Susan's Update 8/20/07

Hi all,
Well, the good news is that Dad is still fighting
and seems to be a bit better. Dad was supposed to
have an abdominal CT scan today but it got posptoned
until tomorrow morning. He's been on pressure
support/CPAP on the ventilator (meaning the setting
where he basically breathes on his own) since early
Saturday morning. They are going to gradually
decrease the support (right now it's at 15 and it
needs to get down to 5) until he's ready to get off
the vent completely. Then he gets a trache collar
which is connected to oxygen but then he can talk
again.
He still has some infection but his temperature is
more normal even though the white cell count is still
elevated somewhat. Hopefully we'll know more about
the
stomach/gall bladder/bowel situation after tomorrow's
test. It may be that the liver numbers went weird
because of the other GI tract problems and the
antibiotics, not actually liver problems. Let's
hope!
Mom continues to do well. She's have 5 days of
being quite alert and responsive. She's moving her
right arm a LOT -- actively participating in therapy
sessions.
Thanks for all the prayers! They are working!
Love,
Susan