Every Breath I take, I take in you..

The good news of today is that they started off by extubated (taking tube out) dad to see how he could tolerate it. He was struggling pretty bad, and was having a lot of anxiety initially. He sounded as if he was wheezing and that there was something flapping in his airway. The doctor, nurse and respiratory therapist were prepared and put on a larger oxygen mask (that made him look like an astronaut). He was eventually able to calm down for a little, after a little help from steroids and drugs. It was determined that he had a swollen airway potentially due to trauma from the initial attempt to intubate (put a tube down) by the paramedics. He was again struggling throughout the rest of the day, and it was determined that he was going to have to get the tube put back in. Chris also was keeping a close eye on the monitors and with the rest of the staff they noticed some irregularities in the heart rhythm.

The cardiac doc came up immediately and it was determined that his stent was starting to close up, and he was sent back to the cath lab almost immediately to attempt try and reopen the stent and a balloon pump was inserted. This pump is set to help the heart get extra blood every third beat. The doctor stated that he was worried about the outcome and they aren’t sure if he’ll pull through, but we know that miracles can happen and we’re praying for one. They’re pretty sure the kidneys won’t recover so he’ll more than likely be on dialysis. He’s heavily sedated again, and we’re back to where we were a few days ago, however his vitals are a little more stable. He’s not on blood pressure meds yet this time, and that’s a good thing.

The plan as of now, is to keep him sedated and relaxed to let him recover a little. We’re pretty lucky that we actually took the tube out so we could actually notice these things. It’s hard to know if we would have noticed this if he was still on the vent. Things have been pretty rough today, but we’re praying hard and hoping for the best. It was tough to see him when his sedation was weaning off today. He was more alert and looking around but he was restless and sucking for air, although his saturation levels were doing well. He was reaching for his chest as he normally does when he coughs, but he started to just hold his left side, as if he was showing us it was hurting. If things go well on the vent for awhile, they may put in a trach( a hole in his throat) to make it easier for his airway to heal with less trauma, and it’s less scary for him to wake up too.

Thankfully we’ve have a ton of family support and prayers. Keep praying, miracles can happen. A verse we’ve been focusing on Is Ephesians 3:20 (the heart attack happened on 3-20) “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” We need to realize it’s in God’s hands and not ours. If we can ask it or even imagine it God is ready and willing to do IMMEASURABLY more than that…so if we can ask for Dad’s healing than He can do A LOT more than that!

A song that was playing this morning in dads room (we always have Christian music on in there) was “Every Move I Make I Make in You.” I thought the lyrics were perfect for this situation, so here are a few of the lyrics:

Every move I make

I make in You

You make me move, Jesus

Every breath I take

I breathe in You

Every step I take

I take in You

You are my way, Jesus

Every breath I take

I breathe in You