I brought my laptop to the hospital today so that I could figure out what was wrong with it, and it's a good thing I did. Bill started the being very bad. At shift change at 7 he pulled his trach collar off again and decompensated to the 50s before they could hook him back up. That bothered them more than him pulling the collar off, that he went so low almost immediately. They did put him back on CPAP for about an hour to help him recover.

He did sleep until 3 am and they gave him another of his drugs, and he's been asleep all day. He's still sleeping. So, they're going to have to adjust the dosages and combinations of what they give him and when.

I was able to get my good chair back today, the patient was discharged. And I called Emily and had her bring my medicine down to me. So, I'm staying the night to keep a watch on him. I'll also be able to keep the room darker for him. I think they are turning the lights and TV off but leaving the door open. Sara said he doesn't push his call button he just starts yelling help. And, since he can't really yell, they have to have the door open to hear him.

The drs. all said he's making progress. Dr. Fox said he may need to be bronched again tomorrow, it will depend on his chest x-ray. They didn't do one this morning, but he said he didn't sound too bad and that all of his coughing may be due to the breathing treatments. He wasn't really getting anything out and that could be because the inner trach tube was coated and clogged with what he was coughing up. Dr. Edwards is not really happy that therapy is not done on week-ends. He feels like the patients lose some ground, and I saw that when he was in skilled nursing in Florida. He wanted to walk and work out on their machines, but he could only walk with the therapists. The patients that are mobile can walk with the nurses, but the ones who are bedridden don't get any therapy at all, and they may only get it twice a week at that. That's where moving to Restorative Care will be the best option for him. Dr. Edwards still thinks that he will be able to go home eventually, but getting his respiratory issues under control has to come before he can be moved.

Anyway, I feel totally exhausted, more so than if I had driven home. I'll go home at some point tomorrow, if I have to stay tomorrow night and at least change clothes. Jeans are not the most comfortable things to sleep in, but I'm not going to pay the price in the gift shop for a pair of pajamas.

There you have it, short and sweet for tonight. The computer is still not working like it should, but at least it's better than it was. I'll let you know if he behaved himself tonight. Goodnight!