For a few months Danny has been seeing a doctor about a mass on his neck. It had grown to the size of a softball and the doctor had to be sure it wasn't cancer before he could decide the best way to remove it. On February 7th we arrived at Norfolk General at 5:15 am so the doctors could get some small tissue samples from Danny's throat to test. Surgery went well and Thank God no cancer was found. While he was being moved from phase 1 recovery to phase 2 recovery where they prepare you to go home, he told the doctor he couldn't breath. From there the doctor said thing got really bad as Danny stopped breathing and completely coded. They tried CPR but were unsuccessful. They ended doing and emergency tracheotomy right there to bring him back and save his life. He was taken to the ICU with a ventilator breathing for him and a tube going to his stomach. None of this was due to the surgery he had just had but from some unknown underlying problem he already had. This could have happened anytime, anywhere. Thank God he was in the right hands when it happened. Thankfully he woke up later without any damage to his brain from the time without oxygen. He remained in the ICU for a week after going on and off the ventilator attached to his trach and having a feeding tube run through his nose. There was some scary moments in that room but he was under the care of some wonderful doctors and nurses. After a week he was moved to a step down room to be monitored a little longer and for me to learn how to care for him at home. The doctor did many test on him and determined that the problem is with his lungs but still have no concrete answers as to why this happened. He was released from the hospital on February 16th to rest and continue to heal. He still has the trach in and has to use liquid oxygen. I have been caring for him at home around the clock and sometimes it gets a little overwhelming and I get nervous but so far, with God guiding me, I have been able to do what needs to be done. He is still unable to speak which gets frustrating for him but he is able to eat regular food by taking small bits and turning his head to the left. He sleeps in the recliner so I sleep on the couch so I'm close to him at all times. I say sleep, but honestly, neither do much of that anymore.
The trach will remain in until he has the surgery to remove the mass in his neck. The doctor does not want to take any chances of what happened before to happen again. We have no date for that at this time.
This has been quite a journey so far and he still has a ways to go. I set this page up to keep everyone informed on how things are going. I will post as often as I can with updates. I also want to thank everyone for your prayer, messages, visits, hugs, food and just so much love and support. Not just for Danny, but for our whole family. I know your prayers are being heard. We are truly blessed with the best folks in our lives.
Dr took the reach out! He will have a little bit of a challenge for a little while since air will still be coming through the now empty whole but this is the big step he's been waiting for!
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