Re-Wired

    Last night I went home for the first time since Chris was admitted, it always feels weird leaving without him.   But it was so refreshing to get a nice shower and fresh clothes.   The hospital does have laundry and shower facilities for family members which work in a pinch, but its not nearly as relaxing as being home even just quickly.   As I drove back to the hospital it happened to be just about the same time in the evening as when I drove up last, it was comforting to know we are not in as critical of a place.  Hundreds of people at the hospital have helped us to get this far, and we know hundreds have also been praying for us.   It's very humbling.  

      Test results for the staph infection finally came back clear.   The antibiotics worked!   Huge win!  Out of caution they did remove his (subcutaneous) port on Tuesday.   It served him well for 1,720 days.   After his "port holiday" they placed a picc line.   They do the sterile procedure in the room.  It was very interesting to watch. They placed a device on his chest which shows on a screen where the line is going.  It is a fairly new technique which has improved correct placement.        Unfortunately they were't successful the first time,  and the second time struggled to drop into place.   They had to order an x-ray which showed it was a few centimeters away from his heart.   Enough for antibiotics and labs but not for chemo.  

     So, yesterday the "boss lady" who trained the three techs from the day before came to do a "re-wire".   True to Chris fashion, something that they very rarely do.  Using the same entrance,  they removed the internal line for a longer one.   Chris said it felt super weird to feel it snaking through his body.  As well, they did it as a double lumen instead of a single so it will be more useful.    It's oddly placed by his elbow, but with the dual lumen they were able to remove the IV line that was placed in his other arm by ICU.  He's been poked a ton this visit as the one from the ER was replaced because it was very finicky.

    With the infection cleared, they are ready to clear him to go home on IV antibiotics for a month.   Depending on insurance it will either be a continuous IV that a nurse comes to change occasionally or I will be trained on how to do it.  

     The infection however really wiped out his energy and strength.   He is making progress every day with PT and OT, but basic things are a struggle.   They want to release him to a rehab/nursing facility.    It was hard to quickly search through reviews to find some we thought would work.   So when they came back and told us our first three choices were full and we needed to pick again it was discouraging.   Trying to pick three more feels like russian roulette.   The pandemic and staff shortages clearly have them stretched thin and the weekend ended up giving us a few more days inpatient to work with therapy.    

     We feel hopeful that if we could just ensure a decent night's rest he will continue to improve, but those are rare in the hospital.   We would love to skip the facility and come straight home.  

    We are very blessed that we've been able to make improvements to our house that makes it so Chris has felt safe thus far, but this is a different challenge.   The weakness and fatigue is so much more profound.   We would much prefer for Chris to be able to return home, but doing so now would be too risky.   As you pray for us, pray for his strength and endurance to return and an added measure for me.   Even if a rehab facility is necessary, these will ultimately get him home faster.   Strength for me as well as I step up even more as a nurse.