Bob Campbell

On Wednesday, November  22, Bob was admitted to Providence Everett Colby Campus with what has been diagnosed as Step pnoemonia 
Sepsis. 
His initial stats included a core body temp of 94 degrees, blood pressure 60/??, and a platelet count 20, not to mention that he was acididotic, with compromised liver and kidney. Also he was in DIC which is a condition that affects the body's bleeding and clotting capabilities.  So when he came in he had several spots on his body that looked like instant bruises.  
He was taken up to ICU.

November 23 --- Happy Thanksgiving! Bob has his room in the ICU.  His kidney and liver functions are not good, he is very achy and has a hard time getting comfortable which means he's constantly moving and shifting which then strains his heart (consistant heart rate around the 120s) and on his lungs (not to mention he started coughing up blood).  He was put on an oxygen to help with a low blood oxygen level.  He had a few visitors and was able to follow along with conversation but couldn't really participate due to lack of breath.  


Thursday night Bob was put on a bipap machine which was more intensive from his original oxygen mask.  He was having a very difficult time sleeping ( had not slept more that 10 minutes in the last 24 hours) so he was given some medication to help him sleep, which had an opposite effect.  He began to hallucinate and got very restless, tried to take his mask off and get up to go home several times. 


November 24 ---Friday morning
After such a difficult night and the continuing declining functions of his kidneys, and liver and the inability to keep his oxygen apparatus on, it was determined to intubate him.  He was placed under sedation which kept him asleep through the weekend gving his body some well needed rest.  

Weekend: As his nurse said "he is at a controlled stability right now."  He remained on the ventilator and sedated.  The numbers from his blood work continued to decline though the weekend.  His circulation began to make progress, reaching back into his hand which had been very cold to the touch and purple/black in color.  His feet remained their dusky color however.  Also his heart rate was able to decline to a more acceptable rate and his oxygen levels rose to a good level as well.   
Saturday we finally got the word from the lab that his cultures came back as Streptococcus Pneumoniae.  So with this knowledge the docs were able to take him off the broad based antibiotic he had been originally put on and onto a more specific, harder hitting antibiotic.  

November 27 --- Monday: They cut back on Bob's sedation medication and he has become aware of the world again!  While he is still intubated and can't talk he is trying his best to communicate with facial expressions, body actions and attempts at writing.  Today due to the continued decline of his kidney and liver functions he started dialysis.  His first round was just to filter out some of the toxins to hopefully give them a better chance at regaining function.  


November 28 --- Tuesday.  Well here we are 1 week into this journey from when Bob first started coming down with flu like symptoms (well Tuesday night that is).  The main concern today has been his fluid retention.  He is very swollen all over his body but most obvious are his hands and feet.  He has developed massive water blisters covering both feet and a few on his hands.  Dialysis today will take approximately 2 liters of fluid out.  That's after he was given  Lasix  this morning to help with water retention. They are hoping when the fluid goes he will be able to breath more easily on his own and will be able to have the ventilator removed.  Today has been a day of rest.  Yesterday the extended family from Boston and Santa Barbara returned home. We appreciated their support while they were here. Today a no visitor policy was put into place after discussion with dr and nurse.  This will give Bob a chance to rest and heal so that in a few days he will be able to actually have conversation with friends when they come to visit. He has been in pain today and needing lots of rest.  His lab numbers have essentially held steady.  The infectious disease dr said he's feeling positive. Everything is heading in the right direction.  However it's still going to be a very long journey back to full health (which we have been told several times throughout this week)