Well, this is the second day of our current stay, and day 18 in the hospital since February 17. Ben passed his previous record of 17 days set when he was an infant. We were there for all of those, too, as were many of you.
Today is a positive day. They put Ben back on the BiPAP last night at about 11:00 p.m. because his oxygen saturation was low again. The BiPAP is much better than the breathing tube! His numbers are good and he will take turns being on and off the BiPAP throughout the day. There is some fluid in his lungs which they are trying hard to keep on top of.
The bleeding from the ulcer appears to have stopped. After lots of donor blood yesterday (7 units plus other additives), he has not required any overnight. He's been cleared to gradually take clear liquids. He's happy about the "cleared" part; not so happy about the "gradually" part. I think he's feeling better because he's whining (through the mask, not so effective) about being thirsty. I'm sure he is. Now he says he's hungry, too.
So today is lung rehab, continue healing from the ulcer, take in small amounts of liquid, and rest. Tomorrow he will likely have a follow-up scope to double check the ulcer repair. Hopefully they can do that without intubating him again!
When the breathing mask is off, his color is good and his eyes are beginning to recover their sparkle and life.
He's making more friends with a whole different group of nurses and doctors. We kid him and say that he just wanted to come back because he hadn't met EVERYBODY yet. They like Ben as a patient and love Ben as a young man.
Again we are blessed with God's love and comfort expressed through you who take the time to read this blog and continue to lift Ben and our family up through your prayers and expressions of support.
So sorry to read of Ben's setback and the toll it must have taken on him (and you and Kim). You continue to be in our thoughts and prayers. We have our church praying for him as well. Take care of yourself.
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