One of our doctor's called this morning and said that they felt it would be best for Chris to be admitted to the ICU today and that they were waiting for a room to open up and be cleaned. I had the prompting to pack everything we might need on Sunday, so most everything was already loaded in the car. Kinda hard to pack when you don't know how long you'll be there, but with the knowledge from last time, I'm prepared.
Once they called and gave us our room assignment we headed up and got here about 2:00. Didn't have to even check in, just came straight up to the MICU (Medical ICU) in a wheelchair. Not your typical entrance to the MICU and not a traditional patient. Our room this time has got an amazing view of the valley. The nurses again are our hero's, we've lucked out with both nurses so far.
Once he got settled in, ENT came and changed out his trach. It wasn't a smooth process and they had to try several different ones. The reason for the trach change is that he needs to be able to be on a ventilator in order to get a CT and/or MRI to confirm their diagnosis and to perform the procedure to fix it. The new trach he got in August does not have a cuff. A cuff is like an inflatable ring that surrounds the tube of the trach and makes it so that the air is forced into the trach and not around in the trachea.
After they changed out the trach, they immediately put him on the ventilator. Having a machine breath for you when you are awake, alert and used to breathing on your own is probably pretty scary. It took some time, and getting him into a chair where he could sit up for him to feel better, and things finally settled down.
Some initial blood tests were concerning in regards to his kidney function, something they will monitor while they are here.
Not sure how long we will be here, but hopefully tonight he can get some rest. The past few weeks trying to go to Doctor's appointments has been exhausting.
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