Mensamom’s Musings

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 . . .

Mid-day update:
The doc ordered a venous doppler study on Brandon’s legs to look for blood clots. That test came back negative, so they are now prepping him to go down for a chest CT scan to look for any blood clots in his lungs. If they find clots, it may explain why his O2 levels have been dropping. Would just love to know why all this is happening . . .

Well . . . . . the docs decided this morning that, since they were having so much trouble with Brandon’s veins and his IV, that the next step is to put in a central line with a port. For those of you that are not familiar with these, it is like a permanent IV that is inserted surgically directly into the jugular vein. Having a port in will allow staff to draw blood, give meds and any other injectable treatments directly into the port. That means, aside from pulling his AGB’s, no more needle sticks while he is in the hospital. This should be a little more comfortable and make giving treatments easier for Brandon. As always, please keep us in your prayers. Thank you!

Not much to report tonight. Brandon’s numbers remain about the same. His white blood cell count is lower than when he first was admitted to the hospital (which is a good thing), but his O2 is still a bit dodgy. He is resting comfortably, but he is still on the ventilator. Dr. Makhoul seemed a bit doubtful that Brandon would be off the vent over the weekend, but maybe at the beginning of next week, depending upon how he does over the weekend. I will be back at the hospital on Saturday, so I will post more then.