Author:
Cliff
[ Edit | View ]
|
Date Posted: 21:22:25 07/03/05 Sun
Thanks for posting that! I'm home now. Maybe the prayers helped, because it looks like my dad is going to pull through. Yesterday, his chest x-ray suggested that the antibiotics were starting to have an effect on the pneumonia. His blood oxygen level was back up to normal, even though the oxygen content of the respirator air had been decreased from 100% to 50% and they to 40%. He had a couple episodes last night during which his heart rate climbed very high, but the blood pressure remained stable. He had another x-ray this morning, and it showed improvement over yesterday's. The medical staff at the hospital is very pleased with his progress. I talked to my mother this evening, and she said that they're reducing the sedative, trying to see if they can make him responsive to voices. He'll probably remain in the respirator for a few more days, and he'll probably be in the CCU at least until next weekend. But we're all feeling better now that it appears he'll be able to overcome the pneumonia. The cardiologist is hoping to check on the condition of his heart as early as Tuesday (he didn't want to do that until the pneumonia looked better, as that was the immediate threat). Of course, after all that, the cancer will still require treatment. But for someone who was given Last Rites on Friday morning (he doesn't go to church, but my mother is a good Catholic!), he's come a long way.
|