Overwhelmed

Thank you to everyone who has contacted us. I'm overwhelmed at the kindness of everyone. I have read every comment and e-mail but just don't have the time to respond to each one right now so here is one big thank you.

I sat with Drew for a little over 6 hours last night until I just got too tired. At one point, I walked out of the pumping room across the hall from Drew's room to see 5 nurses watching the monitor with very concerned looks on their faces. Not something you like to see. He was having a bad episode where his pre and post-ductal sats went way down (as in 50/27) and they took him off of the oscillator and hand bagged him until his pre-ductal sat went back up. Then back on the oscillator and his post-ductal sat came back up. They had given him some medication rectally to help his potassium level and it leaked onto his bed. Changing the blankets sent him over the edge.

After my update last night, the surgeon called back and told us a lot of pretty bad things. His kidneys are inflamed due to the edema (swelling) and lack of oxygen. His urine output during the day yesterday was 0. His potassium level was at 7.6 which is pretty high.

We were told that if that level did not go down, cardiac issues would start to arise and that would be the time that Raymond and I would have to step in and decide how far to go. Right now, he's on life supporting meds and machines without actually being on "life support," if that makes sense. We have decided to stop medical intervention if his potassium levels start affecting his heart. But that's easy to say when it's not a decision immediately in front of you. But he's been through so much.

As of about 9 a.m., Drew has made small improvements. He is having some urine output although it's not a lot and his swelling looks worse. It's very, very bad, especially his eyes. His potassium levels have come down a little bit, I believe the last one was around 6.2. They will get another check on that around noon. Dr. M. says that the metabolic issues are the main concern right now. His sats are all over the place from the 70s to the 90s. That could be partially due to his extremeties being cold and his swelling; that can interfere with the sensors.

So that's where we are, a tiny bit better but not enough. But we are trying to look at it like this: his kidneys get a little better, making his body happier, leading to better kidney function, etc. Please keep praying for him and thinking about him, he's still extremely critical and things can turn in an instant.