Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
Currently, Frankie is in critical condition and is receiving the best care possible by Cone's Cardiac team.
On Monday, Frankie suffered a massive heart attack. A fully blocked artery to his heart ruptured and he arrested at home. We aren't sure for how long. When the EMTs arrived (within 10 minutes) they shocked him and began CPR and transported him to the hospital. They did surgery to repair his heart and the waiting game began.
Initially, the prognosis was bad, but as time has gone on, Frankie has improved. We are very thankful for the small victories that we see moment by moment and day by day.
Here is what we know:
VICTORIES: * He has a heart pump that is functioning for him. They have turned it down one step and his heart has picked up the slack (YAY!) * The acidosis (pH balance of his blood) was very high initially. Overnight it came down to a really good level and has stayed there (YAY!) * He was initially on 100% ventilation support. That has been reduced to 60% and he's handling the rest on his own (YAY!) * The EEG showed normal brain activity (YAY!) (That's really all it tells us - an abnormal EEG would have been super bad news) * He was initially kept at a super low body temperature, but today they're bringing his temperature up to normal. (YAY!) * He has been on super big gun medicine to keep his blood pressure up. They have dropped one of those and he's holding strong (YAY!) * He has pneumonia in one quadrant of one lung due to aspirating after resuscitation - his chest xray shows much clearer. (YAY!)
CHALLENGES: * His kidneys and gut aren't recovering as quickly as the doctors hoped. They are giving meds to help his kidneys produce today. The gut is a 'wait and see' because there's no food there.
He is currently under heavy sedation and paralytic drugs to help him and his organs rest. The doctors are hoping to pull the paralytic drugs tomorrow and see if they can wake him up a little. We are hopeful this will go well!
While your presence is a blessing, visiting hours are strictly limited. What we have learned is that even when visiting hours are "open", we can't always get back to see him because of various procedures, etc. Because he's in this critical care area, no outside food, drinks, live flowers/plants etc. are allowed. Your thoughts and prayers are the absolute best gift you can give Frankie and his family at this time. I'm sure there will be a time in the future where action will be needed, so stay tuned!
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