I really debated updating this morning. Yesterday was just an all around crappy day. Bill was talking up a storm when I got there, but his nurse said that he aspirated ice chips in the night. At least his night nurse was doing what she was supposed to be doing as far as that goes. But, shen she suctioned him, all she got was thin clear liquid, so it was just water. I told them that at Mayo they used food coloring with ice chips. They make them bright green so that when they suction, if it's green, they know for sure it was aspirated.

Shortly after rounds, Crystal from respiratory came in and said that Dr. Williams wanted him back on the vent. I asked if it was full vent or CPAP and she said he didn't specifiy so she put him on CPAP. A little while later they brought in a bronch kit, so I knew he was being bronched again. I still hadn't seen Dr. Williams. I did see him for about 20 seconds as he was getting ready to come in for the procedure and I was going out and he said it was because his oxygen requirement was still too high.

When I got back to the room, Bill was on full vent and he was really fighting it. Yolanda said that they had gotten a lot of stuff out again. Yet, they all say when they listen to him that he sounds better than he ever has and that his x-rays look better than they ever have. He was able to suction himself as most of what we were hearing gurgle was in the back of his mouth and throat. 

I still don't know why Dr. Williams wanted him on full vent and not CPAP and he didn't come back to the unit. The nurse said he didn't specify how long he wanted him on it either. 

Physical and occupational therapy came in and totally destroyed the room getting him into a chair again. They also disconnected the line that measures the pressure in his veins. Since they took the central line out, that is hooked into one of the ports on the picc line. Somehow it came undone and blood went everywhere. Yolanda got it reconnected and repositioned and they continued to get him moved. He complained for the entire 2 hours. The OT was determined that he was getting his hair washed, that's all she has ever been concerned about, these fantastic new caps they have that are no rinse, you just put it on and massage the head. Bill was not a big fan! So there he is sitting in the chair, with no sheet, the closet blocked so I can't get one, with a towel around his shoulders and wet hair.Crystal came in for a breathing treatment and I asked her if she would access the closet from outside for a sheet for me to cover his legs.

Again for the entire time he complained about wanting to get back into bed, or getting a small drink of water. We finally made it to time to get him to bed and Yolanda and Magnolia were both angry when they saw the room. They asked if I had stripped the bed because of the blood and I told them no, the therapists did, and Yolanda said that they should have remade it. Once he was back in bed, I told him I was heading home. It was after 5 at that time and I needed to get cat food and coffee. Got the food, forgot the coffee!

So, that's the setback for Bill. Hopefully he'll be off the vent today and I'll get some answers as to why. 

I also got hit with some information from the hospital that we should have had from the beginning and didn't and it was just the final straw. I'm not going into the details, and in the long run, it won't make any difference in the decision I had to make since I was only given 3 days to make the decision with no more information I was given at the moment. But, that almost completely broke me. Now that I've had time to process the information and can think more clearly, I need to do some research on different options. There may not be any but, I need to find out for myself. I'm not going into any details other than this. And, until I really get my head wrapped around things, I'm probably going to continue not taking phone calls. I know everyone means well and I'm sure some of you would be ones that could give some good advice on where to turn next. But, for right now, talking about it isn't an option. I hope you will all understand this.

And now, it's time to get some clothes on. I actually wrote more than I had intended, but I got up earlier. I'm also still tired and actually dreading the drive today. The weather is supposed to be really iffy tomorrow night into Saturday, but it's still too far out too have an accurate forecast. But, I'll have to make a decision today on whether or not I'm staying in Memphis again or coming home. 

So, I'll even get the details to you about the rest of the crappy day, but for now, this is all you need to know and Bill is the reason for the blog.