Journal entry by Angela Bowers —
It's been a while since I have been able to post an update on Sean's progress. It has still been a health rollercoaster but he is making progress.
On Sunday, October 3rd, they took Sean completely off ventilator after 40 days of intubation & added a T-Bar with supplemental oxygen. On October 5th they added a speech valve & on October 6th, he passed his swallow test. He was able to eat for the first time that night. On October 7th, they removed his trach completely! He only needed supplemental oxygen at night.
During this time, the insurance company did deny his LTAC hospital stay but the hospital did agree to keep him until he was ready for rehab. We are now waiting for our insurance to approve him for rehab.
On Friday October 8th, Sean was moved out of ICU to a regular room to get ready for rehab. He was given three Covid tests. He needed two negative tests. The first one was negative, the second was positive & the third was negative. They said the second one was a false positive.
Sean has been weaned off the valium, oxycodone & other meds but not without withdrawal symptoms. We are hoping they subside soon.
On Friday Sean's PEG tube (gastric feeding tube) started to bleed. They added a pressure dressing. Saturday it started heavily bleeding again. They changed the dressing & the doctor ordered a urgent gastric CT scan. The scan did show he had a bleed/hematoma in the stomach wall. He had two more heavy (SCARY) bleeds & a surgeon was called in on Sunday. The surgeon noticed in the CT scan, that Sean's PEG tube was inserted 7 cm. For a man his size it should only be inserted around 4 cm. There is a bulb that is inflated inside the stomach that is supposed to hold the tube in place with the help of the outside stopper. Somehow it was either not placed in correctly or it moved. They tightened the tube & the bleeding has been minimal. Thankful to God, that Sean did not go to the LTAC. 🙏🏼
PT came & worked with him today & we were able to get him to stand for the first time for about 5 seconds. I wanted to get a picture but I had to push his knees. It is going to be a long road for him to get him physically back to normal. He has lost about 60 pounds & his atrophy is significant.
Sean has has some fall back on his sodium levels that they are monitoring closely. His hemoglobin has been good & his white blood cell count is almost back to normal. His lungs are improving daily & he no longer needs supplemental oxygen. Eating has been successful but he has been nauseous. They scanned him yesterday for blood clots & his left arm DVT is gone!!!
Sean has had constant headaches since for about two weeks. Nothing seems to really help. He had a brain CT scan this morning & we are currently waiting on the results.
Thank you so much for keeping us in your prayers. I appreciate & love you all!
On Sunday, October 3rd, they took Sean completely off ventilator after 40 days of intubation & added a T-Bar with supplemental oxygen. On October 5th they added a speech valve & on October 6th, he passed his swallow test. He was able to eat for the first time that night. On October 7th, they removed his trach completely! He only needed supplemental oxygen at night.
During this time, the insurance company did deny his LTAC hospital stay but the hospital did agree to keep him until he was ready for rehab. We are now waiting for our insurance to approve him for rehab.
On Friday October 8th, Sean was moved out of ICU to a regular room to get ready for rehab. He was given three Covid tests. He needed two negative tests. The first one was negative, the second was positive & the third was negative. They said the second one was a false positive.
Sean has been weaned off the valium, oxycodone & other meds but not without withdrawal symptoms. We are hoping they subside soon.
On Friday Sean's PEG tube (gastric feeding tube) started to bleed. They added a pressure dressing. Saturday it started heavily bleeding again. They changed the dressing & the doctor ordered a urgent gastric CT scan. The scan did show he had a bleed/hematoma in the stomach wall. He had two more heavy (SCARY) bleeds & a surgeon was called in on Sunday. The surgeon noticed in the CT scan, that Sean's PEG tube was inserted 7 cm. For a man his size it should only be inserted around 4 cm. There is a bulb that is inflated inside the stomach that is supposed to hold the tube in place with the help of the outside stopper. Somehow it was either not placed in correctly or it moved. They tightened the tube & the bleeding has been minimal. Thankful to God, that Sean did not go to the LTAC. 🙏🏼
PT came & worked with him today & we were able to get him to stand for the first time for about 5 seconds. I wanted to get a picture but I had to push his knees. It is going to be a long road for him to get him physically back to normal. He has lost about 60 pounds & his atrophy is significant.
Sean has has some fall back on his sodium levels that they are monitoring closely. His hemoglobin has been good & his white blood cell count is almost back to normal. His lungs are improving daily & he no longer needs supplemental oxygen. Eating has been successful but he has been nauseous. They scanned him yesterday for blood clots & his left arm DVT is gone!!!
Sean has had constant headaches since for about two weeks. Nothing seems to really help. He had a brain CT scan this morning & we are currently waiting on the results.
Thank you so much for keeping us in your prayers. I appreciate & love you all!
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