp?). Only Dr. Ralph can approve it. It is delivered by pump, and it is something they can send him home with! They are hoping that by Monday that he won't need it.
The good news to this issue: they say that because of this valve surgery, they caught the pulmonary hypertention early so that they can prevent ARDS (Acute Repiratory Distress Syndrome). Other than these instruments that are inserted into his neck right now, there is no way to detect this problem. So most never find out until it is too late and can lead to the need for lung transplants.
This is the positive side I must cling to!
