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