Good News

Well, I have some good news. Dad was taken off of the ventilator Thursday. He was doing very well for most of the afternoon. But, while I was visiting at 8pm he was becoming very tired and struggling to breathe since he was doing everything on his own. His oxygen saturation began to drop and the nurses came in and started working on him. They put him on a BiPAP machine, which is similar to the CPAP machine used for sleep apnea patients, but it has different levels of air pressure for inhalation and exhalation. Anyway, they are using this machine to apply assistive air pressure to his lungs when he inhales and exhales with the hope that he will not have to be put back on the ventilator. According to the nurse, they will monitor his blood gases every 30 minutes through the night and hopefully he will be able to tolerate the BiPAP machine long enough to help his lungs strengthen and not depend on any machines, especially the ventilator.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!!