Synopsis of Thursday night post

First I would like to thank everyone for their continued support. I think that we all know how much Eric is loved and thought of, but the volume of support has been an amazing and a palpable presence in our lives. I know his extended family have been awed by showing of support from his department, the other local agencies, the friends, and the community. Everyone who knows Eric will know how incredibly humbling he would find it.

This morning I sent a brief update informing you of his good night, and the progress of his oxygenation. Later in the morning, he had a bronchial procedure done to remove the remaining debreis he had aspirated into his lungs (the believed cause of the lung infection) . This also gave the pulminologist a better picture of how his lungs were looking. His infection seems to be improving. They decided to remove his ventilator and replace it with a new one that more resembled a normal breathing pattern. At this time they increased the oxygen that they were giving him back up to 70% while they made sure that he could tolerate the new ventilator. As the day progressed they decreased the oxygen gradually back down to 50% and he has held it all day, meaning that he is processing the oxygen that he is taking in, and maintaining the appropriate level in his blood. They also took him off of the paralytic drugs today, choosing instead to increase the sedation to keep him in an unconcious state. As long as his body does not fight the ventilator they hope to continue on this path. I was able to put some some chapstick on him today and he pursed his mouth (he might no like the pineapple flavor I chose). We talk to him mostly about using this time to rest and relax two things that most of you know are not in his immediate vocabulary. He also continues in his rotating bed, which we tell him is an aircraft flying similator. His temperature was also down today also which we are encouraged to believe means the antibiotics are kicking in and helping with the lung infection. They also stopped giving him the lidocane today and the blood thinners. He responded well to the absense of both of these drugs and has not had any more heart distress in the absense of them. There still of course is the underlying heart condition that will have to be treated as the lungs continue to progress. This basically means that his heart is not in current distress. I checked in with the nurse a few minutes ago and he remains stable in the same condition that I left him. We are very pleased with his day. It will still be a long road for him, but every day is seeing more improvement.

The girls are still unaware, and relatively anxiety free at this time. They are happy to be able to be spending time with extended family, and continuing on with their normal routine. They have been spending much of the time away from me with the Angel family who they are very close to. I have been taking a block of time from each day to stay at home and keep our normal routine so they continue to see me in a calm enviornment doing everyday things.

Today also brought us an unexpected blessing. We got to meet Jerry Epperson, who came to the hospital to see how Eric was doing. Jerry has known Eric for some time at the gym, and they have shared many conversations. Jerry was the one who first found Eric when he was in distress in the locker room, and was the one who yelled for help, prepared and initiated CPR, until he got further help. He was very concerned about Eric. I told him how much we appreciated all that he did for Eric. I know that had it happened here at home, I would not have had the strength to be able to do what he did for the length of time required.

Today was a day for a little anxiety relief. A welcome change from the last few days. Thank everyone again for all of their support. I am encouraged daily by all of the messages, letters, calls, and e-mails. I know that everyone understands that I cannot answer them all personally every day, but I do appreciate them.

Thank you,
Lesley