A decision will be made today about a bronchoscopy! They are doing another chest x-ray this morning and then will evaluate. He really needs one, even I can tell that. The other treatments of the shaky vest/percussion are not working. But, more on that in a minute.

Yesterday started out well, but that only lasted until lunchtime. And I can't pinpoint any one thing that triggered it. I think it all really comes down to interrupted meals and commotion.

Bill was in a very good mood when I got there. He was still in bed with a fresh cup of coffee waiting for breakfast. When his tray finally came, they have been really running late for the last few days, it was a smaller breakfast and I was confident he could eat it all, scrambled eggs, 1 sausage link and 1 piece of toast, milk and coffee. They have now changed his diet from healthy heart/diabetic to regular/diabetic which means he's getting salt added. Luckily he knows not to use it. There was also no Glucerna again, but he still had 3 cartons in the fridge. He had just started eating when Emily brought all of his pills and inhalers and shots. She's a very good nurse, just runs behind a lot. He finally ate his sausage, most of the egg but no toast, so I was good with that.

Got his meds in and the doctors started. Tom from pulmonary came in with the news that they will now seriously consider the bronch. We talked about how his throat muscles are weak from all the time spent on the vent and he said that they are fatigued and that was good to know. I was pretty happy that we were finally going to get somewhere, hopefully. Again, cardiology said from their standpoint it's just get his breathing better, endo says the insulin combination has finally levelized his glucose and dietary is monitoring his intake. I told her that his appetite had started to come back some, which was going to turn into a lie, but at the time, he had improved.

The only hitch in the entire morning was that his sats were staying low again. They are trying so hard to get his oxygen flow reduced to a home level, and he's just not cooperating! Not that he doesn't want to, he's just not breathing well on the lower flow, only staying in the mid 80s. One thing that doesn't make sense to the medical people is how he is not dizzy or passing out when it drops. My theory, and again, what do I know I'm just his wife, is that his body has adapted to it and accepts it instead of it sending him into panic mode of not being able to breathe. I'm beginning to wonder if his body is not just redirecting the oxygen to the crucial functions of his body.

When they bought his lunch in, Emily arrived to hang his antibiotic, respiratory came (and hour late) for a breathing treatment/shaky vest treatment, and when that was done, I had just taken the cover off his plate when physical therapy showed up. I sent them away. I cut his BBQ chicken sandwich in half and told him he had to eat at least half of it. Then I sat and watched out of the corner of my eye...1 kernel of corn at a time, followed by a drink of tea. When he said he was full he hadn't touched the sandwich and I told him to eat it. He ate a bit of it and then reached for his pudding. It told him to keep eating the sandwich. He finally finished half of it and then therapy was back, so he got ticked and wouldn't even attempt to eat his pudding then.

He told them he didn't feel like walking, can't blame him since he had barely swallowed his lunch, and when he sat up his sats dropped really low. We discovered that respiratory had only put his flow at 4 1/2 instead of 6. So bumped it up and finally cajoled him into getting into his chair. He half-heartedly did his leg exercises, but he did them. He stayed in his chair for most of the afternoon, but we didn't have any other doctors come in. We also discovered then that he was constipated again, even on the stool softeners. Counting back days, he had not gone since the day that he had so much trouble. We were hoping that it just hadn't been charted, but nope, it was 4 days. Now, I know he's not eating much, but he should still be going. He's still getting the stool softener but it doesn't seem to be working as it should because he had a terrible time.

I left shortly after he got into bed after that. I tried to get him to stay in his chair until after dinner, but he was sore by then. When I talked to him he said he had eaten most of his dinner.

Hopefully we will get the answer we want about the bronch today. I rarely see the lung dr., just the PA Tom, because he's another one that rounds late and I'm usually gone by the time he comes around. I haven't yet formulated a plan on how to proceed if they still don't want to do it. Yes, it's invasive, but it is not major surgery and he is not even put completely out. They usually use Versed to get a twilight sleep and he has been basically awake for them before.

So, my time to leave is fast approaching so I must get dressed. I'm glad I stopped and got gas when I got to town last night and all I need to do is throw some clothes on and grab my breakfast and get it into my little cooler and hit the road. I may try to update this on my tablet if they do the bronch. Keep your fingers crossed!