Shane's whole world was turned upside down November 12, 2020. Shane was experiencing excruciating abdominal pain since the night before, so we ended up going into the Emergency Room to figure out what exactly was going on. After bloodwork, ultrasound, CT scan and MRI, Shane was admitted to the medical floor from a gallstone that got stuck near his pancreas causing acute pancreatitis. Shane received fluids, antibiotics, and pain medication over the following days along with additional bloodwork and scans of his abdomen to monitor his progress. At the same time, Shane's mental status rapidly deteriorated and he repeatedly removed his tubes and lines as well as tried to leave the hospital, confused and delusional. Shane was moved to ICU on 11-24-20, so he could get additional support, as his lungs were starting to have problems. Thanksgiving came and our family was told that Shane was finally showing progress. Shane took a turn for the worst that evening and ended up needing to be intubated and placed on the ventilator. An updated CT scan was performed throughout the evening, and 3AM, I received the gut wrenching call. The doctor stated that Shane needed to be life flighted to University of Utah because of his rapid decline in health. He now showed necrotizing of his pancreas.
Once Shane arrived, the medical team caring for Shane discovered that not only was he dealing with necrotizing pancreatitis and his lungs were struggling, but now they discovered that his kidneys were shutting down. Shane was given a 20% chance of survival at that point. He was started on dialysis to give his kidneys a rest, and continued with fluids, antibiotics, and pain medication. Around this time, Shane also developed MRSA as well as Pneumonia, which they treated with additional antibiotics.
Fast forward a few weeks, and Shane has finally started showing improvements in the right direction. Infection has cleared up, dialysis has been reduced from continuous to intermittent. Shane's lungs and blood pressure were finally stable enough to be switched from being intubated to now having a tracheostomy.
Shane is still in the ICU, fighting every second of every day for his life. Prior to this illness, Shane has chronic back problems, and being laid up in a hospital bed for now over one month, he is dealing with excruciating back pain on top of his pain for his illness. Unfortunately with this illness, it is a day to day and even sometimes hour by hour wait on if progress is going in the right direction, as things can change with a blink of an eye. Extensive physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy are in the works for Shane as he becomes healthier, as he will need to build up his muscles and need assistance with walking, talking, eating, etc.
We appreciate the unconditional love and support that we have received thus far through this nightmare. Please continue to pray and provide positive thoughts for Shane and our family. There is a GoFund me page that is set up to help with travel costs going to and from Salt Lake City, the continuous extensive medical expenses that are adding up, and family needs along the way.
Shane ended up back in the hospital last weekend for what turned out to be complications from not enough fluids. They initially said he was septic, but all the tests came back normal so he was quickly moved from ICU to the medical floor. Shane has been doing pretty well this week, the surgical team came in on Wednesday and gave us all some very exciting news. They let us know that Shane is strong enough and healthy enough in their opinion for him to be discharged home for home health instead of going back to the nursing home!!! Shane was discharged Thursday afternoon and we were able to bring him home after a long drive home. He is still needing wound care for his two drains in his back and OT, PT and ST but being home has lifted his spirits to help him continue healing! Thank you all for your continued love and support throughout these past few months!
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