Our IMMEDIATE prayer request is that insurance approves an additional turn for us at LTAC. Douglas Hospital has made great strides with weaning Glenn from the ventilator and they are advocating hard for us to have another chance at an LTAC rather than going straight back to nursing/rehab.
Our nursing/rehab experience was great for making physical progress with PT/OT/Speech .. but was a step backward in making any progress in weaning from the ventilator.
We have been here almost two weeks and Douglas Hospital has been a straight up gift from God. While working on some problems that we came in with - and other problems that have presented - they have concurrently been aggressively and successfully working to wean him from the ventilator. Insurance currently ruled that he cannot have another turn at LTAC, but this precious team at this hospital has filed an appeal on our behalf.
I assume this appeal process will keep us at Douglas Hospital ICU at least through the weekend, but the reality is: we could move at any moment to anywhere. Please pray that we move to an LTAC as I believe LTAC will give us the best chance at ultimately weaning from the ventilator. But I am also framing that prayer with fully believing that .. while I see the physical work the Douglas Hospital team is doing on our behalf … God is working out all of the details in the background. We will move in God’s timing to the place where we have the best chance of success. So I am okay with whatever our next move is.
My Bible verse to ask you to pray today (thanks Robin for sharing what you have been praying over us this week) is:
”Now to Him who is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,“
Ephesians 3:20 AMP
My “immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine” for today is: Glenn has been mainly on Pressure Support 6/6 at 35% oxygen for almost a week and has done trials with an in-line speaking valve and has had Trach Collar trials. Today he was on Trach Collar for 3.5 hours. You can read my feeble attempt at explaining some of this below .. or just skip the details and know that I am doing a happy dance. Progress will be slow for Glenn to be strong enough to sit/stand/walk or for his terrible wound (bed sore) to heal. But we see progress.
What about me? “I am fine” (altho I’m going to YouTube to re-listen to Sarah Roberts’ mother’s day sermon at One Church in Fayetteville GA. Perhaps I’m not really fine, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!) I am able to spend the night in Glenn’s room and there is a decent couch/bed. The hospital has a good, inexpensive cafeteria and I’ve gone out for a few meals. I haven’t had a shower since I spent the night at Adrian’s house last week. But too much bathing will weaken you.
We have much gratitude for your continued prayers .. which is the BEST thing you can do for us and the only thing we need (well except maybe a shower).
Lynn Lindsey
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Here are some medical details from my non-medical brain .. so forgive any errors.
PT - physical therapy
OT - Occupational therapy
SLT - Speech Language therapy
What is LTAC? (One of the many things I have learned!) What we know as “hospitals” are designed as “STAC” (Short-term Acute Care) designed to get you stable enough to discharge as quickly as possible .. either to go home or to a less intense level of care. One “next level” of care was LTAC (Long-term Acute Care) as we were previously at Windy Hill LTAC. Then we were discharged from there down to nursing/rehab level.
Other medical things I have learned about being on the ventilator:
* I say Glenn has a “trach” in his throat. But here are all the correct terms copied from the internet. Tracheostomy (tray-key-OS-tuh-me) is a hole that surgeons make through the front of the neck and into the windpipe (trachea). A tracheostomy tube is placed into the hole to keep it open for breathing. The term for the surgical procedure to create this opening is tracheotomy.
* full vent support - the ventilator machine is totally breathing for you. They can change settings on the ventilator (number of forced breaths per minute, amount of volume & pressure) to make the patient do a little more or less work.
* Pressure Support - a lower amount of support than “full vent support”. Again, there are lots of settings that can be regulated while on pressure support. One thing I know to look at is PEEP and OVER PEEP. The lower these numbers, the lesser amount of support and the more Glenn is breathing on his own with “6 over 6” I think being the lowest. Pressure support at 6 over 6 is basically the same amount of assistance as a cpap machine. So understand my happy dance when I say Glenn has been Pressure support 6 over 6 for a week.
* PEEP -positive end-expiratory pressure. Basically how much pressure remains in your windpipe after you exhale. Some pressure needs to stay to keep your windpipe from collapsing totally.
* Speaking valve - can be added to the trach to allow air to come thru the vocal cords so that Glenn can voice. Sometimes he can voice over the trach even without the speaking valve, but mostly he cannot speak.
* Trach Collar - the patient is breathing totally on his own … ventilator is turned off. The vent tube is detached and replaced with a little cuff (Trac Collar) laying loosely across the open trach hole and blowing some oxygen across the opening. This ensures the patient breathes more oxygenated air than we normally breathe - but is no more assistance than a cannula tube with oxygen blowing in your nose.
Our current wish is to be on trach collar all day and rest on pressure support vent settings at night. And continue to work toward total weaning. Immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine!
