Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Back in the Hospital

I am beginning to think Jim likes it at St. Lukes! I can say that because his most recent stay wasn't anything extremely serious. I feel like I need to make light of it all! He said he wanted to give me something to blog about! Funny Jim!

I haven't blogged lately because until Sunday no new was good news.

Throughout Sunday night and the wee hours of Monday morning were rough. Marie stayed up most of the night with Jim. He was having some trouble breathing regularly and was in a lot of pain. Because of the broken ribs Jim suffered during CPR last weekend, it is very painful for him to breathe deeply. That makes it pretty nerve racking for Marie, when his oxygen levels are already lower at night, and as she is laying next to him, she is constantly checking on him to make sure he is ok. If you have ever brought a new baby home from the hopital and stayed up and watched the baby breathe all night, you know exactly what Marie is going through.

Marie took Jim in to the doctor's office first thing Monday morning. They had concerns about yet more fluid in his lungs and decided to put Jim back into the hospital overnight for observation.

The staff got some advanced notice this time and they were prepared...not with medical supplies, but a poster welcoming him back. Jim is a bit of a legend these days at St. Lukes!

After the homecoming settled, the doctor examined him, and ran some tests. There is additional fluid building up in Jim's lungs. At this point they have decided to leave the fluid there and hope that it resolves itself. It would be too risky to drain it again as they would have to take him off of his blood thinners to do the procedure. The clots in his arms and legs are still fairly large and they do not want them to get any larger, or dislodge.

Luckily this was just an overnight visit and Jim was released today. They are struggling to manage his pain, because the pain medication slows Jim's breathing, and also could be the cause of his cardiac arrest last weekend. It has been a constant stuggle for the doctors to give him the right amount of pain meds to make him comfortable but not jeapordize his breathing. The solution for now is to put Jim on an oxygen saturation monitor that he has to wear all night. I hope that this will allow them both to sleep better. Good night to all! Kristy

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Home again

Jim finally got to come home today!
Not much new to report...he has just been resting and recovering. They have been keeping a close eye on him in the hospital. Their main concerns are watching his heart activity and his oxygen saturation levels. Unfortunatley he has to come home on oxygen but only at night.

I posted the donation information to the left...If you do make a donation, the family has asked that you email your address as they would like to send out a card to show their appreciation! Thanks you all for everything!

I will keep you all posted on his recovery process!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Long Weekend

Things have settled down a little bit for now, but it was a very eventful weekend. Friday night, Jim and Marie invited Pat over for sushi. Shortly after dinner, Jim was convulsing again and was having a hard time breathing. Marie was forced to call the paramedics. When the paramedics got there, his oxygen levels were in the 50's. He spent the evening in the ER while they did ANOTHER cat scan and ANOTHER chest xray and MORE lab work! You know, the usual routine. Jim is the only guy I know that would remotely consider these tests his "normal routine". By the time I got there, he was settled down and doing ok. His fever was way up there, but his oxygen levels had come up. The chest xray showed more pneumonia and the fever indicated infection, though they aren't sure where. They decided to keep him in the hospital to monitor his O2 saturation and get some IV antibiotics. Considering that that was all...that was a huge relief to us all. Just a speed bump...not a road block...right?
They moved him to a hospital room and Marie and I finally left at around 1 o'clock in the morning and left Jim to get some well needed rest.
An hour later, Marie got the call that Jim had gone into cardiac arrest and they had to resuscitate him! He had ripped out his IV's, and taken off his O2. He was scared. Terrified at what had just happened to him. So were we.
Marie got there immediately and helped the staff get him talked down and hooked back up to everything. By the time I got there around 3am, he was moved to an CCU room and somewhat calm.
He recalled all of the events to me...so vividly.
"I died." he said
"And I didn't want to be there. It was a bad place. I wasn't ready to be there."
He had thought all of the nurses and doctors that were performing CPR on him were trying to put him in the "bad place." Which is why he had ripped out his Iv's and such. He now realizes that that was not the case at all. He apologized to all of the staff, even though it was not necessary.
He is now out of CCU, but not out of the woods...still in the hospital...still with not definite answers as to why...It is frustrating for us all.
I for one am just glad after this weekend's events that Jim is still with us. Still hanging in there. Still fighting.
Let this be a reason to give your loved ones an extra kiss at night. Live everyday as if it were your last. Don't ever forget to tell the people that matter that you love them. Trust me, you can't say it enough.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Donation Fund Repost

Hey all!
Many of you have asked me to repost the donation fund information.

Donations can be made at any Bank Of America location. The account name is Jim Weathers Donation Fund. If you are outside of Idaho or Washington you may need an account number to deposit funds. I won't post the account number as this website is not secure. If you would like the account number or routing number to wire funds, please call or email me and I will be more than happy to get you the information! Thank you so much for all of your support!

Kristy
208-283-6928
loveforjimweathers@gmail.com

Good day!


Jim is doing good today! I got to see him and give him a big hug! He is up and about but moving pretty slow and wears out fast. Still much better than he has been in the last month! Huge improvements! He has come a long way!
Thought I would post a pic of the guy! This is when he was in the hospital...I will try to get a more recent pic posted soon. Needless to say, he doesn't care if he ever wears one of those sexy hospital gowns ever again! Let's pray he never needs to!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

He's HOME!

Woo hoo! Jim has finally made it home. He is feeling much better. Better than I have seen him in over a month now. His spirits are up and we are seeing him smile for the first time in a long time. You would never know that a week ago he was on a ventilator. If any of you have had the chance to talk to him, you can hear it in his voice. Jim is back...well almost! Still a long road ahead of him.

Thank goodness for Susan. She went to the hospital last night and cut his hair and trimmed his goatee! That is a dedicated hairstylist! What a girl! He looks like a brand new man!

Jim finally got to read the comments that everyone has posted on this blog. It means so much to him to know that you are all out there pulling for him and sending all your love, support and prayers.

He won't be able to travel for quite some time so most of you won't be seeing him anytime soon. But you can all call him if you want to chat. I will post the home address again for those of you who would like to send cards!

Jim Weathers
924 W Carmen Ave
Boise, ID 83704

Love,
Kristy

Monday, January 12, 2009

Bummer!

Jim unfortunately isn't coming home today. One more day of observation. They are changing a few of his medications to make it more affordable to come home. They are hoping to not have to send him home on the "$1000 every 5 day" medication. So it is not that he is not doing well, just that they want to be sure this time that he doesn't end up back in a few days like last time. Everyone say your prayers and keep your fingers crossed!