A Loooong Week

This is Stacy (wife) and Angie (mom). We'll do our best to update ya!  But we apologize in advance that we aren't as good of a writer as Mike is. 

Last Friday morning (April 16)  Mike felt short of breath and spiked a small fever.  His dad took him into the oncologist office and they checked his oxygen level while he was walking in.  It was somewhat low (in the 80's).  Dr. Paloyan suspected that Mike could possibly have a rare pneumonia called pneumocystis (PCP).  So Dr. Paloyan sent him immediately to get a chest scan at the hospital.  The scan showed very small blood clot in his right lung.  They admitted him and started him on blood thinners.  Blood clots can form and break off in your leg due to inactivity.  The blood thinners work to help dissolve the clot back into the blood stream. 

Well...as the week progressed, Mike's breathing was still bothering him.  They decided to put him on some extra oxygen.  Nights were long, and he wasn't getting much rest.  By Wednesday, the Dr's just weren't convinced that this tiny blood clot was causing this much breathing distress. Another one of Mike's Dr's brought up the PCP concern again.  He said it is VERY common for cancer patients to get this type of pneumonia due to a weakened immune system and also from the high does of steroids.  They started him on strong antibiotics to get a jump start on the infection (even though they weren't exactly sure it was that).  They decided to do a bronchoscopy on Thursday morning (go into the lung with a scope and squirt some fluid, suck it back up, and culture it).  The cause of this breathing distress could be due to a list of things: infection, PC pneumonia, or tumor.  After the procedure, Mike was moved back up to his room to sleep off the sedation.  He had a little bit of lunch and continued to rest while we waited for the test results. 

Later that evening, Angie felt Mike and he felt extremely hot.  His breathing was still very fast and his temp was actually rising by the minute.  You could tell that Mike was exerting too much energy into trying to breath instead of resting to heal.  We cooled him down with an ice bath and fan.  Within that hour (which seemed like forever) it was decided that in order for Mike to rest and heal, it would be best to intubate him (put him onto a ventilator). Well, being on a ventilator requires you to be in ICU. 

So...we made the move to the ICU late that evening.  They got Mike very comfortable with sedation and pain medicine.  We got to go in his room ( a couple at a time) to talk to him and give him kisses.  They want him to be very sedated to rest and heal, otherwise he will exert too much energy into breathing instead of resting his lungs.  So he is pretty much "out of it", though he can hear you.  After saying our "goodnights" we all decided it was best to go home and get some rest.  

Friday we arrived back early in the morning to find out what the plan was.  The bronchoscopy test came back positive for PCP (not more cancer, thank God).  So the plan is to let Mike rest and heal on the ventilator for a week.  He knows when we are in his room (eyes open and responding with shaking head yes/no).  But we really don't want to overstimulate him, because he tends to fight the machine instead of letting it breathe for him. 

This morning we arrived and the nurses said that Mike had another restful night!  At one point Angie was in his room, quietly talking to the nurse, and Mike opened up his eyes wanting to communicate.  We asked him questions and found out that he wanted a mouth swab (little sponge dipped in ice water to wipe out his mouth).  He used the mouth swab himself, and wanted another.  Then he made the motion that he wanted to write something down.  He knew he couldn't talk because of the tube in his throat.  We handed him paper and a marker and he wrote "what floor". He wanted to know what floor he was on and we explained everything to him.  It's good to see his personality and alertness.  But rest is what he needs most right now.  He's a strong, young guy who will bounce back in no time!  Just another "bump in the road". 

Our plan is to keep you updated throughout the week, as best we can.  We know Mike loves your comments, so keep them coming, please! We know it will mean a lot to him when he gets back on here and reads them!

Talk to you soon!