Family:

Dad’s vital signs are stable in ICU right now.  We’ve talked with his doctor twice, as well as observed the whole staff while the head MD used Dad as a teaching tool for MD residents.

Here’s the summary so far:

When Dad entered the ER at the VA yesterday, he had pneumonia which presumably he contracted at the VA skilled nursing facility (or CLC, as they call it).

Turns out he also had a collapsed lung due to a blockage of mucus.  They put Dad on a respirator (called a Nellcor Puritan Bennett 840 Ventilator System) that, unlike the old iron lung (which helped to pull air into the the lungs), pumps air into or inflates his lungs — they hoped to reinflate his collapsed lung with the respirator.

Three chest X-rays over the course of last night and into this morning showed the progression of his inflated lung (first X-ray: lung was 2/3 collapsed; second one: 1/3 collapsed; third one: completely inflated), which also went hand-in-hand with Dad’s oxygen level, rising from the 70s to just about 100% oxygen saturation now.

They’ve given Dad antibiotics that treat 98% of the types of pneumonia usually encountered in hospital situations, including the VA nursing home where he was staying, so Dad’s infection should go away with time.  The mucus blockage is still there but the last X-ray showed the lung is inflated past the blockage so that’s a good thing for now.  The doctor examined Dad and thinks the lung may have collapsed a little since the last X-ray.  Therefore, Dad will stay on the respirator for at least the next 24 hours before they attempt to wean him off of respiration assistance.

That’s the good news.

While looking at Dad’s X-rays, the doctor (and radiologist) noted Dad’s heart is enlarged.   Upon further examination, it appears Dad has damage to the wall of one ventricle, a tear that resulted in a bulge at some time in the past (i.e., an aneurysm), which the doctor surmises was an undetected heart attack (MI, or myocardial infarction) that is associated with the recent reports of Dad having a heart murmur.

The doctor has ordered another chest X-ray, as well as a sonogram (ultrasound of the heart) to further detail the damage; in other words, if the heart damage is bad and Dad is unable to fight the lung infection, then we have to consider the measures we want to take to try to get Dad better.

In addition, the doctor is worried about Dad’s neurological condition.  Basically, mentally, deep down, Dad has to want to fight this or his body will not get better.  If Dad was a 20-year old man, his body could probably heal itself regardless of Dad’s mental state; however, at this point, we cannot say what’s going on in Dad’s thoughts because he cannot verbalise or visually express in any coherent manner his pains, aches or desires.

After going through Dad’s medical history, the doctor told us what nobody wants to hear but those in the medical field understand — we may never know what has caused Dad’s symptoms but, as knowledgeable/compassionate MDs, the doctors must admit they’re human, too, and don’t know everything.

The important thing is to give Dad as much of a chance as the medical staff can for him to get better, making him comfortable in the process, and let time (and God) heal Dad.

Also, Dad’s blood pressure has varied, running a little low, but hasn’t dropped precipitously low, so they’re watching his BP but don’t want to give him any medication unless they have to, avoiding complications and giving them a little room for changing his meds if an emergency arises.

Same for his agitation/anxiousness — they don’t want to overly sedate him but simply give him anti-anxiety medication on an as-needed basis so that Dad has the chance to let us know if he’s in any real pain or wants to participate in some other way in his recovery.

That’s all for now.  We’ll know more tomorrow.

Thanks for all your prayers,

Rick