Thanks to Anna, I just learned something new about the human body.

You have a pair of membranes (pleura) around each of your lungs called the parietal and visceral pleura.  Between these membranes is about 2-3 teaspoons of fluid that help to lubricate your lungs as they expand and contract.  Without this fluid, there would be friction and damage to the lung tissue while breathing.   On the other hand, too much of this fluid, called pleural effusion, can put pressure on your lungs causing shortness of breath and other respiratory issues.

Anna had been a little "off" the last couple of days.  Not a lot, but enough to say that she hasn't been completely comfortable.  Looking flush, but not feverish.   Sounding congested, but her pulse oxygen is still good.  A little uncomfortable, but not in pain.  Yesterday, her breathing sounded a little coarse, so they did an x-ray.  The x-ray showed that she has a pleural effusion that is putting pressure on her right lung.

The first part of treatment was to put her on dexamethasone, an anti-inflammatory medication.  This is to help stabilize her lung and prevent a further buildup of fluid.  The second part of the treatment was to put her on lasix, a diuretic.  This three-day treatment will help her body draw extra fluid out of the space between her parietal and visceral pleura.  Finally, they put her on doxycycline, an antibiotic which also has anti-inflammatory effects.  This is to be sure there are no infections developing related to all this.

Anna seemed better today than she did yesterday, although she did have a period of more labored breathing this evening.  Let's pray that she responds well to the medicines and that she is able to work through this new challenge in a relatively short period of time.

On another note, Anna and I had the opportunity to attend Mass today, and I want to be sure to say "thank you" to Fr. Francis from St. Patrick church in Havre de Grace.  I've mentioned before that he comes to Lorien one Thursday each month to offer Mass for the residents.  It's a blessing to be able to take Anna to Mass without having to leave the facility.  Thanks, Fr. Francis, for all your care for Anna and the other Lorien residents.