9/26/2007 Update

September 25th, 2007 by shahin

Just got done talking to his gastro doctor, and it’s the first time I heard him say that he is very optimistic.  Shahin was awake and very much aware of his surroundings and the people around him.  He will have amnesia for many weeks.  In fact, what you tell him at one time will be gone from his memory in a matter of hours.  This is all normal, and as my mom put it, it is a natural defense system. 

His white count is down to 33,000, heading the right direction.  We measure it every twelve hours and it has been on a steady decline since they put the tube in his intestine.  I’m optimistic that he’ll be back in the normal (10-12,000) range in two to three days. 

He is going to get a tracheotomy tomorrow at noon.  They just have to remove the tube from his lungs, as the prolonged use of it can cause very serious issues, including permanent damage to the vocal cords.  He will be moved to an O.R. and operated on by the best ENT doctor in this hospital.  This will allow the doctors to experiment with weaning him off of his ventilator.  The prognosis is that he will remain on the ventilator for at least one more week. 

According to the doctor we talked to last, he will be the guest of the ICU for another month.  Followed by intense rehab and continued medication to make sure the CDIFF is really dead. 

His score for the today is a 5. 

It’ll be a while before he gets a six.  I’ll save that one for when he gets his blood count down to normal levels.