A Few Updates

I've been spending virtually all of my waking moments in the room with Jenni, so I'm still not posting regularly the way I was earlier in the week. However, during shift change I get booted out regardless of any extended visitation hours. While I'm out here doing nothing better, I thought I'd let everyone know what has transpired in the last hour or so.

When I returned to Jenni's side after the meeting with those dubious doctors that Layne has been telling you about, I found Jenni worse than when I left. Her swelling had worsened on the left side (the same side from which they removed the chest tube earlier in the day), her oxygen had been raised to 60%, and she seemed a little flushed. I was informed that they had just performed a chest x-ray before I entered the room (proactive... good) to check on the swelling but I was still concerned about her color. The nurse checked her temperature and found it to be higher than earlier, so we turned off the heated blanket and turned it down so that it didn't cover her torso. The respiratory specialist also came in and fiddled with the ventilator. She is now down to 50%, but is breathing over the vent more often now. I'm not sure what this means in the long run... but I am encouraged by the doctors' willingness to follow up on Layne & Stephanie's research on alternate treatments.

When it comes to experimental treatments, there are never any easy answers. Please continue to pray for Jenni, but also pray that God will lend me the strength to make the tough calls that will be coming soon. I really need strength and guidance...

Minor Update & Thank You

First of all, I want to mention a few things that Layne hasn't. He tends to be a lot less wordy than I am and that's probably a good thing, but I'm going to keep blabbing on here either way and add a few points that, alongside the other news, seem rather minor but I feel should be mentioned:

• The chest tube in Jenni's left side is useless at this point, and they clamped it off yesterday. The doctors intend to remove it today. I asked if removing it would be more traumatic than leaving it but Dr. Katz explained that if it isn't functioning, it is more dangerous in than out (and Judi agreed). Out it will go.
• Jenni's labs are showing signs of improvement in both the blood and the kidneys. The kidneys are probably only improving because of the dialysis (because she is still on several of the drugs that negatively affect the kidneys), but the improved blood work is a good sign, in my humble opinion. Yesterday was also the second day in a row that Jenni didn't need a blood transfusion.
• Jenni's temperature dropped yesterday morning, so they put her under a heated blanket. Her temperature returned to normal, but I hope they keep the heated blanket. If she was awake and aware right now, she would want it on, so I hope it will still be there when I get there in the morning.

Now that those points are out there, I want to thank everyone who has been checking on Jenni...

• everyone who has continued to pray
  
• those of you who have helped accumulate the 7000+ visits over the last three days that I could check the numbers (and probably several times that number before Google Analytics started counting)
  
• the people in all of the 18 countries who have visited the site (USA, Brazil, Canada, Finland, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Switzerland, Panama, Israel, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Australia, Latvia, Spain, Denmark
• the people in all of the 45 states who have visited
• the 75 followers and 157 people who have signed up for email updates
  
• the people whose traffic has generated over $1500 through Adsense to help pay the family's expenses as we stand vigil nearby
• the people who have donated money, both online and in person... unfortunately I've lost count of the amount... but it has helped

 I hope I feel like updating more often. Describing this as a rollercoaster of emotions would be the underestimate of... the year? the decade? my lifetime? However, I feel confident today that things will be okay... I am not in control. We all know who is... and I trust Him.

And I want to give Layne a special thank you for taking over "updating the peeps" in the times I've been a wreck.

Late Night Update

A bunch of us are camped up in the waiting room outside of the ICU. We dodged the bullet tonight, but I've never been more scared in my life than when the doctor said, "Anything we do might make things worse, but if we don't do anything, she won't make it."

I don't want to repeat anything Judi already posted, but I've been advised not to read what she posted either, so I won't. For now, Jenni is about as stable as you can get when you're in critical condition (not very). She has a chest tube in each side. The right side is working and the left side appears to be worthless. She also has air around her heart that is affecting her blood pressure.

I believe the prayers helped. The doctor seemed pessimistic when he spoke to me privately but she came through this speed bump okay. With more prayers and perseverance, we can come through this with a positive result... and I'm taking Jenni to Sticky Fingers and The Loft just like I promised. And I'm going to get her a Psycho > Crazy shirt too.

Update From the Nurse

The nurse just came out and told me that they are not going to do the bronchoscopy yet. She has some swelling on her left side that I expressed some concern about before I left and they want to do another x-ray to make sure everything is okay. The nurse mentioned that the swelling might actually be air from the lung.

Still... stuck... waiting... for... results...

Its a good thing I'm a patient guy.

Waiting While They're Testing

I had to leave the room so that the surgical team can work on cleaning out the clot in the chest tube. When he finishes, they will perform a bronchoscopy to get a better idea of how well the most recent treatments have worked.

Until then, I'm stuck in the waiting room just waiting on results.

Quick Update

Jenni appears to be doing a little better today. I didn't get the visitation hours problem fixed with the patient advocate, but he was at least able to get me Jenni's lab work each day and said that the visitation hours would be addressed later on. Most of her blood counts were closer to normal range and they didn't have to give her a blood transfusion today. The only exception is her number of platelets, so they were giving her more platelets when I left a few hours ago.

She coughed up some blood this morning (which scared me half to death) but the nurse said that it might be a good thing. If the blood is fresh, she is probably bleeding more, but if it is old, it may mean that her clotting has improved and her body is cleaning out the lungs naturally.

Her team of doctors is meeting this afternoon to discuss quite a few things (such as continuing the Factor VII, doing another bronchoscopy, and what to do about the chest tube) but I haven't heard any of their decisions yet so I'm still in the dark. Hopefully I'll be able to post some more definitive results soon.

Night Update

Well... today was a long day. I'm not even sure what to say about how things are going. It seems like every time I feel like things have gotten a little better, we have a major setback (like needing the ventilator, puncturing the lung, clotting the chest tube, etc). I keep getting frustrated with the doctors, but I realize that they are doing all that they can do... and right now they seem to be guessing almost as much as we are because the textbook answers aren't working. I'm just praying that God will guide them to the correct guess or the correct experimental treatment and her health will improve.

"Whatever it takes."
-Jenni-

Chest Tube Troubles

Not much has changed today as far as medication goes except that she is on the insulin drip again instead of getting shots. However, the tube they put in Jenni's chest yesterday to help reinflate her lung has clogged (the blood clotted inside it and stopped it up). They aren't sure what to do about it. They mentioned leaving it as is, taking the whole line out, or just trying to remove the clot. It depends on the results of the CT scan that they should have completed during the 2:00 to 4:30 "no visitors" time. It is clear that while the tube is clotted, no more fluid can be drained. However, the clotting may be preventing the lung from bleeding into the chest cavity. Hopefully I'll have good news when I get a chance to post again. I wish I knew whether this was good or bad news. It sounds bad, but if there is a possibility of an upside I am grateful for that.

Just A Little Update

The Dr. put the chest tube in successfully! Hopefully this will reinflate her lung soon. The Factor VII that they are giving her seems to be helping. Which is a good sign. Josh is back there with her now. My sister is a fighter (just like my mama was)! She will prevail. Stay strong Jenni. I love you! <3 your twin

Another Mishap

The doctors called Josh this morning around 7:30. There was a complication while inserting her central line (a line in her neck to give her some medications). Her left lung was accidentally punctured (which enlarged her pneumothorax). Therefore, they didn't get the line in. Josh and I (Judi-Jenni's twin sister) went back this morning and stayed until they kicked us out to to put in the chest tube. (this will help to reinflate her left lung). She is stable and still sedated. She opened her eyes right before we left. We kissed her on the forehead, told her we love her and left.