Mensamom’s Musings

Brandon update – Brandon has been moved over to OSF St. Francis, and he seems to be settled in pretty good in the Medical ICU unit. The docs there are going to be making some changes to his treatment protocol, but basically they are going to continue some of the meds and add in some others to try and knock out the pneumonia. He was awake for a bit tonight and we were able to talk to him a little, but for the most part the staff wants him to try and rest as much as possible, so we are still discouraging visitors, but I promise that as soon as he is up to receiving company I will let everyone know! My immediate impression is that this move is a good one and there is no where to go from here but up! I will be heading back up to the hospital tomorrow morning and will post again once I get a feel for where Brandon is at after getting some rest tonight. Thank you again for all your support and prayers!

Good afternoon. Not a lot to report today, but the pulomonologist decided this morning to re-do the bronchoscopy. Brandon has a partial collapse of the lower lobe of one lung (which is relatively common for people on vents), and the doc was able to suction out some thick mucus during the bronc, so hopefully we will see some improvement. Christie’s family is up at the hospital today, so we have some great support here.

On a side note, I, personally, am overwhelmed by the outpouring of prayers and love we are getting from all around the world. Extended family and friends everywhere have added Brandon to their local church’s prayer lists, not only in a variety of states here in the US, but also in Europe and New Zealand. I know it may sound a bit corny, but if the squeaky wheel really does get the grease, God is sitting up and paying attention! Please continue to keep us in your prayers, and continue spreading the word.

Finally, in order to make it a little easier for everyone to follow Brandon’s progress, I am also posting these entries on my blog at donnaforbis.com. That way, if anyone would like to keep track of what is going on, they can do so outside the confines of Facebook, so spread the word!

Time for the final update of the night. Brandon had the chest CT done late this afternoon, and the scan came back clear, so there are no blood clots in his legs and no blood clots in his chest. He had the central line/port put into his chest this morning (just below the collar bone), and tonight they also added an arterial line to his radial artery in his arm. With these two lines in, all of the necessary blood work and IV fluids can be done without any further needle sticks. All in all, it has been a very busy day, and we are all tired, so I am going to bed. More tomorrow, dear readers . . .